3-D Framing

Here is another one of our little challenges.  This time some wedding memorabilia which needed some depth to accomodate them.

Due to the depth required we have had to create a box that extends beyond the back of the frame (known as a Cove Box).  This has been accurately cut from suedette finish mount board on our Computerised Mount Cutter.  A clean white mount and white frame complment these items and will make a lasting memory of the couple's happy day. 

Hand Finished Frames

Sometimes a picture just does not suit a ready finished moulding and so that is when we start getting creative.

Many picture frame mouldings are available in unfinished plain wood and these we can apply our own finishes to.

The painting below is by local artist Vanda Richards and is an oil on board approx. 160mm x 330mm. 

The frame is made up of two frames one inside the other.  The inner frame (or liner) is a simple 15mm wide cushion moulding which has been painted a stone colour.  The outer frame which has a more complex profile has been painted clay red, overpainted with black and rubbed back very slightly to reveal the red.  After this a wash of burnt umber was applied and then a dark oak wax was applied and buffed.

The finished frame gives a classic look which we believe enhances the painting without taking anything away from it.

To see more of Vanda's paintings go to http://vandarichardsart.co.uk/

Mountcutting Challenge!

A regular cross stitch customer came in with something a little unusual in the shape of a stitched celtic cross and wondered if I could cut a mount to follow the shape of the cross.

Luckily we have a computer mount cutter so after taking some measurements and a little work in the design software we were able to follow the outline.

Here is the result and we have even been able to match the colours of the stitching.

So if you have an unusual item that would be enhanced by a custom shaped mount drop by and see what we can do.

Tall Order

It has been a hectic six months but Christmas is a distant memory and a rush of New year business now out of the way.  So it is time to catch up and let you know what has been going on in the framing world.  We plan to keep this blog updated on a regular basis from now on.

So here is a "tall" order that came our way a while back.  It is a Gustav Klimpt print but in rather unusual dimensions.  The ruler on the table next to the frame is a metre long!

It is understood this will hang in a stairwell.

More to follow soon.

Help Needed!!

Help needed to clear my stock of part used moulding lengths some of which are shown in the picture below.

Over the past year I have built up a large stock of part used lengths of mouldings in various finishes and widths.  All of these will make up into frames of various sizes and will be offered at low prices.  

In the next few weeks I will make these up into standard size frames but if you have something to frame and are looking for a great deal drop in with your item and pick up a bargain. 

Some recent framing projects

It has been a while since updating the blog due to busy times but here are a few recent jobs.

Some fun ones to start with.

Ready for a cuppa? This is a tea towel featuring the PG Tips monkey!

Football fan?  The parents of this new born boy are Arsenal fans so Grandma brought in a beautifully executed cross stitch and we happily obliged with some team colours.  You will notice the baby is named after Arsenal player Theo Walcott.

The frame is one from a range of High Gloss lacquered finishes which are becoming extremely popular especially in clean whites and jet blacks.  What they would call "On Trend" in the TV home design programmes.

Memorabilia is something we do a lot of and the makers of some electrical goods brought in some items from a specialised light they manufacture and we put them together as a leaving present for one of the company founders.

We think this layout of odd sized articles has worked well and although some items are three dimensional they all sit well in the mount.

Out partying? These young folk were and had their photos taken in their posh frocks and smart suit.  What better way to carry on the celebrations than have the photos framed.  A bright white mount adds punch to the high key images and a subtle shade of grey underneath ties it into the pewter frame.  The frame has been kept narrow to preserve the panoramic proportions and by selecting anti reflective glass the owner will see the pictures rather than her reflection.

To finish off we ought to mention an important piece of equipment used on the last two examples.  We own a Computer Mount Cutter which is capable of cutting mounts to extreme levels of precision and is the only way to cut multi layered multiple aperture mounts to an acceptable quality.  The machine will also cut ovals, circles, geometric shapes or any of a huge number of special shapes from its design library.  We can also create unusual designs using a graphics package.

Below is the cutter completing a five aperture double layer mount.

We can cut any number of mounts from a one off bespoke framing job to thousands of identical mounts for a run of prints.  We also supply our colleagues in the framing trade who cannot make the investment in their own machine.

Hopefully we will be able to post more regularly in the future but in the meantime do give us a call to discuss your framing needs.



Memorabilia Framing

We get quite a lot of memorabilia in to frame and here are a couple of examples which a lady customer requested for her "boys".

Firstly her "big boy" (husband) drove a Ferrari around Silverstone racing circuit and came back with a certificate and photo.  As these were different sizes and formats there was a dead area in the mount to fill so we scanned an outline of the circuit and cut out the shape in the mount on our Computer Mount Cutter then filled in the space with the Silverstone logo.

Here is the finished frame:

Her "little boy" (son) is a talented footballer and here is his memorabilia we combined into one frame.