DECEMBER and a final word for 2023
Life never travels in a straight line, and that is certainly how this year has felt. It has been another busy 12 months with so much packed into it, that we struggle to remember some of the things we were up to at the start of the year. After many years of being nagged by customers, family, friends and industry colleagues, we are slowly trying to improve our work : life balance, and this year we did allow ourselves to take regular short breaks from the workshop. We will continue in that vein into 2024 and beyond as we are feeling the benefit of new creative inspiration from our travels, amongst other things!
Our bespoke framing has been very busy throughout the year. Including some more unusual framing projects that have allowed Alec to show off his carpentry and design led approach to framing. From curved corners on the inner and outer edge of the moulding, to triangular, octagonal and extra deep frames – he has created some true showstoppers this year. His love of using magnets in framing continues with ever more ingenious ways to support and display items in the frame. He continues to work tirelessly in his preparation and painting rooms, creating unique finishes across a huge range of mouldings. We have now finished the final jobs for the year, but already have a busy order book to come back to in January.
Jo has worked on many hundreds of textile projects this year – and we’ve noted an increase in the use of Optium Acrylic on fabric art framing jobs. Optium Acrylic, although widely used in the USA had a much smaller market here in the UK because the price was prohibitive. Changes in the last few years have seen it become far more affordable, particularly on smaller items. The benefit of specialist acrylic over the equivalent glass product means that, unlike glass, it can be used against fabric in a frame – Jo has been able to use it to great effect on some extremely old and delicate samplers (amongst other things) that might otherwise not have been suitable to remain on display in a frame.
We finished the month with a lovely compliment from the UK’s biggest framing trade supplier, Larson Juhl. We have had a strong and long-standing relationship with Larson Juhl since we opened our doors in 2006. They remain our top supplier for moulding and mountboard ranges. They also produce a highly regarded industry publication, read by framers and other industry professionals, called 4Walls. Back in 2019 when Jo became Master of the Fine Art Trade Guild they ran a feature all about Jo and her new role, since then she has written a number of articles for the magazine as well as chairing their sponsored industry round-table discussions around the UK. The magazine is about to get a revamp and relaunch. As part of that, Alec and Jo have now been invited to join the Editorial Team for 4Walls magazine and contribute a technical column in each issue. The first one is already written and will be published in March 2024.
Earlier this year we formally launched our industry training, after running it very much on an ad hoc basis and under the radar for many years. We are proud to be Guild Accredited Trainers as well as Guild Examiners – and to be the chosen trainers for the Larson Juhl sponsored Scholarship Programme. We have been delighted with the response and have travelled to undertake training and consultation work in the workshops of other framers, as well as having students visit us here in Dawlish. We’ve loved getting more stuck into the training side of our business and we already have training booked in for 2024.
2023 has once more been a year of development for us, just as it should be. We are taking a good break over Christmas and the New Year to spend time with family, before taking a few days in early January refining our training website and then our main website. Booking is already open for appointments when we are back in the workshop from 10am on Tuesday 16th January 2024. Just click on the bookings tab to see availability. If you need to get in touch, then please do email us or leave us an answerphone message. We will answer any messages on our return.
We’d like to thank all our customers for your continued support of our business and for the many reviews that you leave for us online. It is all very much appreciated. From our family to yours, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year. See you all in 2024 …..
Alec and Jo
NOVEMBER 2023
We started the month as part of the judging team at the South West Academy of Fine Arts Annual Open Exhibition. As supporters of the event we attended the preview evening at Kennaway House in Sidmouth. This was Jo’s second visit to the venue in recent months, as she’d presented a talk on “Framing your artwork for selling” to the Sidmouth Art Group back in September.
Having done our initial view of the entries online it was a pleasure to actually be able to see the artwork up close. We were delighted to present our “Judge’s Choice” award to Alison Summerfield for her painting “Wild and Wet”. We look forward to continuing our support of SWAc activities in the future.
It wouldn’t be November without bonfires and fireworks. So we were delighted to once again donate a substantial amount of wood to the bonfire created on Shaldon beach by Andy Burnham and his team, supported by Shaldon Parish Council and Teignmouth Town Council. Each year we save up bags of wood chippings from under our Morso, along with warped or damaged lengths of mouldings, old frames left with us by customers and any odd bits of leftover construction wood that we’ve used on projects. Andy and his team collect everything and add it to their latest artistic creation. This year the theme was Star Wars – and Andy’s team created a fantastic spectacle, as well as donning costumes to look the part. We spent the evening down on the beach with family and friends enjoying the bonfire and watching the fantastic fireworks display that followed.
Mid-month we are once again welcoming students to the workshop for two days of intensive picture framing training as part of their award of the Larson Juhl Scholarship on behalf of the Fine Art Trade Guild. We are working behind closed doors on a Sunday and Monday, so there will be no disruption to normal working for our framing customers. We’re delighted to once again be joined by Ian Kenny from Ian Kenny Framing in Scotland. The three of us will be teaching the two students all the subjects that form part of the Guild Certified Framer exam. Both students are currently working in their own framing businesses and working towards their first qualification.
With Christmas creeping ever closer, a quick reminder that this year our last trading day is Saturday 23rd December when we close at noon. We are still taking orders to be completed before Christmas and will keep under review if we need to impose a cut off date – but we do try to avoid this if we can. For any hand-finished frames our usual end of year cut off date of 30th November will apply – unless you can persuade Alec otherwise!! As always, we will continue to take in work to be ready in January/February right up until the 23rd December.
OCTOBER 2023
Another month for playing with angles! This time it was a triangular frame. This type of frame is very popular with the US military and we are seeing more demand for it in the UK too. The customer had a framed flag that had been presented to him at the end of his military career but he wanted a new frame to match the rest of his collection of military memorabilia, which we were also refreshing. Flags in triangular frames are usually folded with military precision: unfortunately this wasn’t the case this time! The flag had been wrapped around a wooden support and the rest had been unceremoniously “stuffed” into the back of the frame. We promised to get it sorted – not just on the bit that could be seen, but also the bit hidden away inside the frame itself.
First job was for Jo to remove it, position the flag correctly onto an appropriate support, and then carefully and respectfully fold the excess. She’s done a few of these now, each one its own challenge as each customer wanted different parts of the flags to be shown. This was a Canadian flag and so the maple leaf and stalk had to be kept centrally visible. The finished result was a neat and tidy folded flag. Now Alec had the job of making a triangular frame. The original had been a bit rough and ready with large visible screws holding the sides together. Alec created the top angle with two pieces and then “let in” the bottom strut of the frame, including plugging the screw holes for a seamless finish. The whole frame was sanded and prepared and then a simple black paint and wax finish was applied. The triangular glass piece was cut by hand and anti-reflection glazing was used. The original presentation plaque was carefully removed from the original glass and fixed to the new glazing. The frame was lined with matching wood spacers, painted and varnished, so that the edges of the flag just ghosted under the rebate of the frame itself. The flag was positioned and the frame back fixed in placed. A neater and smarter home for a correctly folded and presented flag with deep sentimental significance to our customer.
SEPTEMBER 2023
Family research is a very popular hobby, fueled by interest in programmes like “Who do you think you are?” on the BBC and the plethora of magazines now available. But one of the main drivers has been the access to digital records never previously available online and genealogy family tree building websites. There are still things to be said for heading out to local Records Offices and sifting through dusty records, but the internet has brought so many of us closer to researching our family roots than ever before.
And of course many of us have family treasures: tucked away in drawers, cupboards or boxes in the loft. From scraps of paper, to photographs, certificates, medals and so much more. But the dilemma is of course what to do with them. That’s where our “memory box” style frames come into their own. Our customer visited to discuss the project on a few occasions as items were gathered, replicas sourced when originals were missing and we whittled down exactly what should be displayed in the frames. We had two to do and they honoured the life and military service of her father and her grandfather. Original paperwork and photographs were scanned and reprinted by our friends at Images2Prints in Teignmouth, with these high quality copies framed so that the originals could be safely stored away.
Once we had our collections together Jo worked on the design, alongside our customer, to make sure it met her expectations. Each copied item was carefully cut out so that it resembled the age and appearance of the original and then Jo set to work creating a multi level display. Original medals and badges were mounted using fully reversible techniques. A background was created using additional copies of the paperwork, with an informal style for the rest of the items so that different things catch the eye. Appropriately coloured mountboard was used as the base support – Rifles Green and Military Green. Pocket sleeves were attached to the back of each frame so that a potted history of each person could be included for future generations to read and enjoy. The whole collection was spaced away from the UV filtering glass with custom made spacers of the same mountboard. A gold deep box frame moulding was chosen to complete the look.
This type of display brings family history to life, but is also suitable for all kinds of collections such as sports memorabilia, hobby collections, holiday mementos, career highlights or tools of a trade. Each arrangement is custom created to suit the particular items being included. What would you choose to frame?
September also saw us with our Trainer hats firmly on. We spent time at a business in Hastings in Sussex where they have recently added bespoke framing to their stationery business. It it always fascinating to visit other framing businesses, especially ones in the early stages of development. We were able to work with them on calibrating their equipment, reviewing their techniques and advising on materials. After a very busy day we are looking forward to hosting them at our Dawlish workshop in the New Year for a full week of hands-on framing.
We also travelled to Northern Ireland this month for the first annual skill share weekend with other Trainer colleagues who have also achieved the status of being fully qualified through the Fine Art Trade Guild, as each of us holds all four of the available framing qualifications. We are also Guild Examiners and Guild Accredited Trainers. We had a busy weekend discussing training, examinations, industry innovations and presenting different projects to each other on more unusual framing jobs we have undertaken. When you are part of a group that provides technical support to other framers as well as being involved in the examination process, it is an essential part of our ongoing Continuing Professional Development to discuss and learn from our own peer group. We are privileged to call this group of framers our friends and we had a fantastic time visiting Northern Ireland and came back with new inspiration and ideas to set in motion. Next year’s skill share event will take place in Scotland – dates are posted at the top of the page.
AUGUST 2023
Every now and then we get to flex our framing muscles on something a bit different. As we’re sure you’ll appreciate, most frames are squares or rectangles. They can be simple or grand, but those mitred corners all work in the same way. So being able to do something a bit different is quite fun. This project involved a previously framed clock: the customer had fallen out of love with the dated look of the original frame and wanted a refresh. They chose a beautiful Nielsen Design moulding and Alec set about making an eight sided frame. To accommodate the clock itself it had to be deeper than the frame moulding chosen, so that involved him making a second eight sided frame to extend the rebate depth. The two frames were then joined together and he applied a bespoke hand painted finish to the bare wood sides of the extension to blend perfectly with the manufactured finish of the main frame itself.
Cutting and joining an octagonal frame is an art in itself: using Alec’s skill with our Morso mitre cutter, the benefit of a Hoffman Router to join the frame pieces together and then consolidating with one of his many clamps, he was able to produce a beautiful finished product. The customer’s clock has had a new lease of life and looks very elegant.
JULY 2023
We’re starting the month with some training. Alec will be spending the first Sunday and Monday working behind closed doors providing bespoke one-to-one training on hand finished frames to a framer from Kent. We’re providing the training on our usual “weekend” days of Sunday and Monday so that it doesn’t interfere with our normal framing for customers. But a few days later the educators become the students, as we are both involved in our latest CPD for our professional qualifications. As we are on their timetable, it does mean the workshop will have to be closed from Thursday 6th July through to Saturday 8th July inclusive. We’ve blocked out customer appointments on those days, but are here as normal either side of the closure. Sorry it is so soon after our holiday, but we are tied to the timetable set by the tutors.
The good news is that we are open with normal hours for the rest of the month! The even better news is that the course was really successful and we passed with flying colours!
JUNE 2023
It is that time of year again – slightly earlier than normal, but we are off on our Summer Break from 4pm on Thursday 1st June. We return to work (hopefully) relaxed, refreshed and raring to go at 10am on Wednesday 21st June. Bit longer than normal as well this year, as Alec’s Mum is celebrating a special birthday so we have family celebrations to be part of. Any emails or answerphone messages will be responded to on our return to work. You can still book appointments via the website, but if you’d like to book them for you please send an email or leave a message on our answerphone and we will sort that for you on our return.
Update: We are now back to work with normal opening hours and are already getting back into the swing of things. We have good availability of appointments for the rest of the month and our turnaround is now back to normal, after the extended lead time caused by us being away. On the 26th June we celebrated 17 years of trading as The Framing Lot and treated ourselves to some lovely new work aprons as a birthday/anniversary gift to each other. Beautifully embroidered by local printers, Swiftprint SW Ltd, they feature the triple logos of our Advanced qualifications blended together. Purple ribbon for Textile Framing, Yellow for Conservation Framing and Green for Mount Design & Function. The original design of the merged logos was created for us by Colin Wood from Ian Kenny Framing Ltd in Scotland and our thanks to him for his work on it. We are now in a race to see which one of us splodges paint, wax or stain onto the aprons first – but we’re not taking any bets on it! (If we were then our money would definitely be on Alec!!).
MAY 2023
It’s been a funny old month, in no small part because of the extra Bank Holiday due to the Coronation. The weather has finally started to improve and our early morning walks along the sea wall in Teignmouth before work are becoming warmer and easier to get up for! We’ve been delighted to share a cheery good morning with many of our customers while we are out and about.
We were very pleased to be asked to frame up a collection of Shaldon lace for the Teign Heritage Centre (Teignmouth & Shaldon Museum). This collection had been bought at auction and represented lace samples created in the early part of the 20th Century. It was in its original frame when brought to us and we had the joy of finding original newspapers from 1930 inside it when it was opened up. The lace had been stitched to a satin support fabric which was very fragile and there was very little border to work with. After discussion
it was agreed to use Optium Acrylic to create the same “look” as the original framing while leaving all previous stitching as the original. The existing frame had been damaged, but we chose an appropriate replacement that provided the same aesthetic. Alec hand-stained and polished the frame which was correctly lined to separate the wood from the fabric itself. You can see the finished item as part of the Museum’s Shaldon Lace display.
We were also given the task of reglazing a beautiful frame from their collection. This contained a photograph from 1907 of the “Grace of Salcombe” which was wrecked off The Ness that year. The frame itself, in the very distinctive Oxford style, was created from wood from the shipwreck itself. The card that the photograph had been mounted to originally had become very brittle with age. It was damaged, with one corner having become detached. This was carefully re-positioned and held in place on the reverse using traditional Mulberry paper hinges and wheat starch paste. After reglazing with UV protection and AR glass, it will be back on display in the Museum.
APRIL 2023
March unexpectedly became our busiest trading month for some time, with a huge volume of framing going through the workshop. We had exhibition framing for some of our professional artists, using Alec’s hand-painted frames. We also had an eclectic mix of items from an art collector, with everything needing Level 1 framing materials and techniques. On top of that we also hosted framers from around the UK at the latest Larson Juhl Scholarship training days. Two very busy days covering a wide variety of framing topics, all of which feature in the Guild Certified Framer exam. As always, it was fascinating to discuss the different approaches businesses take in different parts of the country.
If that wasn’t enough excitement for one month, Alec also gave an online workshop on Hand Finished Moulding and Frames to Guild member framers around the UK. It was extremely well received and he was asked so many questions that it went into overtime. It was fantastic to see the reaction and to get so many lovely comments afterwards.
April finished with us featuring a variety of the mosaic framing we have undertaken for renowned Teignmouth based mosaic artist – Michelle Greenwood-Brown on our social media feed. We have worked with Michelle on a number of her mosaic art installation pieces in various Devon locations and we have created quite a collection of her smaller pieces in our own home. We are delighted to be able to come up with creative solutions to framing mosaic pieces, particularly those with shaped and irregular edges or those needing to be located outdoors. This little Robin is floated onto a hand-painted backing board. The board has then been fitted into an oak frame, stained and lime waxed and then polished to a soft sheen. The mosaic is protected by being set back into this tray-style frame.
MARCH 2023
We frame a lot of needlework items. Some are very newly stitched, often for occasions such as a new baby, a wedding or special anniversary. But our advanced qualifications in Textile Framing mean we also see a lot of antique textile and needlework items for framing. Some are particularly fragile and delicate, their threads damaged by UV light, time and acidic framing materials. Older framing methods included nailing or stapling samplers to wooden frameworks and then fitting them tightly into a frame. All that acidic wood up against the fabric makes it very brittle over time.
It is always a real pleasure to see samplers and older items that are still in the same family. A direct connection to the women and girls who stitched them. But we also see many from people who collect them, treasuring them for the skills shown and the history they represent. Items stitched as recently as the early 20th Century are already becoming collectible and valued and we remind our stitching customers of today, that their work will become the heirlooms of the future. Jo has acquired quite a few antique pieces over the years and she uses them as examples and demonstrations of the methods of support and framing.
There are a variety of methods of support available to us, depending on the condition of the piece. But no matter how they are framed, each one will be done with fully reversible techniques to ensure that they remain in as good a condition as possible. Frames are lined so that the wood does not come into contact with the fabric, correct and appropriate support boards are recommended to help preserve the fabric and stitching. But the glazing type used remains just as important.
With the advances in UV filtering glass and anti-reflection properties, there has never been a better range of products on offer. Increasingly though we are seeing the use of UV AR Acrylic products on delicate fabrics. With the use of Tru Vue’s Optium Museum Acrylic, the specifications match those same UV and AR properties in our best glass options, but with one main advantage. Because Optium Acrylic can be used directly against fabric items. Used by many Museums and Conservators around the world, it is ideal for particularly fragile fabric items. As a general glazing option is also has the advantage of being anti-static (as you can see in the photo – the feathers remain in place, whereas the regular acrylic causes them to “dance”), scratch resistant and less likely to break. It is available in different thicknesses and we’d be happy to discuss the benefits of this glazing option with you.
FEBRUARY 2023
A busy month for us, with plenty of orders to keep us occupied and some fascinating 3D objects and unusual items being framed. But this month also saw the launch of our official training provision for professional framers. We are pleased to be part of a highly qualified group of framers and framing examiners who offer training via a new marketing portal www.pictureframingtraining.com. For many years, both of us have been involved in framing education both in person and on-line. We have acted as mentors for others finding their feet in the industry and been pleased to pass on our knowledge through our work with the Fine Art Trade Guild. Now, after many requests we have decided to formalise our training provision. This will sit alongside our work as bespoke framers, so our framing customers won’t see any change to their normal service. For those coming into the industry, or those wanting to take their learning and skills to the next level, they can now see what training and support is available. Please click on the training tab in the menu, or visit www.pictureframingtraining.com for further details.
JANUARY 2023
It has been a really good start to the year, after a lovely relaxing break over Christmas and the New Year with our family and friends. We even managed to sneak a few business related trips in to some of our time away – visiting two of our suppliers, which is always fascinating. We are very lucky in the UK with the breadth of suppliers and products available to us and over the years we have managed to visit most of the ones we deal with. Our thanks to Rose & Hollis and Lion Picture Framing Supplies Ltd for their hospitality.
January has seen a new batch of oversize artwork in for framing – on canvas and paper – and it is at times like this that we are grateful for the space we have in the workshop and the storage space while they wait for collection. For years we’ve been pleased to recommend a local art courier firm based in Paignton to help customers get their oversize artwork home after framing. They are stepping back and retiring and we’re lucky to have found a fantastic replacement, based locally in Newton Abbot. They’ve already done two collections from us on behalf of customers and we are happy to recommend them for future art moving of oversize pieces.
This month saw the first on-site exam taking place at our workshop. Up until now, we have been examiners who travelled to the candidate’s workshop instead but late in 2022 we became an official Fine Art Trade Guild Examination Centre for the South and South West. On Monday 30th January we hosted Sarah from Ironbridge Fine Arts who took her GCF Advanced Conservation Framing exam, with Jo as her examiner. It is a very thorough process and took about 5 hours from start to finish – but we were pleased to let Sarah know that she had passed, and to welcome her as an Advanced qualified framer. Ongoing CPD and membership of our trade body, The Fine Art Trade Guild, remains a requirement of all qualified framers through the only UK supported qualification – the Guild Certified Framer programme. This replaced the previous Commended Framer qualification in 2015, where ongoing CPD learning and membership was not a requirement.
The cold snap with the odd flurry of snow and plenty of frosty mornings didn’t put customers off heading over with their artwork. We’ve got a busy forward order book and are working through it as we head into February and the hope of warmer spring mornings fairly soon.