The Art of Moving Precious Goods in Kamloops

Moving day usually follows a script. Boxes come out, furniture goes in, and everyone breathes a little easier once the truck door closes. But every once in a while, a move throws out the script completely — usually when a client looks you in the eye and tells you the item you’re holding is worth several thousand dollars.

That was the moment Deepak Verma knew this Kamloops move with Two Small Men with Big Hearts was about to become something he’d remember. What started as a small, easy job — one bedroom, a half-empty truck, nothing unusual — suddenly turned into a lesson in trust, patience, and just how seriously people take their art.

Deepak had already been with the company for a couple of years, long enough to feel confident handling just about anything a move could throw at him. Storage jobs, packing services, standard residential moves — none of it really rattled him anymore. “Most jobs are normal,” he said. “Nothing bad experience. Everything goes smooth.”

This one started out feeling exactly the same.

“When we reached there, it was not much stuff,” Deepak explained. “Only one bedroom. The truck was filled maybe 30 or 40 percent.” It looked like an easy day: a light load, a straightforward layout, and no surprises on the inventory list.

Then they got to the wall.

“There were five or six pictures hanging,” Deepak said. “And she said, ‘Those are really expensive.’”

At first, that’s not unusual. Movers hear that a lot. But then the numbers came out. “She said, ‘These pictures are like five grand each picture. And one or two pictures are like eight grand.’”

Suddenly, the job changed.

Normally, the crew would wrap artwork carefully in paper or blankets and place it upright in a picture box. It’s a system that works, and Deepak is confident in it. “Our blankets are very clean,” he said. “We wrap it, put it in the picture box, and place that box in a safe spot so it doesn’t get squished when the truck moves.”

In fact, Deepak is proud of the track record. “In two years or two and a half years, I have never, ever experienced a broken painting,” he said. “Glass, cardboard, paper painting — never.”

But this client was understandably nervous. One of the paintings was already leaning against the wall on the carpeted floor, and that alone made her uncomfortable. “She said, ‘You cannot put it on the floor,’” Deepak recalled. Even though it was standing safely and padded, the value of the artwork made every detail feel higher stakes.

The next challenge was supplies.

That day, the truck didn’t have bubble wrap on hand. “Normally we don’t carry too much unless the customer tells us ahead,” Deepak explained. “We usually carry like five picture boxes, wardrobe boxes, TV boxes — normal supplies.” For most moves, that’s more than enough.

But this wasn’t most moves.

“She said, ‘I need bubble wrap,’” Deepak said. “And we were out of stock.” Rather than brushing off her concerns or trying to rush through, Deepak stopped the process and called dispatch. “I said, ‘Her paintings are really expensive and really delicate. They need bubble wrap.’”

The decision was simple but important. The team would pause on the artwork, unload the rest of the household items first, and come back properly equipped. “Dispatcher said, ‘Just leave the pictures there for now. Finish unloading. Then go buy bubble wrap.’”

So that’s exactly what they did.

They picked up bubble wrap, returned, and carefully re-wrapped every painting. “We wrapped it properly, bubble wrap, then put it in the box,” Deepak said. “Then we did that again for all of them.”

The mood shifted almost immediately.

“She was happy after that,” he said. The tension that had been building around the artwork melted away once the client saw the extra effort. At the end of the move, she even left a tip, a small but meaningful sign of trust earned.

For Deepak, the experience reinforced something he already believes strongly about moving. It’s not just about lifting and loading. It’s about listening. “If customer has like 20 or 25 paintings, they have to tell us,” he explained. “But also, we have to be flexible. We have to be careful.”

He also knows how easy it is for movers to underestimate artwork. “It’s not too hard to keep paintings protected,” he said. “But you have to treat the box like you know what’s inside. We place it in a safer place so it doesn’t move or get pressure.”

In the end, nothing broke. Nothing was scratched. And a client who started the day worried about thousands of dollars’ worth of art finished it relieved and grateful.

For Deepak, that’s a good move.

“It was normal at first,” he said, laughing a little. “Then suddenly, it was not normal. But that’s our job. You do it properly, and everything goes good.”

And sometimes, that means an unplanned bubble-wrap run — because peace of mind is part of the service too.

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