VIRTUAL FRAMING WHEN TECHNOLOGY MEETS CREATIVITY
MOUNTING CHALLENGES • GUIDE TO EMPLOYER LIABILITY
Contents
PFM is a member of:
Volume 31, Number 6
PPFA, The Professional Picture Framers Association ACC, Art Copyright Coalition SOG, Society of Gilders
On the Cover
The COVID-19 outbreak and the shutdowns that followed left many people wondering what, if anything, they could do to keep their business afloat. Despite a loss of foot traffic, framing retailers around the world have continued to serve their customers by turning the classic design table consultation into a virtual one For the full story, see page 28.
Features 20 26 28 38
Garment Framing Guide to Employer Liability Virtual Framing Tables and Fixtures
28
Columns 12 Mastering Mounting 34 Preservation Practices 46 Style Snapshot
Departments 8 10 42 43 44
20
Editor’s Note Industry News Distributor Spotlight Index of Advertisers Product Showcase
38
12
Picture Framing Magazine® (ISSN 10529977) is published monthly, plus one issue by PFM Publishing, LLC, 83 South Street, Unit 307, Freehold New Jersey 07728; phone 732-536-5160; fax 732-252-2270. Subscription Office: Picture Framing Magazine, PO Box 612, Northbrook, IL 60065-0612; phone 888-238-0049. Subscription: $20 per year U.S., $40 U.S. Dollars per year in Canada and Mexico, $60 U.S. Dollars per year for all international. Single copies, $5.95. If a paid subscription magazine is returned by the U.S. Postal Service as non-deliverable, Picture Framing Magazine will maintain the subscription for one year. If after one year a new address is not provided, Picture Framing Magazine will cancel the order. No refund will be available for that account. Periodicals class postage paid at Freehold, New Jersey, and at an additional mailing office. Entire contents © 2020 by PFM Publishing, LLC. Printed in U.S.A. Picture Framing Magazine registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Postmaster: Send address changes to Picture Framing Magazine, PO Box 612, Northbrook, IL 60065-0612 Agreement Number 1691910 Disclaimer The opinions and information in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher and are therefore not to be viewed as such. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the publisher. PFM does not knowingly accept false or misleading advertising or editorial, nor does the publisher assume any responsibility for the consequences that occur should any such material appear. PFM and PFM Publishing assume no responsibility for content, text, or artwork of advertisements appearing in PFM except those promoting PFM. The Publisher reserves the right to review all advertising materials submitted for publication and to not accept any such material deemed inappropriate for any reason.
PFM Publishing
83 South St., Unit 307, Freehold, NJ 07728 • Phone 732-536-5160 • Fax 732-252-2270
PICTURE FRAMING MAGAZINE www.pictureframingmagazine.com Bruce Gherman • bgherman@pfm-group.com • 848-444-5202 Kimberly Biesiada • kbiesiada@pfm-group.com • 848-231-3510 A RT D I RE C TO R Jin Dong • jin@wcafexpo.com • 848-231-4082
E X E C U TI V E PU BLI S HE R E D I TO R
CONTRIBUTORS
Jay Goltz • PRE S E RVATI O N E D I TO R Hugh Phibbs • M O U N TI N G E D I TO R Chris A. Paschke, CPF, GCF M AT D O C TO RS Tim Franer, CPF • John E. Ranes II, CPF, GCF • Brian Wolf, CPF William B. Adair • Ken Baur • Jared Davis, MCPF, GCF Paul MacFarland, MCPF, GCF • James Miller, MCPF, GCF
B USI N E S S E D I TO R
ADVERTISING SALES
sales@pfm-group.com • 848-444-3058 Bruce Gherman • bgherman@pfm-group.com Rob Gherman • robgherman77@gmail.com Sean Kliemisch • sean@wcafexpo.com CIRCULATION D I RE C TO R O F A U D I E N C E D E V E LO PM E N T
Maureen Robertson • maureen@wcafexpo.com PRODUCTION
A D V E RTI S I N G C O O RD I N ATO R
Jin Dong • ads@pfm-group.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS TOLL FREE: 888-238-0049 pictureframing@omeda.com
WEST COAST ART & FRAME EXPO • NATIONAL CONFERENCE A division of Hobby Pubco • www.wcafshow.com
Deborah Salmon • dsalmon@wcafexpo.com Maureen Robertson • maureen@wcafexpo.com TRA D E S HO W C O O RD I N ATO R Gary Coughlin • gary@wcafexpo.com C O N F E RE N C E C O O RD I N ATO R Alan Pegler • alan@wcafexpo.com
TRA D E S HO W D I RE C TO R E X HI BI TO R S E RV I C E S
WCAF EXPO SALES
sales@wcafexpo.com
CONTENTS
PFM PUBCO • BOOK DIVISION BOOK SALES COORDINATOR
pfmpubco@pfm-group.com
AD INDEX
PFM PUBLISHING, LLC PRE S I D E N T
6 PFM July 2020
Bruce Gherman
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
I
As businesses slowly reopen, it’s time to focus on welcoming your customers back and offering the great custom framing they’ve come to expect.
CONTENTS AD INDEX 8 PFM July 2020
n his book, “The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of The Walt Disney Company,” Bob Iger lays out his 10 principles for great leadership. All of them are insightful, but lately, I’ve been returning to his second one: courage. “The foundation of risk-taking is courage, and in ever-changing, disrupted businesses, risk-taking is essential,” Iger says. “Innovation is vital, and true innovation occurs only when people have courage. Fear of failure destroys creativity.” I think most people would agree that the past few months have been one of the most frightening times to be a business owner in recent history. To weather the COVID-19 pandemic, you had to get creative, which meant overcoming fear and moving forward with courage. I have been heartened by the relentless determination of the retailers and suppliers I’ve spoken with these past several weeks; because of you, customers’ needs were met. You kept the industry’s engine humming. As businesses in parts of the world begin reopening their doors, there are still hurdles to overcome and an unknown future to face. Resilience, creativity, and courage are still essential, and will be going forward. In this issue, retailers and ven-
dors share the creative ways you can sell beautiful custom framing without the need for an in-person consultation (see “During Shutdowns,Virtual Framing Thrives,” page 28). By taking advantage of visualization and image editing software, video calls, email, and other digital tools, you can generate crucial sales during this unprecedented crisis, whether you are awaiting reopening or are accepting customers back into your store. Have you started offering pickup and delivery services? Be sure to brush up on employer liability. Rob Markoff has put together a primer on what you need to know before sending staff members on errands (page 26). Those articles and more await you in our July issue—an issue which also marks our return to print! We’re happy to be back in your mailbox, and will continue to offer digital versions of PFM to readers worldwide. To make changes to your account and renew your subscription, visit us online at pictureframingmagazine.com.
Kimberly Biesiada Editor
INDUSTRY NEWS Frametastic Unveils Revamped Website
voted a portion of its manufacturing capacity to the production of revised
PPE face shields for use in healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and
and reformatted its web-
other industries, and has made several donations of face shields
site, frametastic-llc.com, so
to local law enforcement and frontline healthcare workers from the
framers will find it easier to
greater Seattle area all the way to Virginia Beach, VA.
Frametastic
has
find the perfect handcrafted
Wizard’s face shields were designed with frontline workers in
moulding for their projects.
mind, and were based on input from ER nurses as well as other
The company has divid-
healthcare professionals, customer-facing retail workers, and
ed their line into four main
those in manufacturing environments. The shields are authorized
categories—Barnwood
for use in healthcare under the FDA’s Emergency Use Action. They
Moulding, Mirrors, Beyond Barnwood, and Photo Frames—each
are suitable for a single-use application, but also durable enough
of which are subdivided into various styles the company offers.
for multiple uses. For more information, visit wizardppe.com.
Wizard Donates Face Shields for First Responders
Framerica’s Michel Celebrates Three Decades
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting
Catherine Michel, Framerica’s longtime credit manager, recently
shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) needed by front-
celebrated 30 years with the New York-based manufacturer.
line healthcare workers, Wizard
“Catherine is the finest credit manager in
quickly shifted its focus to the de-
our industry,” notes co-founder Gene Eichner.
sign, engineering, and manufactur-
“But she is so much more than that. It has taken
ing of face shields. Using its existing
three decades to foster the countless relation-
computer-controlled cutter technol-
ships that she has, but she’s been special from
ogy, along with the development of
day one.” PFM
specialized tooling, Wizard has de-
CONTENTS AD INDEX 10 PFM July 2020
Catherine Michel
MASTERING MOUNTING
by Chris A. Paschke, CPF, GCF, CMG
Mounting Challenging Items Thermographic papers, synthetic materials, and more can be tricky.
C
hallenging items are the ones that need an alternative mounting solution because of possible heat in-
tolerance, emotional value, overall size, or weight. I recently taught a class called Mastering Mounting: Challenging Items as part of The National Conference. At the beginning
image that is heat-sensitive at some tempera-
of each class, students are asked if they have
tures. Thus, heat applied during mounting
questions for a challenging project waiting for
could activate the entire sheet, turning it black
them at home, and they always do. There were
at higher temperatures. To verify heat sensitiv-
numerous queries about thermographic pa-
ity, gently touch the side edge of a suspected
pers, vellum and parchment, synthetic mate-
thermographic item with the side of a warm
rials like Evolon and Yupo, heavy textiles/rugs,
tacking iron; if it is, the narrow edge will dark-
and high-gloss photos. The moral there being
en. These items be should be pressure-sensi-
that even when something like a thermo-
tive mounted or hinged.
graphic paper has been around for decades, it
Thermal printing can also refer to raised
can still present a challenge today. Let’s look at
or puffed lettering sometimes seen on in-
how we can overcome such challenges.
vitations and business cards. This is very heat-sensitive and only pressure-sensitive or
Thermographics
preservation mounting is suggested. Once the
Thermographic is a term for heat-generat-
text is melted and flattened by heat, it is gone.
ed items that comes from the Greek therme,
CONTENTS
meaning heat, and graphikos, relating to the
Thermal Transfer
art of printing. Thermal printing is a digital
Thermal printing and thermal-transfer print-
process that activates coated thermochromic
ing are not the same thing. Thermal-transfer
paper by heating when the paper passes over
printing is a digital printing method in which
a thermal print head. The coating turns black
a wax ink is melted and applied to the recep-
in the areas where it is heated, producing an
tor substrate so it stays glued to the material.
AD INDEX
Chris A. Paschke, owner of Designs Ink in Tehachapi, CA, is a professional picture framer with over four decades of experience. She is an artist, a National Conference educator, has authored numerous magazine series, including The Essence of Design, Design Concepts, and Digital Directions for PFM, and has four self-published books on mounting. She currently writes the Mastering Mounting column for PFM and is a contributing writer to The Artist’s Magazine, The Pastel Journal, and Watercolor Artist Magazine. She was honored with the PPFA Award of Distinction for Leadership 2008, the Vivian Kistler Recognition for Innovation Award 2010, and the PMA Distinguished Service Award 2012. 12 PFM July 2020
For digitals, there are two options: high tack pressure-sensitive board or film, and low 130F temperature HA board.
skin document or diploma should be
most often bring in completed paint-
hinged or conservationally mounted,
ings for adhering to a rigid substrate.
perhaps by creating a sink mount. If a
As a synthetic art substrate, Yupo
document is only slightly buckled, it
does not absorb liquids, and all wa-
is the nature of the beast and is truly
ter-based mediums will fully wash
part of the overall effect.
off. Alcohol ink and acrylic are permanent mediums that do not wash
Synthetic Materials A piece of sheepskin that has been dampened and air-dried. This shows damage resulting from applying both moisture and heat to the parchment at the same time.
Twenty-first
century
off; therefore, the art could be framed materials
with no glazing as many artists are
have proved frustrating for fram-
currently requesting. A number of
ers. Among them are synthetic pa-
online Yupo instructors suggest us-
pers, which include various grades
ing acrylic gel paste as an adhesive,
Thermal transfer is preferred over
of plastics: polyvinyl chloride (PVC),
but manufacturers of gel adhesive
direct thermal printing on surfac-
polyethylene,
and
are not advocates of this mounting
es that are heat-sensitive, and has
polyester/nylon. Tyvek, Yupo, Evolon,
method, and it should be avoided by
been embraced as a popular process
and TerraSkin are all eco-friendly
framers. Remember, these paintings
for printing identification labels and
products that have been developed
are originals, and we are ethically not
high-quality barcodes. Because it is
for use in printing design, marketing,
allowed to permanently mount them.
a wax medium, it is very heat-sen-
labeling, and packaging, but have also
sitive; these are best hinged or pres-
been embraced by artists as a paint-
sitive, self-adhesive products will
sure-sensitive material.
ing and mixed media surface. Yupo—
effectively bond synthetic layers for
distributed by Legion Paper—is cur-
dependable, long-term fusion. In an
Vellum, Parchment
polypropylene,
Only
high-tack,
pressure-sen-
rently the most popular and most
attempt to maintain surface smooth-
There are always questions about
frequently encountered by framers.
ness, Yupo artists are requesting
vellum
vellum, not
It is available in various text and cov-
Gatorboard, Dibond, or Sintra as a
paper)
(animal-skin
translucent
and
er weights—both translucent and
substrate. Like Yupo, Dibond and Sin-
parchment (sheepskin). Though the
tracing
opaque—with 74 white, 144 white,
tra do not absorb, so only PSA is an
use of single-sheet animal skins
and 104 translucent being favored by
option with Coda Cold-Mount, Insta-
in the United States appears to be
artists for watercolor, gouache, alco-
Mount, and Neschen Gudy having all
more limited to university diplomas
hol ink, and acrylic.
tested well with synthetic materials.
as parchment, in other parts of the
Yupo artists often favor a con-
KoolTack InstaMount is a commer-
world it is extensively used for ev-
temporary look they are referring
cial pressure-sensitive board that has
erything from wedding invitations to
to as “no-frame” mounting and will
tested well with Tyvek and Yupo.
royal proclamations. No two skins are truly alike. That is part of their natural beauty and the basis for framing them true to their
CONTENTS
nature. The 1852 sheepskin parchment ledger sheet shown here has two issues: a gentle curl and a wax seal that would be heat-sensitive. Fully mounting parchment or vellum
AD INDEX
using any process restricts it from the natural expansion and contraction it craves through variations in temperature and relative humidity, and even after flattening it may return to its previous state. Preservationally, a 14 PFM July 2020
This 1852 sheepskin parchment ledger sheet has two issues: a gentle curl and a wax seal that would be heat sensitive.
The same is true for HA boards. MountCor and MountCor Canvas bond at 130°F and love Yupo, Tyvek, and polyester encapsulates. Omega/ M&M Heat-Activated Mount (HAM) bonds at 170°F and loves synthetic papers. Others may not have the tear strength required for a proper bond.
Digitals For decades, digitals have been the number-one framer problem, but that is only because printers, inks, and substrates continue to evolve and the rules and guidelines continue to change with new technologies. The term “digital print” really means the medium, so to safely mount a digital, you must also know the printer type, ink type (dye, pigmented, wax), and substrate. For digitals, there are two options: high-tack, pressure-sensitive board or film, and low-temperature HA board. Ask questions; determine if the item or art is non-replaceable or an original, and then determine what the best choice is. Use of a vacuum press, dry mount system, or roller laminator is up to you and your adhesive selection, but educating the customer to possible options and prob-
Thermographic ticket is darkened by hot taking iron. Tested at 150F-160Ffor 1 minute the ticket is fine, but not at 170F for 15 seconds. Low 130F would tolerate any time with no damage.
lems is a good place to begin.
High-Gloss Photos There is always a lot of discussion on forums and in classes about the sensitivities of digital images and high-gloss photos as though they are the same discussion, which they are not. Digitals are an ongoing source of testing to determine the safest mounting method, and that is also true for high-gloss photos. Traditional analog photos seem to have a higher heat tolerance than many of their digital successors, so extra care needs to be taken both when handling and mounting these items. Original
Cibachromes
chrome Classics) come from slide film and are printed to a 100% poly-
CONTENTS AD INDEX Left to right: translucent Yupo, opaque Yupo with matte Krylon fixative, and TerraSkin. 16 PFM July 2020
(Ilfo-
acrylic; high-gloss paper prints, analog or digital, will not.
Disasters Versus Mistakes Webster’s Dictionary defines “disaster” as “a calamitous event causing great damage or hardship; a tragedy or catastrophe.” While a true mounting disaster probably cannot be repaired, a mounting mistake—an error caused by lack of skill, attention, Solid ink is a thermal-transfer process where was pigment is melted and applied to a receptive substrate. These should not be subjected to heat as they can melt, use only P-S or preservation mount techniques.
knowledge, or judgment—may be corrected. Challenging items like the ones
ester film substrate, which is a glass-
Its replacement is the digital-
discussed here are unlikely to be-
like surface very susceptible to dam-
ly-produced FujiFlex, which is sur-
come victims of mounting disasters
age from fingerprints and scratching.
face-sensitive,
damages
because a high level of attention is
Static mounting to a piece of acryl-
with warm breath and is thinner
given to them from the start. Great-
ic sheeting became a wonderful,
and therefore very prone to surface
er care is taken during the mounting
non-invasive preservation method of
mountboard orange peel texture. It
and framing process to ensure the
mounting since it was 100% revers-
also static mounts as a Cibachrome.
correct ahdesives and techniques
ible and allowed the glass-like sur-
Note that only 100% polyester film
are implemented to prevent a ca-
face to remain unblemished.
substrates will statically mount to
tastrophe from ever occurring. PFM
but
also
CONTENTS
Have a question or comment? Tell PFM what you think.
AD INDEX
Mail letters to PFM 83 South Street, Unit 307, Freehold, NJ 07728 Call 732-536-5160, Fax to 732-536-5761 Attn: PFM Editor or E-mail to pfmeditor@hobbypub.com
18 PFM July 2020
Product Showcase Atlas Saw & Tool
Crescent
Atlas Saw & Tool’s engineered plastic saw blades feature unique blade geometry designed for high-volume plastic and acrylic cutting with smooth easy cuts on ultra-low melt plastics and reduced chipping on thin acrylic sheets. Plus, get increased hourly production output and yield rates with the ability to cut stacks of acrylic at one time.
Making its debut in Crescent’s top-of-the-line RagMat Museum Solids collection is Winter White, the most brilliant white the company offers. Made of 100 percent cotton with solid color throughout, Winter White is available in both 4-ply and 8-ply. Naturally acid-free and lignin-free, RagMat matboards are specifically designed for the display and protection of artwork.
Call: 888-484-1488 www.fletcher-terry.com
Call: 847-537-3400 www.crescentcardboard.com
Decor Moulding
Fox Moulding, Inc.
Introducing Savoy, a new line of six contemporary styles. Each style has a subtle surface texture positioned on an angled profile that is the focus of its visual highlight. Available in two popular widths of 7/8'' and 1 3/8'' with substantial rabbet depths of 5/8'' and 3/4'', respectively. Choose from three rich colors of gold, pewter, and black, adding excitement to these styles. Order corner kit #CSSAV to get these high-demand styles on your walls today.
Stack up your profits with Readymades. Design your own assortment of readymade and empty frames from the Fox Moulding inventory. Quick turnaround! Call: 800-341-0101 www.foxmoulding.com
Call: 800-937-1055 www.decormoulding.com
Framerica
Michelangelo Moulding
Framerica’s Illusions profile, which was designed to allow for a single moulding to appear stacked, is now available in the company’s entire woods collection. “Demand for the Illusions profile has been growing steadily, even over the past three months,” notes VP Josh Eichner. “We’re excited to make it available in all of our wood tone finishes.”
The new poly series 622 is now available from Michelangelo Moulding. The collection of 11 distinct finishes, each measuring 1 5/8'' X 1 3/8'' with a 7/8'' rabbet, is available in four groups: metallics (gold, silver, bronze), colors (black, white, charcoal), barnwoods (light gray, walnut, gray), and woodgrains (walnut, white). View them on Michelangelo’s website.
Call: 800-372-6422 www.framerica.com
Call: 877-422-8812 www.michelangelomoulding.com
Sepp Leaf
Superior Moulding
Liberon Gilt Colors: Liberon offers six gilt tones in gilt cream, gilt varnish, and gilt filler sticks. Four gold tones, silver, and bronze. All intermixable for perfect color matching. All named after castles in France, and each color just as rich! Imported from England by Sepp Leaf Products, Inc. and available on the website below.
Superior introduces Skyfall: two profiles, four unique, multicolored mouldings with a textured and glossy finish. The modern finish on this series complements modern farmhouse designs that are so popular today. These mouldings work great with landscapes, from oceans to mountains, and the profiles pair well to create stunning double frames. Request a color catalog online or call for samples and pricing.
Call: 800-582-5608 www.framewareusa.com
CONTENTS
Call: 800-922-7914 www.supermoulding.com
AD INDEX
Universal Arquati
Wizard
Universal Arquati is excited to present the additions of Edge II by Universal. This collection incorporates mid-century designs with silver, gold, and champagne tones, in high-quality finishes, with the recent addition of the Oak Black Veneer! Edge II comes in three profiles for floating, stacking, and glass framing designs. Samples of this collection are available now! Please contact your local sales representative or UA by phone or fax (661-362-6263). View these mouldings, as well as the entire collection, at the website below.
Introducing the Wizard Z1—the ultimate mat cutter combining edge-to-edge cutting with a suite of automation features that virtually eliminates human errors. It’s the only CMC with advanced features such as: auto-homing, digital depth control, and Wizard’s innovative new Intelli-Clamps collision detection and avoidance system, as well as all of the decorative design capabilities found in every Wizard Z Series cutter.
Call: 800-668-3627 www.universalarquati.com
44 PFM July 2020
Call: 425-366-7294 www.wizardcutters.com
(Continued from page 46) work with the painting and the interiors as a cohesive whole.
footing with fine art. Rossetti also designed furniture, wallpaper,
The earliest common features were straight profiles and
bookbindings, stained glass, and architectural elements that
gilded oak with some form of decoration. Later frames used by
were consistent with his frame designs and paintings.
Rossetti varied in the addition of a gesso layer for a smoother gilded surface, some silver-leafed variations), and ebonized
Additional comments and/or anecdotes. By the end of the
detailing, but the basic profiles remained constant.
nineteenth century, British decorative and fine arts held equal
Other design departures included central medallions,
aesthetic value. As a reaction against industrialization, a number
incised or punched designs in the frieze, and patterns of applied
of concurrent or overlapping movements were formed, begin-
or carved motifs on the inner and outer moulding. Rossetti re-
ning with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1848) and [William]
peated some motifs in his frame designs throughout his life, but
Morris & Co. (1861) and progressing through the Arts & Crafts
he also designed one-of-a-kind frames adorned with allegorical
and Aesthetic Movements (1870s and ‘80s). Credos such as John
symbols proportioned to coordinate with the carefully planned
Ruskin’s “Truth to Nature” and William Morris’ “Have nothing in
decorative compositions of his paintings as well as painted
your homes which you do not think to be beautiful or know to
captions or quotations that related to his subjects. Rossetti and
be useful,” profoundly influenced Victorian artists and design-
other artists often used variations of the Italian cassetta with
ers in Europe and America. The value of ornament, an empha-
friezes incised or decorated a bulino to enhance the pre-
sis on craft, and the concept that true beauty in art could only
Renaissance qualities of some of their paintings.
be achieved through an adherence to medievalism and nature
Probably influenced or inspired by Rossetti, American expa-
led to some of the most original designs for furniture, interior
triate artist James McNeill Whistler also developed the concept
decoration, and frames. PFM
of reeded cassetta profiles and gilded oak surfaces that were
“Best of PFM” takes a look back at some of the magazine’s
integral to his own paintings. With refined variations of more
most popular articles on frame history as it celebrates its 30th
tightly bundled narrow reeding, alternating flats, gilded oak sur-
year in publication. This article appeared in its original format
faces with varying karats of gold leaf chosen to enhance specific
in the February 2010 issue.
works, and sometimes painted decorations, the eponymous Whistler frame has become a frame category unto itself. What type of artwork would this frame most likely house? Nineteenth-century British Pre-Raphaelite, late Victorian, and Symbolist paintings.
What furnishing/interior styles accompanied these style frames in their time? Pre-Raphaelite frame designs integrated paintings with contemporary interior environments—Aesthetic Movement, Arts & Crafts, and Anglo-Japanese tastes were prevalent. In these rooms, decorative arts were presented on equal
PFM July 2020 45