Great sports at the Framegame

Alex Koi and Josh Warrington

Framegame showroom Old number plate

Established in 2006 by Leeds man Alex Koi, Framegame Ltd quickly became a specialist sports memorabilia framing expert (now with nearly 30 years’ experience) across Yorkshire and indeed the UK.

Alex is the go-to man for Leeds United Football Club and before that the Leeds Rhinos Rugby League team. This success has also led to contracts for all O2 England Rugby shirts, Football Association charity dinners and also regular work for the Premier League and English Football League.

He has framed for hometown world boxing champion Josh Warrington, plus Premier League and England footballers Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford, along with bespoke jobs on Jess Ennis-Hill’s Olympic winning spikes, Lionel Messi’s boots – and most recently an Olympic torch and even a piece of Headingley’s hallowed sporting turf.

But his route to the stars has also seen him carefully frame rare Pink Floyd double albums, an authentic Peaky Blinders cap used in the TV series, a love potion from the Harry Potter film set, plus an original signed guitar from pop sensation, Lady Gaga.

Always look the best

Alex says: “Treasured possessions like this deserve only the best tender, loving care, so I especially favour the Larson-Juhl mountboards, which are real quality and always look the best. Their blacks/whites/greys are classic and always stand the test of time.

“But that’s also true of their mouldings, and I use and endorse the lot – black and white again, but also oak, silver, gold and shabby chic, etc.”

Ten years ago, sports memorabilia made up 70% of Framegame’s business, but today it’s more like half as Alex has diversified and extended his capabilities. The contract framing boom across Leeds, Manchester and London has seen him work with sports clubs naturally, but also leading hotels, restaurants, bars, gyms, salons, hospitals and retail outlets.

Patrick Bamford shirt and cap

Signature in Prague

Canvas stretching capabilities

Interior designers also rely on his flair and eye for detail, while online gallery brokers across the UK, representing up-and-coming global artistic talent, are especially enamoured with his Larson-Juhl float tray and canvas stretching capabilities.

He adds: “Right outside the shop was a sign saying queue here to be in a Hollywood movie, so I took a punt and haven’t looked back – with 20 plus TV and film productions since. I was in the last Fast & Furious movie and also spent a couple of days filming at Manchester City’s Etihad stadium for the latest Ted Lasso TV show. It’s always great fun and while away I can always rely on my master framer, Con Curtis, to keep things ticking over nicely.

“But more importantly it’s got me in with the studio bosses and background set framing work for shows like Bodies, the new Stephen Graham Netflix crime thriller and also regular episodes of soap opera favourite Emmerdale.

Alex Koi as an extra in BBC drama Sherwood Another lucrative area arose from Alex’s interesting sideline doing ‘extra’ work for film and TV. The business on Burley Road is just behind the ITV Yorkshire building and that’s where he got his first extras job on the 2019 Keira Knightly whistle blower movie, Official Secrets.

Ornate Victoriana frames

“Basically, all the themed wall frames you can see behind the action are ours and this is especially important in historical period dramas like Gentleman Jack starring Suranne Jones, where a lot of the filming is in stately homes. For security and insurance reasons they can’t use in situ portraits and tapestries, etc, so we have to recreate them all – and of course the ornate Larson-Juhl Victoriana frames are ideal for this.”

As a die-hard Leeds United fan, Alex has a lot in common with his Larson-Juhl area sales manager, Richard Clayton, who also started the job in 2006. They are kindred spirits and have almost grown up together in business terms.

Alex concludes: “I was on the set of the new gangster prequel to Sexy Beast recently, in Liverpool, and between takes was thinking of a grey Coastal frame that would be ideal for an order I had to complete on return. Even though I didn’t know the code, with a few swipes I found it and ordered it there and then for my return – how helpful and convenient is that!”

He’s also a big fan of the online website ordering facility, because it can all be done any time and place, over the phone, and is simplicity itself to access and operate.

Coastal 453 000 111

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