Mrs Karen Richards, of Richmond, KSM for services to textiles history and conservation
Karen Richards is an authority on historical textiles and their preservation. She taught Home Economics in Christchurch, Nelson and Richmond, where she still teaches a Community Education class. She volunteers at the Nelson Provincial Museum, where she supports the documentation, preservation and display of unique items. She is a volunteer Textile Technician at Broadgreen Historic House, where she has catalogued more than 1,100 textile items, and has been at the forefront of remedial textile conservation. She is an authority on dating and identifying garments. Mrs Richards co-curated six exhibitions and has given exhibition tours and lectures at numerous events.