4Walls Magazine Issue 45

A grand day

Steph Noble

One Wall Two Walls Three Walls Four Walls

THE ART AND FRAMING MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONALS

NO. 45. 2023 Brought to you by

WELCOME! Welcome to Issue 45 of 4walls. As summer arrives, I hope you are enjoying good weather and a strong stream of orders.

Our front cover features ‘A Grand Day’ by Steph Noble who is represented by the very dynamic team at Canvas Gallery in Northern Ireland. You can read all about their stunning space and progressive service offer on pages 4 & 5.

We have some outstanding art from Barrington Loines on pages 8 & 9. He has been appointed as official artist to the National Trust after spotting a fantastic gap in the market.

I had the pleasure of spending two days in Devon recently, along with the latest Larson-Juhl scholars, who benefited from a hugely impressive training programme run by Jo and Alec Palmer (owners of The Framing Lot where the sessions took place) and also framing maestro Ian Kenny. We

all learned a huge amount and the scholars Libby and Alberto tell their stories on pages 10 & 11.

Indeed, we have a cracking line-up of framers showcased in this issue – with some incredible stories of entrepreneurial spirit alongside artistic talent: Ian Kenny (pages 6 & 7), Images in Frames (pages 12 & 13), Frame-Abel (pages 14 & 15), The Frame Shop (pages 18 & 19) Castle Framing (pages 20 & 21), Smithbrook Framing (page 23) and Shops for Frames (pages 24 & 25).

Our centre spread (pages 16 & 17) again celebrates a stunning selection of user generated content from Instagram – this has now become a regular feature so do please keep tagging us!

Creative Corner focuses on Hall of Frames’ amazing wedding dress (page 30) and we have more on the alternative art front in the offing from one of our long-term partners, Eazl (page 22).

Robert McKeown re-joined us at the end of last year as our area sales manager for Scotland and Cumbria, and we feature him on page 26.

Jon Price’s latest masterclass covers ‘Adding depth to your frame designs’ and provides plenty of best practice advice on pages 27, 28 and 29. Framers Equipment provides some great recommendations about the best investments from a tooling perspective on page 31.

I do hope you enjoy 4walls. Please let us know if you have a story for the next issue, and do follow us on social media.

Matt George, Editor mgeorge@larsonjuhl.com

@4wallsbyLJUK @larsonjuhluk @larsonjuhluk

3. New Products

Introducing four new mouldings

4. Canvas in the Frame

Featuring artist Steph Noble and Canvas Gallery

CONTENTS NO. 45. 2023

6. Ian Kenny - Framer, Trainer and Ambassador 12. Engineering Success Focus on Images in Frames

14. Bespoke Framing En-Abeld

Meet Amanda Brown, owner of Frame-Abel

16. Product Showcase

Our favourite customer commissions

18. Framing a Creative Community

Introducing The Frame Shop and Outset Gallery

Introducing Ian’s business and his latest training venture

8. Trusting in Art

Barrington Loines is the official artist for the National Trust

10. Bellissimo Belarto

Alberto Cacace’s growing business

11. 10/10 for Libby

Celebrating 10 years of WhyNot Gallery

THE ART AND FRAMING MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONALS

20. A Castle of Artists and Framers The Castle Fine Arts story

22. The Power of Art and Music

Paul Aspell’s exciting creative social enterprise

23. A Dream Come True at Smithbrook Framing Spotlight on Alan and Amanda

24. A Shop Selling More Than Frames A profile on Shop for Frames

26. It’s Good to be Back!

Robert McKeown returns to Larson-Juhl

27. Adding Depth to Your Framing Designs A masterclass with Jon Price GCF (APF)

30. Creative Corner

Showcasing Image Solutions

31. The Ultimate Framers Guide

Peter Stanlick shares his framing knowledge 2

Alaska Our Alaska collection is inspired by the Yukon River – the longest river in Alaska. It has a beautiful engraved design on a classic spoon profile, and is available in two foil finishes and three stain finishes, perfect for a range of decorative commissions.

Elegante Our FSC ® certified Elegante moulding is made up of two spoon profiles and is available in four colours. With an elegant design and a range of classic colours, this moulding is a great option to bring a touch of class to your commissions.

Solare Our new FSC ® certified Solare collection is a very unique design inspired by the solar system.

The eye-catching design can really transform a simple painting or photograph, and can also be used as a slip moulding. Available in four colours, including black, white, silver and gold.

Driftwood Float Our Driftwood Float collection is available in two colours to reflect the colours of the Canary Islands – white for the beautiful sands and black for the volcanic stone. This highly versatile collection is great for your canvas commissions.

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Paul Evans

Alan

CANVAS IN THE FRAME

Time after Time

Canvas Gallery in Belfast is a stunning showcase of contemporary art. Cover artist Steph Noble is one of their current favourites and the 4walls team loves her too!

Fall

Paul Evans, owner of Canvas, has been an art lover since school and while attaining his fine art degree he spent his free time selling high end Irish artwork. After graduating, Paul bought a small framing business and relaunched Canvas as an art gallery and picture framers in 2008, famously just months before the global recession. Canvas celebrates its 15th successful year in business in 2023 and, in 2022, relocated to a purpose-built three-story art gallery which has become a global hub for art and framing.

Canvas

Paul and his team are passionate about what they do. He says: “Framing is as much an art form as the paintings themselves. And our team has backgrounds from all over the art world - including textiles, fine art and architecture degrees.”

GROWING THE BUSINESS The art scene in the UK and Ireland has grown significantly over the years and Paul saw this as having huge potential: “We attract artists, collectors and enthusiasts from around the world and it was evident early on that there was an opportunity for a contemporary art and creative framing business in Northern Ireland. We embraced this and it has allowed us to curate exhibitions, feature emerging and established artists, and provide a platform for artistic expression. With our expertise in framing, we also offer bespoke framing services, enhancing the presentation and preservation of artwork for our customers.”

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THE CANVAS TEAM Gallery manager Louise looks after the everyday running of the gallery including personal consultations in art and framing. She also works passionately with artists to source and sell their artwork.

Alan is the head framer and has been working at Canvas for nearly 20 years. Matthew supports the framing team and is also one of the gallery’s represented artists. Abby heads up strategic marketing, gallery hire for private events, and all commercial opportunities.

PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS Canvas Gallery showcases artwork from contemporary artists across the UK and Ireland. Through these beautiful collections, purchasers can add a modern, creative touch to any room for residential or commercial premises.

Cover artist Steph Noble is just one example. Her paintings have been used in national media campaigns and reside in homes and businesses across the world. Her works have been selected for both the Royal Hibernian and Royal Ulster Academy exhibitions 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Steph explores the layers of human emotion and experiences we place upon a landscape and its relevance to how it makes us feel at that point in time. She paints scenes of Ireland and tends towards landscapes that are often overlooked or, at first glance, appear unremarkable. She is predominately a palette knife painter, therefore the final work is usually heavy and textured oil paint on canvas.

Peaceful Salvation

Silent Meander

“We attract artists, collectors and enthusiasts from around the world and it was evident early on that there was an opportunity for a contemporary art and creative framing business in Northern Ireland...”

Head and Heart

Steph Noble

FRAMING

MARKETING

The team at Canvas Gallery has had the pleasure of working with a wide range of unique and unusual items - having framed everything from Carl Frampton’s boxing shorts from his last professional fight, Ronnie O’Sullivan’s snooker cues, a coveted Andy Warhol and, most recently, a document from the Good Friday Agreement anniversary.

MOULDING CHOICES Gallery manager Louise is a fan of LarsonJuhl’s Barefaced Tulip mouldings and the framing department leans on hand painted styles from which they can create some amazing bespoke commissions. Head framer Alan is a huge fan of ash mouldings and uses them religiously for high-end framing jobs adding splines and brass dowels.

North Bull

When it comes to marketing, Paul says: “We take a strategic approach to ensure that we are reaching our target audience. We have a strong online presence and want to ensure that we continue to engage.

We have invested in our website and have implemented augmented reality for customers to visualise art in their home. We also host exhibitions, send email marketing campaigns and collaborate with specialist interior magazines to share insights to a wider audience. However, our strongest marketing tactic is to provide exceptional customer service - it has proven imperative to building positive relationships with our retail and commercial clients. Satisfied customers have become repeat buyers and are valuable advocates for our gallery and framing business.”

Paul continues: “We have established a presence on social media platforms Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to share our work, engage with our current and potential audiences, and to build a community around art and framing services.”

Somewhere Else

Finally, 4walls asked Paul what his favourite aspect is about his business. He says: “So many things! It is a multi-faceted role with retail and commercial clients, artists, events and pushing to develop the business further!”

Find out more at www.canvasgalleries.com and on social channels @canvasgalleries.

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IAN KENNY FRAMER, TRAINER AND

ambassador

Ian Kenny Framing is a family-owned business operating from Hamilton and Larkhall in Scotland. The first retail outlet was opened in Larkhall in 1989, although Ian had been framing his own artwork since 1976. He quickly established a reputation for quality work, and went on to open the Hamilton branch in 1992.

Ian has always supported the GCF programme, and he has been the Guild examiner in Scotland since 1999. He was a director of the Guild for many years, becoming Chairman and Master of the Fine Art Trade Guild from 2015-2019.

He is also a long-standing member of the Guild’s Framing Standards & Qualifications Committee.

Prayer mat

The framing team are very proud to be Accredited Professional Framers who are committed to Continual Professional Development (CPD). This principle was set by Ian back in 1997 when he sat and passed the Fine Art Trade Guild ‘Commended Framer’ exam, making him one of the first qualified framers in Scotland. The GCF programme was replaced by the ‘Guild Certified Framer’ programme in 2015, which provides the UK’s only recognised framing qualification. As well as the base GCF qualification, there are three GCF Advanced modules which cover conservation framing, textile framing and mount design & function. Ian’s is one of only a handful of framing workshops which has all three disciplines covered at GCF Advanced level.

An old portrait in Fenice 364502_2

Today, Larkhall is a dedicated framing workshop manned by Andrew McLaren GCF(APF) Adv and Steve Hanton GCF(APF), while Hamilton is where Ian is based, working alongside Colin Wood, who also looks after all the digital marketing.

From left to right- Andrew McLaren, Ian Kenny, Steve Hanton, Colin Wood

Relationships While professional standards and CPD are of paramount importance to Ian, he is also very much a people person. The best thing about his business, he says, is his customers: “They are genuinely such nice people! More like friends, and that is because we bother to find out about them. Framing is hard work. But I love it!”

Ian has many loyal customers from across the region but he also works hard to attract new business too.

Although a big fan of social media, Ian uses Instagram and Facebook primarily for awareness with sales leads generally coming through the website. Ian says: “I always ask new customers how they found me – and by far the most frequent response is through Google search.”

Medals in Dresden Moulding 468120 and Suedette mountboard SSS008541 Bermuda and SSS008521 Ebony

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And finally, Ian has clearly done an excellent job of explaining the value that premium framing brings.

“It is so important to me that we don’t undersell ourselves after the lengths we go to in terms of quality standards, training and CPD. I really am not afraid to say ‘no’! I always make it clear to new customers that quality has an associated cost – but it’s worth it!”

Instagram @iankennyframing www.iankennyframing.co.uk

Joe Doldon and Alec Palmer Alec Palmer

PictureFramingTraining.com This spring saw the launch of a new, premium training website portal following a discussion between six of the industry’s most respected framers – Jo and Alec Palmer, Ian Kenny, Sharon-Lee McKee, together with Geertjan and Janneke Alkema.

They are all Guild Accredited trainers who have the Fine Art Trade Guild GCF (Guild Certified Framer) accreditation as well as all three available GCF Advanced qualifications. They initially met while volunteering with the Guild’s Framing Standards & Qualifications Committee.

Jo Palmer

Geertjan Alkema

Sharon Lee McKee

Steven McKee

All six are passionate about standards, and many members of the Fine Art Trade Guild will be familiar with Jo and Ian in particular, and also Sharon-Lee’s legend of a husband, Stevie, who sadly passed away last year.

Hundreds of framers have benefitted from the seminars, training sessions, online workshops, guidance and chats at exhibitions that this team of top talent has been involved with over the years.

“We remain as dedicated as ever about what we do, and are now intent on providing the best training in our industry,” Ian told 4walls. “The PictureFramingTraining.com portal was created in response to a demand for easily accessible, high quality, no-nonsense training and business advice.”

“We have all been actively involved in setting industry standards, and developing best working practice. We’ve helped produce study material and CPD articles to support the GCF qualifications and we have day-to-day experience of successfully applying this knowledge in our own businesses.” A perfect blend of the practical and theoretical!

Specifically, there is a five-day Guild Accredited programme for beginners, modular sessions on textile framing, sports shirt framing, conservation framing, 3D item framing, hand finishing moulding, and then exam preparation.

So many framers have learned from Ian and Jo’s wisdom – especially given their involvement in the Fine Art Trade Guild over the years and anyone who speaks to them cannot fail to be impressed and motivated by their passion for the highest possible standards, alongside securing the recognition that it deserves. Ian’s favourite scenario is: “When you have given someone a particular nugget of knowledge and then they come back to you and say: ‘I have done what you suggested–and it worked!’”.

“As important, we are all still working bespoke framers.

Each one of us has built our business from the ground up and still run successful and profitable companies.”

There is a course for framers at all stages, from new entrants to the industry to experienced professionals looking to refresh their knowledge or maybe address an area of concern around profitability and/or getting pricing right, for example, or wanting to train up newer team members.

Joe Doldon and Ian Kenny

Find out more at www.PictureFramingTraining.com

Janneke Alkema

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Barrington Loines was born in Liverpool in 1960.

His high level of creativity and interest in design led him to study for a degree in 3D design at Loughborough College of Art and Design.

Subsequently, he went on to have an accomplished career, culminating in successfully establishing an office furniture and interior design company.

Barrington at the Stowe lauch event

ING IN However, as exciting as all this was, it was his painting that always kept him grounded and, whenever he could, he would steal a few moments away to indulge in his passion for art and specifically oil painting. Barrington told 4walls: “Although I have sold many paintings since my early teens, unfortunately, my artwork always had to come second to the need to work for a living…so painting had to be done on a semi-professional basis. Now that I am a full-time professional artist my artwork, thankfully, takes precedence.”

Entrepreneurial brilliance!

318000127

Barrington and his wife Ann are keen supporters of the National Trust and have been members for several years.

They became increasingly aware that while having thousands of works of art on display from over 300 of their properties, the Trust did not seem to have contemporary paintings of the houses and gardens that patrons of the trust could purchase on their visits!

Barrington approached the National Trust, pointing out the potential gap in the market and explained his vision for beautiful original works which could also

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be used for limited edition prints, open prints and greeting cards - all to be sold exclusively at each property. This idea was welcomed by the Trust and as a consequence he became an official artist to the National Trust in 2019 producing his first collection of six landscapes for the famous Cliveden Estate and gardens.

Unfortunately, the Covid epidemic then struck the nation and so delayed the first exhibition for eighteen months.

Then in August 2021, the first exhibition took place in Cliveden’s prestigious ‘Sounding Chamber’. Due to the success of this venture Barrington was invited to produce a second Cliveden collection – which was launched in 2022. This was then followed by his extremely successful exhibition over the recent May bank holiday at the Stowe Estate near Buckingham. Next up is the Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire in September and then on to Anglesey Abbey (also in Cambridgeshire) next year.

Barrington’s artworks – as the photographs show – really are beautiful.

He specialises in studying and painting the properties through the four seasons, which tell a story in themselves.

He also has a particular affection for the follies that often feature in National Trust landscapes.

When it comes to framing, Barrington says: “Frames really do frame the work! They provide a window if you will, through which the viewer can see the subject matter. To this end, it is important to me to have the right combination that really enhances the art. For my originals, I use Larson-Juhl’s white moulding 318000127, almost like a mount, with the black 432167000 as an outer frame. To give continuity the black frame is also used for

N ART

my limited edition prints – of which there are typically a run of 50 of each piece. The limited edition canvas prints are personally hand embellished before being varnished and framed. I take great pride in the fact that it really is difficult to tell the difference between the original painting and the print once this process is done.”

It is important to Barrington that the artworks for each property have consistency across the collections – the choice of mouldings helps to create this.

Barrington Loines is now an official artist to the National Trust and it’s no surprise that the Trust wants Barrington to paint more of their 330 treasured properties – and they actually want all 330 done! But at a rate of two per year (each collection of six takes six months to complete) – he might run out of time…

In the meantime, he will continue to enjoy his painting, the exhibitions and seeing his work help to tell the National Trust story.

There are all sorts of interesting ways that Barrington’s work is being merchandised including the original paintings, limited edition prints, open prints and greeting cards - all sold on an ongoing basis from the National Trust shops.

Now to almost underline this partnership, art-trails are being created around the properties, take a look at the plaques pictured far left – which are stunning signposts in their own right!

As a footnote, Barrington paints wildlife and horses too, and his wife Ann is also a talented artist. Her style is ‘representational abstract’ taking inspiration from the natural world and using a variety of mediums and stunning colours.

Find out more at www.loinesgallery.co.uk and follow him on Instagram @Barrington.Loines

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Kira the dog with her portrait

Alberto Cacace is a very talented man! His latest achievement is winning a Larson-Juhl scholarship place with the Fine Art Trade Guild, which he is already benefitting from having recently spent two days on a training course at The Framing Lot in Devon with Alec & Jo Palmer and Ian Kenny from Ian Kenny Framing. Larson-Juhl’s sales & marketing director Matt George was also in attendance and 4walls took this opportunity to find out more!

Originally from Napoli, Alberto has painted since he was five-years-old but his journey to becoming a professional artist was by no means straightforward and took many fascinating turns along the way.

At the age of 18 and now living in the UK, Alberto trained as a CAD designer and then went on to work as an architectural technician for nine years. The recession in the 90s brought a change in career.

Gymnastics was already his sport but he took this opportunity to become a professional coach – going on to lead the British Gymnastics team! Come 1996, marriage to Kathryn and the subsequent arrival of daughters Francesca and Rebecca meant having a more conventional job in the form of IT sales management in data storage alongside his sporting commitments.

In 2012, he again became a full-time gymnastics coach, and this continued until 2019 when he started working for South Central Ambulance - Patient Transport. He still does this part-time, but throughout the

2010s he kept up his painting and started to frame his own work.

He acquired second-hand Morso, Keencut and Pistorious machines and basically taught himself. Then in 2020, Alberto decided his passion for art needed to be given more time and so he converted what was an old cowshed into a studio. He began doing more and more commissions and belArto was born! (belArto being an anagram of Alberto – of course!) He works in oil, watercolour, acrylic and mixed media and his subject matter has varied over the years from land-seascapes to people and pet portraits; and more recently loosening his style with abstract work.

In 2022, he upgraded his framing equipment with an Alphamacchine underpinner and a Keencut Futura mount cutter, and as his art and framing offer gained more and more interest he got into sustainability, and he then joined the FATG.

The photographs on this page show some of Alberto’s favourite art, including a beloved (and now missed) rescue dog called Kira. Framing, Alberto believes, completes the artwork.

Alberto learnt huge amounts at the training sessions with Jo & Alec Palmer and Ian Kenny. “I gained so much expertise from framing professionals!

Including calibration of equipment, conservation methods, demonstration of framing business software and how to frame textiles. Also, I just loved talking to the other scholars and exchanging thoughts and ideas. I am now looking forward to taking my exam later in the year.”

In terms of future plans, Alberto says: “I simply want to let the business grow organically and enjoy the journey!”

Libby, Ian, Alec, Jo, Matt, Helen and Alberto

BELLISSIMO BELARTO Talent in the family!

Avid fans of Strictly Come Dancing might recognise Alberto’s surname… his sister is none other than the hugely talented Flavia, who won the competition in 2012. Not only was this a huge source of family pride for Alberto, he was also rooting for Flavia’s partner, of course, Olympic gymnast Louis Smith!

Alberto’s portrait of Flavia (left) is framed in Larson Juhl’s Florentina range.

Flavia and Vincent in Florentina

Original signed limited edition glicee prints are available on request via belArto.co.uk in a choice of Larson-Juhl Frames.

You can follow Alberto on Instagram @belartouk www.belarto.co.uk

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Eiffel 579120

Pedraza

Pepper and Libby outside WhyNot Gallery

10/10 FOR LIBBY 2023 is a big year for WhyNot Gallery’s Libby Naseby – she is celebrating 10 years in business and also having won a Larson-Juhl scholarship with the Fine Art Trade Guild, she hopes to become Certified later this year.

Tate

Libby has been in the art world for over 25 years now. She started off printing photography onto canvas then in 2007 decided that framing would be a good complementary skill, initially using stretcher bars in the main - and Simon Flavill being her original local Arqadia (now Larson-Juhl) rep!

Today WhyNot is thriving and so joining the Fine Art Trade Guild was a natural step.

Libby told 4walls: “Winning the scholarship makes it that much easier, of course, but it is definitely the right time for me. Covid was something of a watershed period. Would the business survive? But having knuckled down and invested in new equipment, that commitment is now paying off.”

Libby frames art and photography commissions, alongside plenty of memorabilia pieces. Her most bizarre commission was 20 Virgin Airlines’ sick bags that featured Japanese artwork!

And one of her favourites is Chris Morgan’s Desperate Dan cartoons.

Libby gets plenty of work via word of mouth but in terms of new business Confetti

Touchstone

This was essentially a side interest to her parents’ homewares shop. Then in 2013, she opened her own business, WhyNot Gallery in Burton upon Trent.

leads, Google is delivering for her big time. “It’s so easy,” she says, “I do it from my phone and it really helps with search, of course. I am also a fan of Instagram.”

When it comes to trends, Libby is currently seeing a rise in demand for metallics and also darker woods.

Her favourite Larson-Juhl mouldings include Ferrosa with its muted brass/ copper effects – with Tate and Eiffel being two other strong sellers.

New techniques like stretching and ruled lines, to name a few. I feel so much more proud of what I do now which in turn means I feel entitled to charge more, make better margins and I feel more comfortable offering premium extras too, a mount fillet perhaps, for example!”

Apart from a warm welcome from Libby, regular visitors to WhyNot are greeted by her adorable miniature schnauzer, Pepper – pictured above left. You can see more of Libby’s work (and Pepper) on Instagram @WhyNot_Gallery www.whynotgallery.co.uk

As a Larson-Juhl scholar, Libby attended a two-day workshop with Alberto, and she learnt so much! “Having decided to really go for it with my framing business, it is important for me to have the endorsement of being Certified. So far, I have been largely self-taught and this ratification will give me a real confidence boost. The course was invaluable. I learnt so much!

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Images in Frames is a contemporary gallery and bespoke framers based in East London. Their two galleries showcase both established and upcoming artists with a significant element of stunning urban art.

The business is run by the dynamic Elton Weale who originally trained as an aircraft engineer and hence he has a passion for precision, design and technical excellence.

ENGINEERING

SUCCESS

Tommy Fiendish at work

Elton was brought up in Zimbabwe and brings an interesting global perspective to the world of picture framing. When he first came to the UK, he worked as a machinery manager for a supplier to the framing industry. While he loved the sector, he got bored, and so decided to let his entrepreneurial spirit take off. The Walthamstow business was opened in 2003 as a bespoke picture framer, which was followed by a second site on Wanstead High Street, before Elton moved into art as well.

In late 2022, the Walthamstow branch was expanded and now comprises of a gallery with a separate workshop just a few doors down the street.

Today, with a team of nine people working alongside him, Elton proudly provides a bestin-class service to his customers, encouraging them to expand their horizons along the way. His engineering principles play a big part in Elton’s delivery of top quality framing because he invests in state-of-the-art equipment. This commitment is complemented by the creativity and craftsmanship of the team who are Fine Art Trade Guild Commended Framers and who spend considerable time working with customers to source the most appropriate artworks, either locally or from across the UK depending on the brief and taking on board current trends and best market prices.

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Walthamstow team - left to right: Rebekah Mayes, Kieran Forde, Elton Weale, Connor Bruce, Dale Gallacher

Environmental commitment Elton’s team use acid free conservation materials and he is passionate about the environment. He says: “It is not really being driven by customers yet but, morally and ethically, we must do whatever we can – purchasing greener supplies whenever possible and also minimising waste, reusing and recycling. We reuse as much packaging, like corrugated card, as we possibly can. We have also introduced LED lighting absolutely everywhere and are actively seeking out other ways to minimise our impact on the planet.”

Elton has worked with Larson-Juhl for many years and his area sales manager Derrick Hicks is “always on it! He knows I love to see new products and especially when the range is FSC and also good looking! When the Chaise Longue range arrived, that got me very excited! I love its clean, classic design and it has a good shape to it. And I like the colour. People are really starting to want more colour these days. And, of course, Chaise Longue is FSC approved!

talking. JJ Adams, Simon Wright, Ben Jeffery, Paul Oz and Evy Meehan are among the most popular.

A particular favourite is Tommy Fiendish, who graduated with a first-class degree from LCC, University of the Arts London in 2018. He then explored many creative paths including TV set design, tattoo art as well as music before setting his sights on becoming a professional artist.

Colour plays an important role in Tommy’s work and he guides the observer through his magical imagination across a sea of colour, deserted buildings, and majestic animals, often with darkly humorous overtones.

Tommy has exhibited at Saatchi Gallery, The London Art Fair as well as many other fairs and galleries across the UK. Find out more about Elton’s business at www.imagesinframes.com and on Instagram @imagesinframeswalthamstow

“Another benefit of a visit from Derrick is to find out what is going on in the industry. Without any trade shows anymore, it’s important to catch up!”

IIF Gallery Going forward, Elton is segmenting his business more into the separate framing and art specialisms. A new website is being developed for IIF Gallery which will focus Tommy Fiendish’s Flamingo on Spiral in Larson-Juhl’s 213126171 inside 601127000 on artwork, while the Images in Frames site will concentrate on bespoke picture framing. As part of Elton’s plans to keep building the framing business as a premium offer, Elton is going to include a much more extensive portfolio of content, covering the craft and skills involved, extensive details about the products, sustainability, and much more.

IIF Gallery will showcase the broad range of work that Elton is now known for – including some highly contemporary urban art which is guaranteed to get customers

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Bespoke Framing

Amanda in front of her chevron display wall

En-Abeld Frame-Abel in the small village of Tockwith in York has framed huge amounts of work from major artists and clients, all under the leadership of Amanda Brown who has even bigger ideas for the business going forward.

Amanda has been a picture framer for 18 years, and started working at a local family-run framers whilst undertaking an interior design diploma. After completing the course, she realised she had been bitten by the framing bug and decided to pursue this as a career. That small local framers had kick-started her career with a wealth of knowledge. Sadly they closed down, but were kind enough to sell their machinery and stock to Amanda, who opened Frame-Abel in 2007.

Of course, interior design and framing go hand in hand, and her diploma gives her a unique insight into framing, helping her to take a bespoke approach every time and consider where the finished piece is going to be displayed, which is something she has passed onto her team: “The training for a team member is tricky as every framing order and customer requirement is different. It’s important that they can adapt to that and not just learn a skill or technique as a standard process to implement. I think I achieved that and felt proud to watch my team grow in confidence and skill set.”

This approach is particularly important with the increase in This for approach particularly important with increase in demand for demand framingis 3D objects: “People want to the preserve framing 3D objects: “People want to preserve precious precious items. It’s difficult for someone to buy a standard items. It’s difficult forand someone buy a standard frame and that themselves.

Customers frame do thattothemselves.

Customers also do welcome advice also welcome advice on layout and framing styles, which is what we do on layout and framing styles, which is what we do best!” Some best!”

Some of her unusual 3D commissions of her most unusual 3Dmost commissions include a weddinginclude dress a wedding dress (pictured) a suit worn Montague

by Baron Montague at the King’s (Pictured) and even aand suiteven worn

by Baron at the King’s Coronation (pictured), which is now on display in Beaulieu Coronation (Pictured), which is now on display in Beaulieu Park.Park.

As well as a range of more unusual commissions, Amanda is proud to work with and develop relationships with local artists: “I have a wonderful variety of local artists that come to me for their framing. As they’re regular customers, you can’t help but create a relationship over the years.

It feels lovely when they return time after time and trust you with their artwork. I’m proud to say I have framed some Banksy and Lowry pieces too.”

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Amanda hard at work in her framing workshop

Baron Montague’s suit

Framing Favourites From bold colours to the simple and sophisticated, Amanda turns to Larson-Juhl for all her framing needs: “Larson-Juhl has served me well over the 16 years I’ve run Frame Abel, and I regularly use their mountboards, glass and sundries. It’s handy that some of the more wacky colours come in packs of three sheets so I don’t need to hold a huge stock of the less common colours. It means I can offer the entire range, which my more adventurous customers love.

“I’ve noticed a trend amongst local artists to have artwork float mounted, either to show a deckled edge, detail right at the edge of the

Amanda with two ‘The Light Infantry’ flags, framed in Larson-Juhl mouldings

paper or just creating a shadow for effect.

People are loving the ultra-clear glass too often they see the display sample before I even get to that and want to know all about it!

“Personally, my favourite Larson-Juhl mouldings have to be from the designer ranges. They are superb quality and a real pleasure to work with.

However, one of my most popular mouldings is the ever-faithful deep rebate black.”

Online ordering makes it easy for Amanda to check stock levels and order whatever she needs for her commissions too: “I always order via the website. It’s really useful to check stock and create an order that reaches the carriage paid threshold.”

Multi-faceted marketing Amanda uses lots of different channels to promote her business and spread the name far and wide: “I market my business in local magazines, directories and local event programmes. I’ve had adverts on local radio and I promote the business on social media. Instagram and Facebook are the main ones I use.”

She also makes good use of the online resource centre on the Larson-Juhl website, which is an ideal one stop shop if you need tips and advice about your own framing business, want to develop your skills or need support with social media.

Framed wedding dress

Amanda outside Frame-Abel

The joy of framing It’s safe to say that Amanda has found her calling: “It’s great that every day is different… every hour is different! I love the handover of finished work too, not just for ticking it off the to do list but because the joy it brings to customers is so rewarding.”

To see more from Amanda and Frame-Abel, follow the business on Instagram @frameabel

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Ironbridge Fine Arts

Bespoke Framing

This stunning Acrylic on Canvas needed a frame that would complement the tone and detail within the artwork, as well as sympathetically sit within an Elizabethan-style manor. Ironbridge Fine Arts picked the perfect solution - Sevilla 750543. Its soft silver finish and ornate design picks up on the tones and patterns in the painting, and fits in perfectly with the rest of the 1889 manor.

Emerald Frames Emerald Frames framed these film posters, which were to be the finishing touches of the customer’s home after a renovation project. These fun and bright posters are perfect for our Confetti 140647 and 140639 mouldings.

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This stunning oil on canvas was painted by young up-and-coming artist George Groves, and was comissioned to hang in a customer’s home.

Bespoke Framing has chosen Andover Float 237126477 - popular amongst their customers to complement the tones in the painting.

Whynot Gallery This vintage Morris badge was framed by Whynot Gallery as a gift for a lady’s husband who used to own a Morris himself. They have used our Gramercy 146790 moulding alongside Beaujoulais 8151 and A4917 linen mountboard, finished with TruVue Ultravue AR70 glass.

V&C Creative Framing This unique piece is a tea towel, framed

by V&C Creative Framing. They have chosen a copper effect moulding and our linen gingersnap TTT008505 mountboard, which they love working with to bring extra dimension to their commissions.

Kingston Gallery Ironbridge Fine Arts This mixed media painting is by Shropshire artist Sarah Keeling, and is part of a collection displayed in The Secret Severn Art Trail.

Ironbridge Fine Arts framed the whole collection in our new Driftwood Float 230131975 moulding to give a uniform finish and bring out the shadowy tones in the artwork.

This oil painting was bought on holiday as a memento of a romantic break away, and later brought to Kingston Gallery to be framed so it could be displayed in the customer’s living room. The bold colours are beautifully accompanied by our simple TouchRustic 991155235 moulding.

Kingston Gallery

Studio 18 Picture Framing

This beautiful Dandelion watercolour painting has been expertly framed by Kingston Gallery. The customer decided on a more muted Colorato 382700521 frame to let the artwork shine.

This print is titled Agnus, by Konstantin Korobov, and is framed in our Marais II 657593 moulding and finished with AR70 art glass. This was framed by Scott at Studio18 Picture Framing to display in his own house.

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Outset Gallery’s youngest customer!

FRAMING A CREATIVE COMMUNITY Evan O’Connor, the owner of The Frame Shop near Galway, wasn’t always a passionate framer.

However, his path in life led him back home and he soon realised it was his calling all along.

Retail space in Outset Gallery

The Frame Shop has always been familyowned, and was first opened by Evan’s father in 1999. “I used to help out after school but didn’t have much interest in becoming a framer,” Evan told 4walls. “My brother took over the business, and when I found myself jobless at 19 I decided to help out. It became my full-time job and pretty soon I realised I had a passion for the trade and have loved every work day since.”

After his brother decided to emigrate to Canada in 2011, Evan had to decide if he was going to go back to working for someone else, or if he was going to take the reins. “I went travelling around the world for six months and came home to set up The Frame Shop.” Fast forward to today and he now has a complementary business called Outset, which was set up in collaboration with two artists, Luke Reidy and Tom McClean. The business includes a gallery space, which showcases artwork from local artists, as well as a retail space where customers can buy artwork and other locally made products.

Outset even holds events where independent vendors can network and sell their goods too.

A Family of Framers Evan has a background in music so knows a lot of musicians and has made lots of friends over the years. He has nine team members across his two store locations: “All staff members were friends and musicians which I poached from other jobs, and no one has left yet!” Most of their training is completed in-house, and occasionally Evan will invite in an expert to share their skills and teach them any new techniques and methods. It’s safe to say Evan has created his own little framing family, which helps to build a friendly community space for customers and artists.

Left to right - Luke Reidy, Evan O’Connor, Tom McLean

Customer Commissions Having a gallery space of course attracts lots of artists who are looking to get their work framed: “We are very lucky to have loyal customers, including fantastic artists Lola Donoghue, Ciara O’Neill and Siobhan McNutt who are making big waves in the art world.”

A framed piece inside a customer’s home

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The bold and exciting gallery space and the creative work that’s showcased also makes for some interesting Facebook and Instagram posts, which is how Evan is able to reach customers far and wide. “I’ve noticed that people are investing a lot more in art and framing than they used to.

A large framed piece using Larson-Juhl moulding

Customers outside Outset Gallery

“We are lucky to have very creative staff members who have a brilliant eye for original coloured mounts and frame combinations. Customers notice this on our socials, and keep coming back for more. This has gained us loyal customers all over the country.”

This makes for quite an eclectic mix of work for Evan and the team to frame, including sports jerseys, personal mementos and even a shedded snake skin! Although each commission is completely unique and the team are fantastic at creating bespoke framing solutions, one of their most popular mouldings is Larson-Juhl’s white Coastal Woods moulding. This beautifully simple moulding is a great staple for the shop, and works particularly well for art pieces as it allows the work to truly shine.

They also exclusively use Larson-Juhl mountboards because they are such a pleasure to work with and create stunning finished pieces every time. With the amount of Larson-Juhl products they use, the online ordering system is particularly useful to keep up with stock levels and order products quickly and easily.

Evan has thrown himself into the framing world and helped to create a community of artists and customers alike, bringing their most treasured memories and beautiful artworks to life with his framing solutions.

“I love my work, particularly getting sneak peeks at all the artists’ collections before they are shown to the public.

My favourite thing is coming in after hours and working quietly with no music or distraction, which works as a form of meditation.”

The team outside The Frame Shop

Find out more about The Frame Shop by visiting their website www.theframeshop.ie

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A Castle of Artists and Framers Castle Fine Arts and Framing is a well established, family-run business which started out in 1998 in a small side street of Brampton, Cumbria. Initially known as Studio 2000, it has gained quite a reputation with some of the region’s most talented artists, and has grown exponentially since it first opened under the direction of Mike Minns.

From that small side street, the business first expanded to take over four stalls in Carlisle City Market, where it began to catch the attention of local artists and customers. Business soon picked up with more contract framing work and they had to expand into an industrial unit where they could make their own stock frames. Finally, they decided they needed a base of operations to consolidate their work and refurbished a large retail space in 2003. This is when they rebranded to Castle Framing and is where they are based to this day.

Customers enjoying the gallery opening event

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Mike

Framing Expertise Mike and the team offer a wealth of knowledge and expertise that have helped them to gain their stellar reputation: “Our longstanding commitment to customer satisfaction and product knowledge is, we believe, the key factor in the success we enjoy today.” Castle Framing offers a full picture framing service with all the work carried out in their specialised Brampton-based workshop, overseen by their very own Guild Commended Framer.

Their investment in state-of-the-art machinery allows them to cater for many printing and mount options. This includes a computerised mount cutter that can cut custom designs, ordinary mounts and glass, as well as large format printers so they are able to cater to those looking for canvas prints, cards and Giclee prints. Complementing all of this work is a range of Larson-Juhl mouldings and sundries, helping to complete their commissions.

Growth of a Gallery Enterprise During their growth, Mike began to realise there was a real decline in gallery and art spaces, particularly in the north of the country. Carlisle alone had no independent commercial art galleries left at all.

“Opportunities for local artists to exhibit are naturally a bit limited,” Mike explained. “So when the office space I rented out above my business became vacant, I decided to make a bold decision and convert the upper floors into a contemporary art gallery. I didn’t have the time to manage such a venture and run my framing establishment, so invited three local artists - Stuart Fraser, Annie Stride and Carl Fitton - to join the venture and manage the project from the start.”

There’s been plenty of renovations and marketing activity over the years, including building a new brand, creating and populating social channels and launching a website. The team’s hard work has resulted in the opening of four exciting gallery spaces, including Gallery North West, where they held a great opening event earlier this year.

“We received some amazing feedback from our customers, who were delighted with the quality of our artists and the gallery itself. They loved the atmosphere created throughout the evening by the classical guitar playing of local impresario Scott Bradley.”

Exterior of Gallery North West and Castle Framing

There’s still lots that Mike and the team want to achieve, but they have come a very long way from the small side street in Brampton. “It has been a long journey since we began trading in 1998, but we are very proud of not only supporting local artists from the start, but now being able to offer them an exciting and beautiful exhibition space.

Our rolling events programme is attracting artists from south of the county and the north east coast, so word is spreading and the future is exciting.”

Artistic Adventures As a framer, Mike has of course been amongst art for years now, and it becomes rather difficult to not be influenced by it!

Mike is a very keen walker and has recently returned from a trip to Nepal and Everest base camp. “It was really an ambition born from years of framing photographs for Doug Scott, a well-known Cumbria mountaineer made famous around the world after he became the first Englishman to summit

Everest with Scot Dougal Haston. Something about those photographs appealed to the walker in me. The trip was everything I hoped for and the terrain was just breathtaking… I’m itching to go back now!”

Find out more about Castle Framing by visiting their website www.castle-picture-framing.co.uk

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The Beatles painting ‘Images of a Woman,’ photographed by Robert Whitaker

THE POWER OF ART AND MUSIC

Paul Aspell is the brains behind Eazl, a creative social enterprise that organises projects and events focused on art and music.

Their activities support different charities, and they work alongside famous artists and musicians to bring the projects to life.

Paul found his passion for helping people through the arts after reconnecting with an old friend, Charles, ten years ago.

Paul found out that Charles was struggling with mental health difficulties after losing his art studio and wanted to help.

Paul was impressed by Charles’s work and proposed taking one of his paintings to Le Gavroche, a London-based Michelin star restaurant. The feedback and encouragement from Michel Roux Jr, who runs the restaurant, helped inspire Charles to re-start his practice and continue to do what he loved.

Paul later launched Eazl to continue to help people and donate to good causes, bringing in writer and journalist Richard Unwin to help steer the new enterprise. The two have worked together on numerous amazing projects over the last decade, starting with their first project, ‘Art in a Box’, in 2014. Organised in partnership with mental health charity, Upbeat Music, the project included recruiting famous faces such as Chris Martin, Joanna Lumley and Paul Whitehouse, giving them a box of art supplies and asking them to paint what being upbeat meant to them. The work was later auctioned off to raise funds for the charity.

Eazl has continued to come up with positive and engaging projects that support more amazing charities. Other projects have included ‘The Great Teddy Bear Project’ which involved making teddy bears out of jeans donated by famous figures, and ‘Art in a Corner,’ endorsed by no other than Sir Paul McCartney.

The team’s latest work in progress is titled ‘No Strings Attached,’ and is in partnership with Gibson Gives, the foundation arm of Gibson guitars, committed to promoting better wellbeing through the power of music. The project involves getting artists to paint the front of an acoustic guitar following the ‘Paint Your Song’ theme. Hertfordshire—based framers, Menor, have offered their services to frame the artworks, and Larson-Juhl is of course providing mouldings too. The artwork is set to be displayed in London later this year, with an auction to follow to raise funds for Gibson Gives and Retune, a charity that inspires young people to improve their mental wellbeing through creative outlets such as music and the arts. We can’t wait to see the final pieces!

Find out more about Eazl and the other projects they have completed on their website www.eazl.co.uk

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Alan and his wife, Amanda, were ready to leave their old jobs behind, and this was their golden opportunity to make their dreams come true! His wife, Amanda had gained some great customer service and design experience after working at a high-end jeweller in Reigate for 5 years extremely useful when opening your own framing business!

Alan and Amanda James are the dream team behind Smithbrook Picture Framing. Their combined experience provides the perfect skill-set to deliver amazing framing solutions time and time again.

Alan trained as a carpenter and studied cabinet-making at Guildford College in the 1980s, before finding an advert at the local jobcentre for a ‘trainee picture framer.’ At 18 years old, Alan started his framing career

Many of their commissions are for very sentimental items, and customers are always thrilled by the creativity and quality of the outcome. Their favourite LarsonJuhl mouldings include Prague, Marais, Silver and Imperial, but each commission is given a bespoke approach. Amanda is fantastic at picking out the perfect design: “I love interacting with customers and enjoy seeing their eyes light up when I suggest something that will really bring the artwork to life. Usually, they come in with preconceived ideas about what they want and leave with something completely different. Showing them the completed piece gives us so much pleasure, and to see the reviews that our lovely customers leave makes all the hard work very worthwhile.

A Dream Come True at

Smithbrook Framing

Left to right - Amanda, their daughter Elisabeth, and Alan

at Forest Galleries Guildford and, over the years, learnt a whole host of skills. After aspiring to open his own framing business for years, and hearing that the previous owners of Smithbrook Picture Framing were looking to retire, Alan took the plunge and bought the business in 2019. Both

Convenient Chop Service The Larson-Juhl chop service alongside the online ordering system saves them lots of time and hassle: “We order chop via our portal login as being able to check stock levels is really useful when managing customer expectations. We place two orders a week and they arrive within a few days. We can then crack on with joining and get that glue drying! This saves on wood

A collection of leaves suspended in a frame

Amanda with a big vintage Gulliver’s Whisky poster

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waste and avoids all the annoying offcuts that will never get used and end up in our wood burner at home.

And, of course, we are saving on our Morso blade resharpening!”

To find out more about Smithbrook Picture Framing and see more of their work, visit their website www.smithbrookpictureframing.co.uk

Nigel Crow, the director of Shop for Frames, has always been entrepreneurial at heart. He’s now pouring his passion into the business and creating a hub of inspiration for the community.

Nigel and his wife moved from South Africa in 2016 with a passion for owning his own business, and opened his own T-shirt company in 2017 known as Taken Tees. The designs, all created by Nigel on Photoshop, were designed to celebrate engagements. Customers spanned across the world, with plenty in the US, and were encouraged to share their shirts on Instagram. This helped to build on Nigel’s entrepreneurial skill set, including online marketing and design, which would put him in good stead for opening his own framing business.

Shop for Frames was opened in January of 2020, and although they had a rocky start due to the pandemic, the fact they’re still open and thriving is a true testament to Nigel’s and his team’s dedication. Nigel focuses on marketing the business, while his manager, Mandy, Gareth, and Saturday worker Craig, are on hand to keep an eye on the shop and look after customers. Many customers come in and ask for Mandy by name, Nigel explained: “We have had customers come in asking for a black frame, and Mandy is excellent at offering alternatives like a purple frame with a yellow mount - she’s got a fantastic eye for what looks good.” The team are very close-knit, often getting together for a few drinks, which helps to create the friendly feel that Shop for Frames is all about.

Nigel and Mandy sitting at the coffee bar

Framed mug encouraging customers to grab a drink

A Shop Selling More Than Frames Creating a Community Space Nigel has a real passion for creating an inspiring space that shows off his and his team’s skills, as well as making sure his customers are well looked after and feel like part of a community. “I’m a framer first and foremost,” Nigel said, “but we do so much more than that - we have so many 5 star reviews because of our customer service. We have a nice foyer area where you can have a coffee. We even have a framed mug that says help yourself! It’s particularly nice to have when customers come in six at a time, and makes them feel welcome.”

One of their most common framing requests is for personal memorabilia, which of course is very precious and meaningful to lots of customers: “Customers came across wedding photos or

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old sketches relatives had done whilst clearing out in lockdown, decided they wanted to redecorate and get it framed.” One of the more unique pieces they recently framed included a customer’s late wife’s diary, who decided to have the page from the date they got engaged framed.

“The customers are one of my favourite things about having my own framing business. You never know who you’re going to meet or what you’re going to frame. Customers have even cried or hugged us when collecting their pieces.” Nigel has even built friendships because of his person-centred approach to the business. What started as a request to frame a scratch map, showing where the customer had travelled, turned into a great friendship and led to Nigel being the best man at that customer’s wedding! The speech, of course, mentioned the scratch map.

Famous Framing Requests As well as plenty of personal items, Shop for Frames has had some special requests from famous figures and artists. One that particularly stands out, and made Nigel completely starstruck, was Michael Schumacher’s racing suit from 2004! Such a precious item needed the premium treatment, so the team hand-delivered the final piece and even arranged for it to be professionally hung.

Framing Processes Shop for Frames makes great use of Larson-Juhl’s online ordering system and chop service. “The system is very simple to use. We order chop for some of our bespoke commissions and as long as it’s ordered before 12 o’clock it’s here the next day! We often quote customers two to three weeks to complete work, but it’s often finished in one thanks to the quick and easy system.”

One of Nigel’s favourite mouldings, and one that lots of his customers love too, is our Confetti mouldings. “I love the range of colours available, it’s great for decorating and really versatile. I’ve found that the 140 profile is most popular, and the larger 150 is great for framing decorative mirrors.”

Looking to the Future

Michael Schumacher’s framed racing suit, ready for delivery

Nigel is very focused on marketing the business, and utilises a range of online platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even YouTube. All of Shop for Frames’ YouTube videos are produced

by Nigel: “It’s a nice place to direct customers so they can find out more about what we do and get people excited about the business.” The Shop for Frames brand has also been trademarked, with plans to franchise the business in the future.

It’s clear that Nigel’s entrepreneurial skills have been put to great use!

Find out more about Shop for Frames by visiting their website www.shopforframes.com

Shop For Frames’s manager, Mandy

Left to right - Nigel, Gareth, Craig and Mandy

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Robert and Liam Robert and Lois Robert at Stop n Frame in Dalkeith

Robert kept in touch with a number of customers while working away from the framing world which is a testament to how much he really did love it throughout his first stint from 2013-2019.

On his return, he has really noticed that those framers who are prospering are the ones with confidence in their offer. He told 4walls that:

“My most successful customers today are the ones who push the premium nature of their work, promoting what they do and showcasing the quality of their offer alongside their skills and crafts. This runs from their physical shops through to their social media.

“It also extends to the range of mouldings they offer. Stocking PEFC and FSC approved collections, for example, makes a statement about quality, while also delivering better margins. This is a classic case of pushing value versus cost. Professional framers are a talented bunch and this deserves to be recognised in reputation and financial terms!”

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From a colour perspective, Robert is seeing a new confidence amongst consumers who are looking for more of a design-led approach and

IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK! Area sales manager Robert McKeown is loving being back in his role covering Scotland and Cumbria, after three years experiencing some other industries.

Robert re-joined Larson-Juhl last December because, basically, he missed working in a sector that is built on relationships.

more decorative options, like gold finishes, for example, alongside a decline in the greys.

Robert lives in Dundonald in Ayrshire with his partner Kirsten. He has two children - Lois (15) and Liam (13). His interests include football, travelling, cooking and listening to podcasts while driving round the country. Robert has also taken up running and has done a few half marathons.

On his return, Robert says: “I’m delighted to be back at Larson-Juhl, it still has a real family run feel to it. We’re excited about the service we can once again provide our customers and thankful for their business.”

Robert is a big fan of Instagram and loves how many of his customers are using the platform to drive awareness and indeed sales. You can follow him @robert_larsonjuhl.

Robert checking out Edinburgh Arts’ automated glass cleaning machine

ADDING DEPTH TO YOUR FRAME DESIGNS A MASTERCLASS WITH JON PRICE GCF (APF)

Clearly the answer to the question ‘How do you add depth to a frame?’ is ‘use a deeper moulding’, but there is a lot more to adding depth to a frame design than making it physically deeper. I’m talking about perceived depth; drawing the viewer’s eye towards the artwork, enhancing perspective or simply adding interest and value to the overall design. Next question; why bother? The answer is both the underlying message in most of my framing articles and the philosophy on which I run a successful bespoke framing business.

Time and again I see examples of bespoke framers trying to match or undercut their competitors rather than consider what they can offer that their competitors do not.

The mistake is in thinking that customers are primarily motivated by price. At the bottom end of the market they are, and, if that’s where you’re aiming, you might as well stop reading right now. But, if all customers are motivated by price, why do luxury car manufacturers sell so many cars? The answer is that many people feel that their choice of luxury car brand offers them more than a lower priced make. My point is this: offer more and charge more. Up your skill set and up your prices. Which brings me nicely back to the subject in hand.

Shadow mounts One of the most obvious ways of adding depth to a design is to shadow mount.

This can be done very subtly, lifting the window mount up a few millimetres using a single layer of mountboard, or more obviously using foamboard or numerous mountboard layers. Shadow mounts can also be created between each layer of a multiple mount or to lift window mounts away from a float mount. There are many options and I encourage you to explore at least some of them.

Float mounting creates depth around a piece of artwork. The artwork is placed on the face of a mountboard with a hidden foam or mountboard spacer between the two. Combine this technique with a deeper shadow mount or multiple mounts and it is really effective. Just to make a point, artwork does not need to be stuck or glued to the spacing board in order to float mount. ‘Pass through hinges’ offer a reversible conservation alternative. If you’re not familiar with ‘pass through hinges’ get in touch and I’ll explain the technique.

A shadow mount: One of the simplest ways to create a feeling of depth.

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Multiple mounts Another simple way of adding depth to a design is the use of multiple mounts. Present your customers with the option of multiple mount designs and you will sell more of them. I regularly sell treble and quadruple mounts simply because I have framed examples on the wall and present multiple mount designs at my sales desk. With the right artwork multiple mounts of different colours can be very effective. However, multiple mounts of the same colour really emphasise depth.

A variation on the multiple mount is the sandwich mount. A basic version involves adhering a black core and a white core board and cutting an aperture through them both, creating a striped bevel. This technique can be applied to as many layers as you wish. The only limit being the maximum blade depth of your mountcutter. You could also combine thicker and thinner boards to emphasise depth. To make creating sandwich mounts easier, check out Larson-Juhl’s layered core mountboards.

Three techniques combined: Multiple mounts, a V-groove & a bevelled moulding.

Artwork: Single Fin Collective

Moulding Being able to add depth or perspective to a frame via the moulding is useful in itself but it is even more so when mounts aren’t part of the design. A deep scoop or bevelled moulding is an effective way of adding a little depth. Stacking mouldings can be even more impactful. ‘Stacking’ is another salesdesk regular of mine. Like multiple mounts, I sell a lot of stacked moulding designs simply because I make a point of offering them. To emphasise depth, stack matching mouldings or join a wider outer moulding with a narrow inner. In the picture of stacked mouldings on the left I’ve combined mouldings from Larson-Juhl’s Coastal Woods range. In this case the narrower moulding is on the outside but it is joined to a wider bevelled moulding.

Look at the shadow on the left hand side of this stacked frame and you’ll see how much depth the frame provides.

Painting: Chris Edwards.

Deep bevel mounts At their simplest, deep bevel mounts are a very straightforward way to create depth and make a frame design stand out. Instead of using standard 1400 micron mountboard use 2400 or 3500 micron board. Bevel wrapping tape provides an option for bevels of at least 3cm in depth.

It’s common to see float mounted artwork recessed using spacers in a deep moulding. Why not try the same thing with window mounted artwork? Use wooden spacers or mount and foamboard ‘spacers’ to set the window mount as far as half way back in the frame. Don’t go too far back though or the artwork can get a little lost. This technique is particularly effective if the artwork has an element of depth to its composition, for example, a view along a road or river.

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For deep, deep bevels: Bevel Wrapping Tape.

Fillets Fillets inside a mount aperture add a subtle depth to a frame and help to draw the viewer’s eye towards the artwork. To enhance the feeling of depth, stack contrasting fillets one inside the other, add fillets to a shadow mount, or use multiple mounts each with fillets.

We know from optical illusions that ‘lines’ can create a perception of depth. This can be utilised using V-grooves, ruled lines and multiple window mounts. The general idea is to decrease the distance between ruled lines and V-grooves, or the amount of visible border shown on subsequent mounts, as they get closer to the artwork. Open V-grooves can emphasise the depth of thicker mountboard. In situations where a moulding is not deep enough to house more than a single mount, or diffused glazing is required, an inlay mount will help to create a feeling of depth.

Fillets add subtle depth & draw the eye in to the picture.

Painting: Mark Myers PPRSMA.

3-D objects When framing three-dimensional items, the depth of a frame is naturally increased to house the object. However, just as we can use lines and visible mount borders to create the impression of depth, with poor framing choices 3-D objects can appear to be two-dimensional pictures, literally and metaphorically defeating the object! Ironically, it can therefore be helpful to increase a design’s perceived depth even when framing an object. An interesting way of doing this is to position a window mount at the back of the frame rather than against the glass. Another technique is to hide LED lighting under a shadow mount. Use dimmable LEDs to get the amount of light and shadow just right.

Having read this I hope that you’ll agree that there is a great deal more to increasing a frame’s depth than simply using a deeper moulding or extending the rebate. From shadow mounts, to ruled lines and LED lighting there are a whole range of ways in which we can add depth, perspective and interest to a frame. So much so, that we can even make threedimensional objects appear more…..err, three-dimensional.

Jon Price GCF (APF) has framed for world renowned museums, artists, photographers and designers. As an experienced educator Jon offers individually designed framing tuition & consultation. Jon owns & runs Handmade Framing & Gallery near Bude, North Cornwall. www.handmadepictureframing.co.uk 01288 321221

3-D objects can appear two -dimensional unless the framing helps create an impression on depth.

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creative corner

Welcome to Creative Corner - the 4walls feature that celebrates the creativity of our customers and the stunning work that the Larson-Juhl team have seen on their travels across the UK and Ireland. This time we are featuring Declan Casey from Image Solutions in Swansea, who actually started as a photographer in 2006.

Up until 2014 he was using a different framer, but it wasn’t up to standard, so Declan decided to take a framing course and start doing it himself. He then moved into a bigger studio that gave him the space he needed to complete bespoke framing orders.

Prague 441 077

“Bespoke framing has taken over!” Declan told 4walls, “I still do photography, but I don’t push it as much.” He is now the only bespoke picture framer in Swansea, and has even launched a mobile framing service so he can take the shop to his customers.

Declan was actually asked by a few of his customers if he framed wedding dresses: “I never say no to anything! I decided to look into it, and found this dress hanging in an antique shop. I got it and decided to make it into a showpiece for the shop.” It took almost two days to complete, and the final framed piece sits at 5ft tall, so working with heavy jumbo glass and large mouldings was a challenge in itself. They have used a Larson-Juhl Dresden slip moulding and a Prague moulding to create this beautifully ornate frame, finished off with black suedette mount for the backing.

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The dress itself is on a black mannequin bust to give it shape, and even has lights inside to add a stunning final touch.

When asked what his favourite thing is about what he does, Declan said: “The reactions I get from customers - I love to see their surprised looks.” With a piece this magnificent in the window, we’re certain that he gets the reaction he’s looking for all the time!

To find out more about Image Solutions, visit their website www.imagesolutionswales.co.uk

Final adjustment of Morso blades Peter in front of his Larson-Juhl chevron display wall

The Ultimate Framers Guide Morso blade changing

Adjusting bushes on the cutting head

Peter Stanlick from Framers Equipment is a guru in all things framing, with 38 years of experience behind him.

We asked him about what equipment he provides, and what you should invest in if you’re new to the industry.

Peter’s career began at Magnolia Mouldings in Essex, where he manufactured mouldings and supplied framing equipment worldwide. He showed a keen interest in engineering before taking the opportunity to become an assistant trainee engineer for Framers Equipment. He said: “This was the pivotal point in my career that led me into the framing industry and where I gained most of my experience.” Fast forward to 2000 and Peter had the chance to become the new owner of Framers Equipment.

Everything a Framer Needs

Adjusting moulding fences using an engineer’s square, supplied by Framers Equipment

Framers Equipment has a huge range of equipment for all your framing needs. This includes machines for cutting and joining mouldings, mount cutting and substrate cutting, laminating and heat sealing, hand finishing tools and framing sundries. It can be difficult for a new framer to know where to start, which is why we asked Peter what the most important pieces of equipment are: 1 M orso Mitre Guillotine/Cassese Saw

gives you precision mitre cuts.

2 C assese Underpinner, ideally with a

clamp, produces consistent quality joints, which is particularly important for the bespoke framer using glue.

Peter repairing equipment

3 M ountcutter with the ability to cut

regular and thick mountboard if you like to work creatively and follow fashionable trends. We recommend Keencut and Fletcher mountcutters.

4 Wall Mounted Multi Material Cutter

to cut glass, acrylic, backing boards and mountboards. This will possibly save you more time and space than any other piece of equipment in the workshop! Again, we recommend the Keencut or Fletcher material cutter.

Alongside what equipment you should start with, Peter also offered some insight into what you should take into consideration when buying new equipment: ■

he nature of your business: The T equipment required for bespoke framing will be different to the equipment needed for production framing.

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ocation: The equipment you will need L depends on whether your business is home-based, a shop, a gallery or an industrial unit. Be considerate of any surrounding neighbours too when working with noisy machines!

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vailable workshop space: Space A dictates which machines you are able to install and the services you are able to offer. You will need a separate clean area for mount cutting away from the dirty area used for cutting and joining.

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aterial: The machines you purchase M must work well with the materials you will be using.

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uy the best and most versatile B machine you can afford to save future expenses.

Sharing That Wealth of Knowledge As well as providing everything a framer needs, Peter and his brother Jan Stanlick GCF (APF) offer training courses based on the Fine Art Trade Guild four levels of framing.

Jan Stanlick Peter ran some training courses at the Larson-Juhl open day in February, which was very well received and reminded our customers around the country that there’s always something new to learn!

Find out more about Framers Equipment on their website www.framersequipment.co.uk w

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