New Frames

We have just received a shipment of new frames! One of our suppliers sent over the newsiest samples, and there is some really nice ones. I’m really looking forward  to using them. Stop by ask to see them!

The flowers and stems are made from the waxed string that you can get from Tv or some craft shops.

Recently a commercial clients asked us to produce 3 prototypes. “Prototype” meaning “framing example” or “proofs.” Deadline? Same day! And while challenging we were able to help.

Later we learned they “loved the work” (which is always great to hear that) and wanted 68 more. In 3 days! Again, we were able to help and even wanted to share an images of the effort.

I always think it makes such a great pattern to see them stacked up.

So why do most frame shops look like the above photo? Well…..the answer is pretty simple, because they don’t really want you getting too comfortable. Yep… all the ‘professional’ sales books tell you that it should only take 15 minutes to write up a sales order. One of the best ways to do this is to have you, the customer, stand, and place the frame samples behind the counter. One shop I worked at, the owner would even walk behind the customer, and point at his watch after 10 minutes, always distracting and pretty rude in my opinion. When you stand, your legs get sore, and you are willing to speed up the sale, and forgo some of your important questions. When the store puts the samples behind the counter, they get to hand you their most profitable samples, and less of them, so you can make up your mind faster!
When I first opened my shop, I read the books and went to the classes. Soon after I saw my guests moving back and forth on their sore feet I changed from the above (yep that’s my first store), to a lower table and chairs.

Our current location.

We want you come in, have a seat, and ask us all the questions you may have, we will never put you on a time limit. We even put the samples where you can touch them, feel their quality, and see how they will look with your art work.

A portion of our framing selection for your perusal.

You are welcome to take down two or twenty, the thing we really want is for you is for you to know is all of your options, get all of your questions answered, and feel comfortable with your decisions.
Stop on by, pull up a chair, we are looking forward to meeting you!

We are become well-known as the place to turn to for repairs. Even repairs made by other inexperienced framers -although they do mean well. We do “clean-up’s” as well. For example, the above is a piece of glass from another frame job offer to use several weeks ago. The customer wondered why it was so difficult to see the art work. Well after opening the frame assembly, cleaning the glass with a white towel, it was obvious. The towel tells the story. This is what a heavy smoking environment can cause -and this build-up occurred inside of the framing. Now imagine what it’s doing to the rest of the frame’s materials. But, most importantly, your irreplaceable art is declining in value. Quickly.

Smoker’s, here’s how to reduce potential damage to your art:

1. Smoking away from your valuable art is a start. I know it’s hardly fun to go outside every time you want to smoke. However, my dad was a smoker and he did it -so you can too.
2. Bring your framing in for cleaning. We can replace compromised materials if necessary. The “Conservation Grade” material we use specifically combat elements that “attack” your artwork.
3. Finally, place your artwork in locations where you don’t smoke. The further from smoke exposure the art is the longer it’ll last.

I have been selling art for over 20-years now and one of the most common questions I’ve received is “What should I buy that will increase in value?” To which I always reply “Something you really like.”

One type of art I personally enjoy framing is children’s art. Whenever you frame-up your child’s art it undoubtedly makes a child feel important.

The above is a piece of art my daughter created in school. I cut out red core, mat board along plus a set of hearts in the corner. It makes such a great piece to put up around Valentines Days. What mom wouldn’t love to unwrap something like this?

Here’s our new sign. Compliments of Scott with Sign Depot. He’s a really nice guy -and always does great work. Oh, and for good measure, simply saying “Great sign” will earn you 15% off your frame job.

This last week I went to in-depth class on creating fabric mats. Several years ago I created a few fabric mats and really liked the results; Yet I wind up running out of time  to really experiment.

This class was led by one of the best of fabric framers in my line of work. We worked on several projects and the one shown in the photo was the last and most complex. After a trip to the fabric store, I now have some very unique projects in the works. If you are really looking for something special to finish off a great art simply stop by and let us demonstrate a new look for you.

This weekend we needed a stack of mats for one of our wholesale customers. He places these mats on each of his images that he sells. Over the years he found that placing a mat around each image gave it a finished feel and aided his sales on the unframed items. Here we cut 300 mats. Which are then double matted to produce 150 finished mats of each color. Cutting can get pretty repetitious but it’s also nice to see how much one can produce in a short time.