Bespoke Framing 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 demand for framing 3D objects: “People want to preserve precious items. It’s difficult for someone to buy a standard frame and do that themselves. Customers also welcome advice on layout and framing styles, which is what we do best!” Some of her most unusual 3D commissions include a wedding dress (Pictured) and even a suit worn by Baron Montague at the King’s Coronation (Pictured), which is now on display in Beaulieu Park.

This approach is particularly important with the increase in demand for framing 3D objects: “People want to preserve precious items. It’s difficult for someone to buy a standard frame and do that themselves. Customers also welcome advice on layout and framing styles, which is what we do best!” Some of her most unusual 3D commissions include a wedding dress (pictured) and even a suit worn by Baron Montague at the King’s Coronation (pictured), which is now on display in Beaulieu 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.”

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 paper or just creating a shadow for effect. People are loving the ultra-clear glass toooften 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.

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