These mouldings pair perfectly with the artwork of Paul Thomas, one of Chelsea Frames’ feature artists. Thomas’ abstract paintings are inspired by harmonious, light-infused color. His vivid paintings are on display in public and private collections in the US, Canada, France, Italy, Spain and South America. Beautifully framed paintings by Paul Thomas will be available for purchase at the Larson-Juhl booth and Thomas will be on hand to discuss his process and inspiration.
“Paul Thomas is a favorite of ours,” shares Jaclyn Acker, co-owner of Chelsea Frames. “We worked with him last year on several pieces for an Architectural Digest feature and were blown away with the final results. We knew his works would pair beautifully with Larson-Juhl’s selection of modern, authentic frames.”
“We are so inspired by the artist community and we welcome the occasion to collaborate with artists, framers, publishers and designers as well as to educate and share information to strengthen our industry,” shares Jennifer Harlan. Artexpo New York guests can learn more about the impact of beautiful custom framing on Saturday. Larson-Juhl Design Director, Jennifer Townsend, will be presenting a new seminar, Elements of Design, and Jennifer Harlan will be joining one of the panel discussions. Stay tuned for the full Artexpo New York Topics & Trends Education Series schedule to be posted closer to the show.
Stop by the Larson-Juhl booth to meet artist Paul Thomas and the teams from Chelsea Frames and Larson-Juhl. To preview Paul Thomas’ works, visit his website at paulthomasartist.com. Chelsea Frames is located at 197 Ninth Avenue, New York, and offers custom residential and commercial framing, in-home consultations, and original works of art. For more information and hours of operation, visit chelseaframes.com.
Larson-Juhl, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a global business based near Atlanta, GA, with 20 distribution centers across North America. In addition to custom picture frame moulding and supplies, Larson-Juhl offers custom printing and mounting services. Visit larsonjuhl.com for design inspiration and to view their selection of over 2,000 picture frame mouldings.

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The post Larson-Juhl Partners with Chelsea Frames for Artexpo New York 2017 appeared first on Art Business News.

FrameWorks was launched in 1989, when Christine Sweeny moved to Miami and opened a frame shop in the heart of Coconut Grove called Kennedy Studios. In1995, Sweeny rebranded the business as FrameWorks, moving her retail location to its current corner on Commodore Plaza. Claire Lardner became an equal partner and owner in the business in 1996, bringing her successful career as an attorney to the partnership. Over the years, Sweeny and Lardner have continued to invest in FrameWorks’s evolution with cutting-edge technology and equipment, constantly working towards upward growth and expansion.

When FrameWorks began, Sweeny operated the business solo. Today, the company employs 22 people, many of whom have been with the company for over 15 years and live in the local community, and has two locations. FrameWorks installs artwork worldwide, from Spain and Italy to Turks and Caicos, Hawaii, the Bahamas, and other Caribbean islands.

FrameWorks is committed to providing superior customer service, offering competitive industry pricing, and staying on top of business trends. This pursuit and consistent delivery of excellence has resulted in the retention of clients over many years. Both Sweeny and Lardner have achieved the prestigious industry designation of Certified Picture Framer, awarded by the Professional Picture Framing Association. Less than five percent of all picture framers in the country hold this designation. Their commitment to continued personal development in their chosen trade has allowed them to have consistent growth over the past two decades.

FrameWorks serves two sectors: residential and hospitality. The residential clientele is made up of local residents from around South Florida who come to the retail store for picture framing and art services. FrameWorks is proud of its reputation in the South Florida community for not only the exemplary art and framing services it provides, but also for its constant and continued support of local charities, community events, and school art programs.

The hospitality sector requires working with developers, business owners, interior designers, and architects who are in need of art and framing services. Clients from this sector include cruise lines, hotels, timeshares, and office buildings.

The industry standards for artwork in the hospitality industry in 1996 were prints and posters from catalogs. FrameWorks saw an opportunity to provide custom imagery at a fraction of the price. Sweeny and Lardner purchased their first wide-format printer in 1999 and began providing alternatives to the industry standards. This offered an additional revenue stream for FrameWorks and continued to distinguish the company as a leader in the industry. Today, FrameWorks offers wide-format printing services with four printers, cutting-edge software, and alternative, innovative substrates for printing and framing.

FrameWorks has seen continual growth over the years. Sweeny and Lardner acquired additional manufacturing and storage space in 2000 to accommodate large-volume production and meet all of the company’s crating, shipping, and export needs. In 2009, they opened a second retail location in the heart of the Bird Road Art District that provides retail art and framing services and houses large-format printers for servicing wholesale clientele.

Given FrameWorks’s continued growth and its proven stability of core sales, Sweeny and Lardner have cemented their retail presence by purchasing their original retail headquarters property on Commodore Plaza. The co-owners see the acquisition as a crowning achievement that will convert rental payments into on-going investments of commercial property, offer FrameWorks control over its physical plant and streetscape appearance, give Sweeny and Lardner a solid earnings stream, and act as a valuable asset to rely on for value accumulation and leveragability. Sweeny and Lardner are excited about the growth and potential of FrameWorks in the years to come.

Services include:

• Art consulting
• Printing services on multiple materials
• Banners
• Artwork
• Signage
• Picture and mirror framing installation

Client list includes:

• Hospitality Purveyors (Sandals and Beaches)
• Coconut Grove Arts Festival
• Atlantic Purchasing, Hotel Properties in North America
• Interspace Design, Coconut Grove
• Gansevoort, Turks & Caicos
• International Design Concepts, Jumby Bay, Antigua Summer Bay, Orlando
• The James Hotel, Miami Beach
• The Benjamin Hotel, NYC
• 1 Hotel, Miami Beach
• Carnival Cruise Lines
• Norwegian Cruise Lines
• Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
• Pullmantur Cruises

Website: www.frameworksmiami.com

The post Gallery Spotlight on FrameWorks Miami appeared first on Art Business News.

In the past decade, the art and framing industry has faced a number of significant challenges. It has experienced the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the crash of the housing market, and the proliferation of big-box craft stores.

All of these factors have affected the sales and profitability of small independent frame shops and galleries. Yet, through ingenuity and perseverance, they’ve managed to survive, and art and framing sales are now experiencing a resurgence in sales. This situation is especially true for independent framers, who are starting to gain market share as more and more consumers recognize that 70 percent off a grossly inflated price is not such a great deal for a frame design showing a lack of professional design skills.

Just as handing someone a paint set doesn’t make them an artist, giving someone a title and showing them how to use a cash register doesn’t suddenly endow them with the skills they need to be a professional frame designer. It’s taken years, but consumers have finally begun to recognize that the real value of custom framing is in the enduring beauty of the results, not in the inexpensive frames they see in newspaper ads. The industry today is smarter, bolder, and more profitable than it has been at any other time in the past decade. However, despite this increase in prosperity, framers have yet to overcome one obstacle: the widespread, misguided, and illogical placement of flat-screen televisions on walls, instead of in entertainment centers or on furniture. This trend in consumer behavior has caused the framing market to shrink, robbed it of millions of sales opportunities, and generated a tremendous amount of human pain and suffering.

Despite its widespread and devastating consequences to art and framing merchants and to consumers, the problem has gone mostly unnoticed and almost completely ignored, and it has grown to pandemic proportions. And it’s got me hoppin’ mad.

Flat screens have taken over valuable vertical real estate that was once the domain of artists, photographers, and framers. Paintings, prints, photographs, needlework, and lots of frames—your frames and my frames—belong on walls. What does not belong on walls are rectangular black holes of nothingness.

And it’s all the Jetsons’ fault—George, Jane, Judy, and even little Elroy. They started it. They were the first perpetrators of this mess. They’re the ones who made us yearn for the advent of wall-mounted TVs. And now we’ve got ’em. But the Jetsons were wrong.

TVs do not belong on walls. They surely don’t belong in the corner near a ceiling. And they have absolutely no business being mounted above a fireplace. Just because your customers can mount their Samsungs and Vizios on their walls doesn’t mean they should. In fact, mounting a TV on a wall isn’t just a bad idea from the perspective of a custom framer, it’s also a bad idea for your health.

Historically, as you may recall, people placed TVs at eye level. Because most people watch television from a seated position, TVs were once much closer to the floor. This placement provided a viewing experience similar to what one enjoys when sitting in the center of a movie theater.

Earlier generations of TVs were in their own cabinets or consoles; placed on stands; or tucked into entertainment centers, which have doors to hide the rectangular black hole when it is not in use. Today’s TVs are much lighter and flatter than those of yesteryear. They rarely exceed a thickness of more than 5 to 6 inches, making wall mounting possible.

But almost every wall-mounted TV is positioned much higher on the wall than is optimal for comfortable viewing from a sofa or an easy chair. These viewing angles can produce stiff necks, sore shoulders, and aching backs. If you don’t believe it, ask a chiropractor. Most will tell you that wallmounted TVs are great for their business.

Any adult who has ever had the unfortunate experience of sitting in the first few rows of a movie theater should know better than to mount a TV so high up on a wall. Sure, it was cool to sit in the front row of the theater when you were 10 years old, but no adult ever willingly sits that close to the screen. Long before the movie is over, your neck is certain to feel like a PEZ dispenser locked in the tilted-back position.

Wall-mounted TVs rob custom framers of potential sales, and they need to do something about it. They need to take back what belongs to them.

Unfortunately, this trend is not likely to go away anytime soon, and there’s little framers can do about it. However, you might consider educating your customers by providing literature about the potential health problems—and letting them know why they don’t want to emulate the Jetsons.

The post Why I Hate George Jetson | The Guerrilla Framer appeared first on Art Business News.

Framers are always looking for ways to increase profits. They’ll try just about any advertising idea, even having their logo emblazoned on placemats at the local diner, cash-register tapes and bowling score sheets. They’ll squeeze suppliers for discounts; I’m guilty of this one. They’ll walk around their shops switching off lights to save a few pennies. However, one of the easiest ways to increase profits is by analyzing the markups on the materials that go into a custom-framing order and begin placing more emphasis on those that offer the best profit margins. This business concept certainly isn’t new; in fact, businesses in every industry focus their sales efforts on their most profitable items. Supermarkets place their moneymakers at eye level on store shelves; Chevy and Ford advertise their pickup trucks more frequently than they do their cars. Why shouldn’t framers do the same?

Many framers put most of their effort into selling low-margin products while ignoring more profitable items. Consider the major components that go into a typical custom-framing order and explore how to dramatically increase profits by shifting emphasis to selling products that are better for the bottom line. You can achieve these goals and give your framing more visual bang for the buck.

MATS

I consider mats—not frames—to be the foundation of custom framing and the center of the custom-framing universe. Consumers can buy some fairly nice frames in a number of places, including art supply stores, online sources and even some general retail stores, such as Target. These frames are not as nice as the ones consumers can purchase from custom framers, but they are certainly adequate for many buyers. Custom matting, on the other hand, tends to be the exclusive domain of the custom framer. Mats add beauty, create visual depth and enable the framer to control color and space. Most important, mats are among the keys to your profit picture, producing both direct and, more importantly, indirect income. When it comes to direct profit, mats are the kings of markup, when you calculate on a percentage basis. I discovered that a $5 sheet of matboard can produce more than $100 in retail sales. I proved this fact by doing an experiment under controlled conditions, and, admittedly, it required cutting concentric openings in the mat. Although this approach is great for making a mobile to hang in a child’s bedroom, it doesn’t represent the typical yield. However, even if you get only $50 worth of sales at from a $5 mat board, you’d probably be pretty happy.
When it comes to mats, however, the indirect profit has the greatest effect on both your sale and your profit, and that effect can be huge. Simply including a mat in a custom-framing order may increase your sale by as much as 35 to 45 percent. When you place a mat around a piece of artwork, you’re no longer framing the piece; you’re framing the mat. So, in addition to the price of the mat, the order now requires a larger frame, a larger mounting board and a larger piece of glass, all of which add to the total sale. For proof, try this experiment. Using a 24-by-36-inch print, a frame of your choice and your default glass type, price out the order without a mat. Then, add a single mat and once again price out the order. You should find a substantial increase in your sale. That mat can also produce additional profit by leading the way for add-ons, such as additional mats and upgrades to conservation-quality mats and fabric mats. But why stop there? Mats also open the door to fillets, decorative cuts and other embellishments. One of the best things about selling mats is that, while you’re increasing your profit margin, you’re also improving customer satisfaction. Mats provide great visual bang for the buck, and they put the “custom” in custom framing. And because the benefits of mats are readily apparent, they’re an easy sell, as long as you begin the design process with mats. For obvious reasons, it’s almost impossible to sell a mat after you’ve quoted a price without one.

FRAMES

Mouldings will typically have varying markups, with lower-priced units typically receiving a higher percentage markup than more expensive mouldings. Because the frame is the most expensive component in most framing orders, frames account for both the largest cost of materials and the largest portion of each sale—but not always the most profit. To illustrate this concept, compare two design options for a piece of artwork. The first design includes a nice high-end frame but has no mats—only a frame and your default glass choice—and prices out at $400. The second design includes a frame that’s neither as nice nor as expensive as the first. However, this option includes a double mat and the same type of glass you chose for the first design. This order also prices out at $400. On the surface, both designs may appear to produce similar profit margins, but not all $400 sales are equal. The order with mats and a lower-priced frame probably generates a significantly greater profit.

GLASS

Glass is the last major component that goes into most framing orders. I believe that many framers err when it comes to choosing their default glass. I recommend that your go-to choice for glass should be the lowest-price option you can offer: standard, reflective picture glass—the cheap stuff. I know that many framers do not use this glass as their default choice. It’s in your and your customers’ best interest to offer premium glass products as options, not the default, however, because a large portion of the public sees custom framing as expensive, and many see it as too expensive. By forcing the customer to buy a premium glass product, you’re adding to that perception. Furthermore, most of your customers have set a limit to the amount of money they’ll spend to frame an item. A vendor who offers a variety of choices almost always offers better but more expensive materials as options rather than forcing them upon the customers. This approach lets the seller keep
the base price more affordable and leaves an upgrade path in place. It makes sense for framers to take this approach, too. Another thing to consider is that standard picture glass provides an attractive markup percentage that is second only to mats. Standard glass produces a healthy profit for you and is a budget-friendly option for the customer. Premium glass products, on the other hand, are more expensive, typically produce significantly lower margins and take a bigger slice from your customer’s budget. You should continue to sell these products when appropriate, but you should offer them as options.

One final point is that framing components fall into one of two categories: those that enhance your designs by providing visual benefits and those that provide protection. Upgrades to archival products and all glass products typically provide protection. Buying them is somewhat like buying insurance. Not everyone wants to buy insurance, but it should be available for those who do. Customers should be the ones who make the choice. Analyze some of your recent sales to see whether you might be able to increase profits—and improve customer satisfaction—by changing sales emphasis. A few simple changes could provide a big improvement in your profit picture.

Paul Cascio is the lead instructor for The American Picture Framing Academy.
Cascio also provides business and sales training and consulting.

The post Mind Your Margins – More Profit for Happier Customers appeared first on Art Business News.

By Tara Crichton

I love when people stop to look in my store’s front window. The longer they stay, the happier I am. Even better is when they come into the store because they just had to see what else was inside. It means my window is doing its job.

Put Your Personality Up Front
My front window is the face of my business that customers see from the street. Once a customer comes inside, I am the face of my business. I’m lucky that people consider picture framing artsy, so I can be quirky in my personal appearance; it only adds to my credibility. In an art business such as picture framing, people will judge you by all the artistic choices they observe in your business decor, advertising, promotion and personal presentation.

This revelation shouldn’t surprise you. Hairdressers must have good hair; if they charge top dollar, they had better have great hair. Everything that customers sense when they enter your space paints a picture in their minds of who you are and what they can expect of your product. What does the art on display in your store have to say about you? Does it look as though you have only one or two frame mouldings to sell? Does it look as though you haven’t framed anything new since the ’90s? Does your space have a bad smell? Is your store dirty or messy? If a customer notices any or all of these things, your business won’t grow and be successful.

Good picture framing is by its nature expensive, and the environment for selling expensive things needs to be inspiring. The exact method of inspiration differs for everyone.

Create Intrigue with Eclectic Accents
My store is eclectic. I’ve branched out into various modes of artistic expression through sculptures, interesting home decor, vintage frames and salvage. For me, anything that’s beautiful and unique is fair game. Oddly enough, there is a strange continuity in the store’s decor, which was completely unintentional. It works for my location and for the customers I want to attract.

One of the most successful picture-framing businesses I know has achieved its success by cultivating its own unique clientele. The business has two small locations in affluent areas of Toronto. When I say small, I mean SMALL. One has dimensions of approximately 10 by 10 feet with basement space for assembly. The other location is twice that size and has a front gallery space. Both locations dedicate 90 percent of their wall space to frame samples. But you won’t find the same frame samples you see at every other frame shop. The business derives its success from being a maverick of the framing world. The owners frame big and spectacular. Its personal presentation and the framing that the business produces have a rock-star vibe, which would-be imitators cannot copy. Customers go to these shops when they have money to spend and they want a piece of that magic for themselves.

Look at your location and decide what kind of customers you want. You can’t have everyone. Give up on that idea right away. If you cheapen your materials and workmanship to appeal to bargain hunters, then bargain hunters will become your clientele. This business strategy works only if the quantity of resulting work is so great that you can still make a profit.

Curate Your Collection
An ambitious picture framer is a curator. You should carefully choose everything that goes into your framing to reflect your artistic sensibility and the quality end product you will produce. Do you really need 100 frames with a black finish? Do you have frames from various companies that are indistinguishable from each other? Choose which ones you actually want to sell and the profiles that will give you the greatest range of finished products.

I am the worst person to advise against frame-sample hording. When I was working as a showroom manager for a national frame importer, I had more than 900 frame samples to work with. Yet, I still missed some of my favorite mouldings from the competition. This mentality does me no favors. It just ends up muddying the waters for my customers and cutting into my bottom line. I have now streamlined my business model with the mouldings I’ve chosen to be my mainstays and the unique, exciting lines that spice up the presentation.

I’ve been disappointed with most of the new moulding lines that have come out lately. They are so depressingly “safe”—that is, boring. I can’t get excited about brown frames. Instead, frames that look like iron fencing, complete with nail heads; frames that have traditional distressed silver beads and wood that looks like tortoiseshell; and frames of stained woods in Japanese red and ebony get my creative juices flowing.

Mats are the exception to the minimalist rule. I find that I really do need every sample out there. The mat companies have stepped up their game by producing new lines that fully optimize and expand the borders of picture framing—pun intended. Some customers would choose heavy jute overlay on gold leaf, pebbles or genuine gold and silver leaf as mat options. Apparently, the sky is the limit. I won’t use these mats every day, but as a person who has mounted gift paper onto matboard sheets to get just the right look, I applaud the innovative vision that led to their creation.

Use Your Creativity
I promote the frames and the framing techniques that comprise my vision through the framed art I display on my walls. Whenever possible, I frame original art that I acquire from local artists, university and college art sales and auctions. I carefully select decorative prints, as well. I creatively frame these gems in the best, most creative way according to their medium. I have so many options: floater frames; shadowbox frames; and mats with spacers, fillets, antireflective glass and linen mats. I do not randomly assemble these pieces as examples of framing technique. Instead, I frame each piece for the art, but I can refer to it as an example if a customer asks. The goal is to educate through inspiration. Customers first see how compelling the framed art is, and then they ask how you accomplished it.

The business you currently run is the business you have chosen. Every choice you have made about location, decor and frame suppliers has come together to create the face of your business. Ask yourself whether the face of your business is the one you want to show the world. It is completely under your control. If you build a business that shows the best that the industry offers, you will attract the customers who appreciate that quality. The universe rewards enterprises that you execute with passion and with a drive for excellence.

Tara Crichton has worked in the framing industry for more than 24 years and is a graduate of University of Guelph with a double major in fine arts. She has worked in every aspect of the framing industry, including retail, wholesale distribution, OEM and art direction. She now owns and operates a gallery just north of Toronto.

The post The Art of Framing: Put Your Best Face Forward with Your Storefront appeared first on Art Business News.

More than 1,200 manufacturers, 40 percent of whom were from abroad, attended the FamaArt preview last March in BolognaFiere. The preview showcased the excellence of European frame manufacturing and graphic arts, with more than 50 exhibitors representing the top businesses in frame production and frame-moulding machinery.

Also open to visitors, next spring’s exhibition will present the new season’s designs with three days dedicated to European excellence in framing, marking the return of top-quality manufacturing in the frames and graphic-arts sectors.

“It is a happy comeback for our fair district,” says BolognaFiere President Duccio Campagnoli. “Thanks to the newfound partnership with the consortium of European manufacturers, Bologna will once again host and organize an international showcase for … frame-making, in which ‘made in Europe’ still stands for quality—a sector which grew up and once did business the world over from its hub in Bologna. This is further evidence of Bologna’s capacity to create events tailored to business and Italian industrial districts, launching them on an international scale.”

“We are very happy about the agreement with BolognaFiere,” says FAMA Europe President Mauro Fioravanti. “After a three-year gap, we are to return to Bologna, the district we worked in for so many years with great success, to the satisfaction of all businesses in the sector. Now we are ready for new successes starting from BolognaFiere.” ◆

Got a scoop to share with framers across the nation? Send your moulding and framing press releases and stories to info@decorartandframing.com

The post Newsmakers: Fama Art Returns to BolognaFiere in March 2015 appeared first on Art Business News.

By Michael Pacitti

Inspired by the unruly aspects of the natural world, the Art Nouveau style affected art, illustration, design and architecture from 1890 to 1910. Despite its relatively short span as a popular trend, Art Nouveau made many appearances throughout the decades, including a secondary highlight during the 1970s psychedelic movement. Remember the Grateful Dead’s album covers? Pure Art Nouveau! Even today, the Art Nouveau style still permeates the framing industry.

The phrase “Art Nouveau” translates to “new art” or “modern art.” Originating in France and Germany, the style was characterized by sinuous, undulating lines that sensualized the design world. It featured flowing organic motifs and ornaments with graceful, flowing edges, like a curling whiplash. Artists and artisans often based the asymmetrical patterns on plant shapes such as flowers, vines, leaves and seaweed. Small insects and birds were also key motifs in the Art Nouveau movement.

Art Nouveau contrasted with the later style of Art Deco, which emerged in the early 1920s soon after the popularity of Art Nouveau waned. While Art Deco is still, rigid, defined and motionless, Art Nouveau portrays life, motion and continuity.

Art Nouveau revolutionized the way people looked at the objects that made up their world. As a period in design, Art Nouveau could be considered more of a movement rather than a style, transforming the Victorian era with new, modern imagery. The movement coincided with the Industrial Revolution and brought new approaches to interior design, architecture, furniture, fabrics, glass, tableware, jewelry, frames, posters, wallpaper, textiles and lighting. The style embraced new materials including molded bubble glass, animal horns, ivory tusks and semiprecious stones. It was also very prominent in the styling and production of stained glass that originated in England and incorporated many Art Nouveau styles, shapes and patterns.

Art Nouveau affected the design of the most everyday objects including utensils, hardware and furniture. The movement resisted classical restrictions. Rather than limit art to a canvas or traditional sculpture, Art Nouveau expanded the artistic premise by turning everyday objects into art. The artists incorporated the distinctive Art Nouveau curves and flowing lines to a painting; added a dimensional dragonfly to door decor; or graced doorway moulding with flowers, vines and leaves.

As with any new style introduction, critics and exhibit attendees either loved the style or loathed it. But boosted by its appearance at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, the movement flourished across the globe. In the United States, Art Nouveau emerged naturally from the craft tradition and trades of the early 19th century. Soon, North American designers contributed their own ideas to the Art Nouveau style, particularly in ceramics, glassware, architecture and frames. In the United States, a new style of glass art surfaced as Louis Comfort Tiffany took interest in Art Nouveau. Tiffany’s lamp designs are still renowned today.

Furniture designers also embraced the forward-thinking Art Nouveau movement, using the new organic, flowing motifs in defined furniture rather than regimented architectural patterns. Like fine artists, Art Nouveau furniture designers drew inspiration from the natural world and shared the same belief in quality goods and fine craftsmanship. They embraced mass production and combined the ornate Rococo style with botanical influences. Charles Macintosh of Scotland had a particularly profound impact on furniture design and style, and is considered one of the fathers of Art Nouveau furniture.

In the print world, Art Nouveau became one of the first major artistic movements. The concept of mass-produced images and graphics played a significant role in the industry, incorporating color-printing techniques that were relatively new at the time. Art Nouveau designers painted, drew and printed work for popular forms such as advertisements, posters, labels and magazines. The poster craze of the 1890s spread throughout Europe and America.

In early 1895, Paris artist Alphonse Mucha debuted his work with a lithographed poster for the play Gismonda featuring Sarah Bernhardt. The look and design of this poster not only popularized the Nouveau style, but identified and spread the concept of the design throughout Paris. Although originally called Mucha Style, it soon became a major part of Art Nouveau. Mucha went on to produce thousands of advertisements, illustrations, paintings and designs.

Many other artists of the time interpreted Art Nouveau as part of their own styles, including painter Gustav Klimt, glass designer René Lalique and architect Antoni Gaudí.

Today, contemporary illustrator Echo Chernik captures the essence of Art Nouveau in her modern work. Her concept of “total art” can be found framed in many styles of Art Nouveau period frames and on display throughout the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas. Her paintings illustrate the sensuous lines and subtle light of Art Nouveau and feature feminine figures with long, flowing hair. Chernik’s success shows that Art Nouveau’s symbolism and motifs are still appreciated by the art world today.

Michael Pacitti is publisher of DECOR magazine and Show Director for DECOR Expo Showcase. He has worked in the interior design, art, photography and custom framing design industry for more than 25 years.

The Art Nouveau frame style is ideal for images or posters representing Paris plays and advertising from the late 1800s. Unlike the symmetrical style of Art Deco mouldings and frames, Art Nouveau frames incorporate linear movement of tendril-like motifs and weaving patterns that capture the eye. Most frames of this style depict flowing leaves and flowers with sinuous lines. Art Nouveau frames should have movement within the surface of the moulding.

The post Period Design Series: All About Art Nouveau appeared first on Art Business News.

By Tara Crichton Picture framing at its simplest is a craft, and, if you reduce it even further, it is a business. I’m not fond of the business side of framing. The business chores I must perform every couple of months have become the bane of my existence, and I can’t wait until the bottom line of my business allows me the luxury of delegating them to someone else. There is good reason that I didn’t become an accountant.

You would think that, after years of repetition, the possibly monotonous labor of cutting frames, glass, mats and backing would cease to thrill. And, although they don’t make my heart beat faster in avid anticipation, they provide a feeling that is less like a new love and more like a good marriage. There is a more solid, steady feeling of satisfaction with every step that brings me closer to a job’s completion.

My craft demands sterile perfectionism—perfect joins, clean glass and smooth surfaces—and I base my art on that perfectionism. It is like the canvas that a painter uses when realizing a masterpiece. It provides those details that the customer sees and those they don’t, and it thus makes or breaks the artwork.

At the very least, mats should have the smallest possible overcuts, glass should be free of dirt or fingerprints, and frame corners should be tight and touched up so that the seam is virtually invisible. The superior materials and methods that preserve and conserve are also crucial. All my work is for nothing if shoddy workmanship undermines the superficial appearance. For example, paper mats can fade and discolor, cardboard backing acids can denature the art, and masking tape can dry into powder. Some performance art uses materials that rot and decay as a statement; picture framing is not that kind of art.

It takes time and skill to achieve the invisible perfection that showcases the customer’s art and makes no effort to take center stage. The frames, mats and glass are the paints of my art. They are the means of building depth, scale, intensity and volume.

The sum of these skills becomes gloriously greater than the parts. The frame and mat you choose create the art’s focus. The matting and frame width can give the art more visual weight and significance. Dark colors reinforce this effect, attracting light and more vividly contrasting the artwork with its surroundings. The matting color you use reacts with the colors in the art, causing them to either recede or advance. White or creamy mats, on the other hand, are the exceptions to this rule. They provide the best way to create a visually open area around the art that stays neutral as long as you find the right level of white.

Using colors that are the opposite of a main color in the art has an interesting push-pull effect. Such opposites include red and green, yellow and purple, and blue and orange. Use that optical effect with caution, though. It’s a bit like putting a juggling act in your show; make sure the main attraction can hold its own. You can mute the effect by using grayed-down versions of the colors.

There is sometimes no reason why something works or doesn’t work. Listen to what your trained senses tell you. If what you are laying down doesn’t seem like the perfect combination, keep pulling and keep putting options down. Pull some frames that you are sure won’t work. On the other hand, a “wrong” frame can suddenly and mysteriously look incredible, and finding one is among my secret joys.

Inspiration is the main motivator that elevates my craft beyond drudgery. Artists become inspired and fall in love with their subjects. My love affair with texture, which I’ve written about before, is still going strong. Although that type of love doesn’t die easily, I know that I have to love my client’s art more. I can’t put together all my favorite things, regardless of how it works on a watercolor, intaglio print, family photo or golf shirt. It’s difficult to frame all the disparate objects your clients bring to you. You can get caught up in the technical details and lose the spark that makes the entire project shine. This inspiration doesn’t live in a vacuum; it is something you have to work to maintain.

We are so lucky to live in a time during which the internet lets us keep in touch with what is happening around the world. I’m a bit backward in the social-media world. Although I love Pinterest, Instagram and Flickr, Facebook doesn’t interest me at all. I want to know what strangers are doing and what inspires them.

Inspiration is contagious. I get inspired watching fashion shows on vogue.com or documentaries on Netflix. I also love flipping through home-decor magazines while waiting in line at the grocery store. Trade shows are an invaluable opportunity for framers to pick the brains of other industry professionals. You don’t have to steal their ideas; they will give them to you. The well-thought-out displays of framed art with new mouldings and products are bound to get your artistic juices flowing.

For me, picture framing is everything that bookkeeping is not. It is passion and craft, paint and sculpture, creativity and practical application—all wrapped up together. There is an art to great picture framing that is fulfilling and rewarding to produce, and the rewards come from customer loyalty. There is magic in becoming inspired by art and creating the best possible artistic method of framing to preserve and enhance it. Tara Crighton has worked in the framing industry for more than 24 years and is a graduate of University of Guelph with a double major in fine arts. She has worked in every aspect of the framing industry including retail, wholesale distribution, OEM and art direction. She now owns and operates a gallery just north of Toronto.

The post The Art and Craft of Framing appeared first on Art Business News.

By Paul Cascio

The framing and art industry has undergone a number of changes in recent years. Some of these were by design, while others were forced. Many were positive, perhaps even revolutionary, including innovations in technology. Most were evolutionary, brought on by the ever-growing power of the Internet. Yet other changes, like the proliferation of chain stores, have been a scourge for the many small businesses that, even today, form the majority of our industry.

One thing is for certain—it’s still a jungle out there. But it’s a different jungle. Today’s successful frameshop and gallery owners are a new and different breed from those who ruled the industry back in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Today’s owners are smarter, focused on increasing market share and profitability, and have more business savvy. They enjoy making money at least as much as they enjoy making frames.

The industry is attracting a new generation of entrepreneurs who have been successful in other careers. They’re aggressive marketers and promoters who may be competitive by nature. Unlike framers of old, they refuse to hide their head in the sand but instead choose to stand up to bullies and, in some cases, beat them at their own game. They know who the competition is, and they’re going after them.

They’re guerrillas.

They recognize that potential new customers shop at big box stores. And that’s exactly who they aim for. In this column, you’ll learn how they do it, and how you can do it, too.

Of course, not all successful framers operate from a storefront, and not all art dealers are found in galleries. Our industry is full of creative, enterprising and in many cases, highly successful individuals and couples who enjoy the benefits of operating from home.

Long forgotten by the trade press and often shunned by mainstream retailers, Homies comprise a huge portion of our industry. In fact, it’s been estimated that more than half of all business owners in our industry got their start working from their basement, attic or garage. This silent and under-appreciated group knows it takes a special set of skills and its own set of unique strategies to succeed as a “homie.”

But something we must all come to terms with: someday we will all retire. And this means we will likely become a homie. A home-based framing business is low risk, enjoys low overhead and can provide a very attractive retirement income in a way that’s neither stressful nor physically demanding.

Well, now that you have an idea of what the Guerrilla Framer column is all about—making money—let me warn you about what you won’t find here. You won’t learn how to cut fancy mats. You won’t learn how to join corners seamlessly or mount a bowling ball with wheat starch paste. And you won’t be told how to remove spots from anything. It’s not that I couldn’t share a few ideas on those subjects, because after all, I am framer, and with all proper modesty, a pretty good one.

Actually, I’m only a pretty good framer for a maximum of about two hours. That’s because, although I’ve never been formally diagnosed, I am certain I have Attention Deficit Disorder. In fact, I had it before it was fashionable and before it even had a name. After two hours of framing, or anything else for that matter, I have what I refer to as “The Midas Touch.” Everything I touch from that point on turns into a muffler.

So while there are many awesome framers who would love to share their technical prowess, I’ll just limit this column to trying to help you take your business to a new level of success and your enjoyment of owning a business to a new place of happiness. So, thanks for reading and I hope you’ll look for this column in the next issue. That’s when the real fun begins.

Paul Cascio is director and lead instructor of The American Picture Framing Academy at pictureframingschool.com.

The post The Guerrilla Framer appeared first on Art Business News.

By Tara Crichton

Historically, spring is my favorite time of year. I say “historically” because this seems like the spring-that-wasn’t. Fall got co-opted by winter and spring has gotten bullied into submission, too. My personal response has been to revolt against the grey by bringing as much color into my personal space as possible. I brought the essence of spring into my life with décor accents redolent with gorgeous tints of salmon pink, the blue of Caribbean water, and the green of freshly sprung bulb sprouts. None of these are colors I have ever considered being in my palette. I’ve always preferred neutrals.

This year I’ve gotten thoroughly saturated with neutrals and want to kick them back into the closet with my heavy winter coat. One of the joys of this human existence is our infinite capacity for change. We change our tastes, our preferences and our minds all the time. Don’t assume that your custom-framing customers are any different than yourself.

Custom-framing customers always come into the custom-framing shop carrying their art and a preconceived notion of “what they want.” This is not a bad thing. But this doesn’t mean that you should let them have what they think they want either. This first exchange of ideas is a necessary base on which you build your final masterpiece. It is a long-debunked myth that less is more. More is more! The consumer only thinks that they know what they want because they don’t know what all the options are. The custom framer as designer should be well versed in all the versions and permutations of the framing construct. It is all those levels of variation that create a final product greater than all its parts.

Lately I’ve been finding myself irresistibly drawn to texture. Frames, mats, it doesn’t matter. I can’t get enough of linen mats and their amazing wealth of minute detail. I think it’s the way you get such subtle variation in the way your eyes read the color of the mats. White is nubby or irregular with a ‘whiter’ white on the weft and shadow on the weave. Black has more interest when it’s textured than when it is simply the absence of color. All of a sudden it has even more depth.

The colors that are available in fabric mats are awe-inspiring. The grey silks are subtle and have a sheen so elegant it starts to mirror the colors in the art as the light changes in its environment. The red silks are so intensely saturated they achieve a vivid tone impossible to mimic in a paper application. There is a mat that looks like dark dye denim that I want to use on everything, and almost have. I’ve used it on pencil sketches, black and white photos and vividly colored art prints. It’s my equal opportunity offender and my customers couldn’t be happier. Without exception they all remarked that they never imagined choosing a mat that looked like that before I showed it to them.

Texture can take your dowdy neutrals into the world of spectacular. That said, I do tend to shy away from the more blatant color/texture combinations. There is an Astroturf mat that I’m sure has found its niche that still feels like an inside joke to me.

When it comes to frames, the ones closest to my heart right now are the ones whose profile has drama. I still love frames with fantastic wood veneers and sweet glossy lacquers, but it’s the shape of the profile that makes all the difference when dealing with your basic black, white or espresso finish.

A perennial favorite of mine is the dramatic cove profile. That sexy swoop falling down to the art in the center gets me every time. It’s a graphic statement that directs the eye with bold authority. The cube frame is saved from terminal boredom when the rabbit is deep and sculptural. The way the frame stands up, cradling the image feels like a floater frame application for glassed art. I love the extremes of big chunky frames on smaller pieces and delicate barely-there frames on large abundantly matted pieces. The vocabulary of scale is not often initiated by the average customer. Years of standard double mats with a 1- to 1½-inch frame have blinded customers to the infinite variation possible with true custom framing.

I’m also smitten with the new metal frames. The bold, tall narrowness with sharp squared edges is everything you want for a modern application. The colors are killer and completely current. Texture hasn’t been neglected in the frame design either. The frames that look like the face has been shaved down with a grinding tool make me drool with delight. The metal frames that have a gentle curve on the outside edge and a slightly angled face are appealing for completely opposite reasons. They have a soft, brushed finish and possess an oriental feel that is worlds apart from your dusty old bamboo moulding of days thankfully past.

Come to think of it, never let the dust settle in the first place. Don’t let the stagnation of the comfort zone keep you and your customers from experiencing the excitement of discovery. Play with color, texture, scale and proportion. Embrace change and let your creative juices flow. Life and framing are at their best when the unexpected opens your eyes causing you to see everything in a new way.

The post Looking for Summer: Time for a Framing Change appeared first on Art Business News.