DECEMBER 2022 and our final word for 2022
We are just finishing the final tidying up of the workshop, before heading home for some much needed family time over Christmas and the New Year. It has been a packed year once again, and marks the first trading year since the start of COVID in March 2020, where we haven’t had a forced Government shutdown.
We’ve been kept incredibly busy this year, with some amazing projects and framing jobs to work on. Some of which have pushed our problem-solving skills in new and interesting directions. We’ve written articles in trade publications about some of them, particularly focussing on our more unusual textile framing and frame construction projects. Our use of our new keyline mounts (launched October 2021) and metallic keyline mount range (launched earlier this year) has brought a new dimension to our design process and overcome the problem caused by losing so many fantastic mount colours during the early part of COVID. We continue to keep our moulding ranges up to date with the latest design choices from across a broad spectrum of suppliers and Alec continues to develop his hand-finished frame samples with his Ed Sheeran signed CD inspired frame (on display in the workshop) getting a lot of attention! Hand-painted and decorated mounts are something else we’ve expanded on this year – with Jo’s Devon flag inspired mount for her Devon map cross-stitch and our new offering of ruled lines and wash panels proving popular, particularly when a customer is trying to match up to a previously framed example.
We’ve also been delighted to have become a framer that other framers in the area recommend people to; often for oversize work, more construction led projects, or interesting or difficult textile jobs. Our thanks to everyone in the trade and amongst our customers who have recommended us during the year. As a family run business, word of mouth and recommendation is key and we never forget how important our relationship with our customers is. For those people who have taken the time to leave us a fantastic on-line review – thank you. They really do help and make a difference.
Trade events began to restart and in May we travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon for the UK’s biggest trade gathering organised by the Fine Art Trade Guild. As Chair & Master of the Guild over the previous 3 years, Jo was finally able to host her first (and last!) in-person Guild Weekend, welcoming member and non-member attendees from around the UK, Europe, Canada and the USA. We were able to put our educator hats on as we joined other educators for the table-top workshop sessions. This was followed by the “Master’s Dinner” and the Art and Framing Industry Awards, with Jo on stage presenting awards and announcing the winners. A fantastic weekend was had by all – with the after-party well worth staying up for!
Education has been a new direction, that grew during the year. In-person examinations for framing qualifications re-started and we were kept busy travelling around the UK as examiners for other framers on our days off from the workshop. But we also know that every day is a learning day and we are not afraid to grasp new skills and develop existing ones to a higher level.
Something we’ve been meaning to do for years finally happened in October when we travelling to Scotland and took our final Advanced Qualifications. Alec had two to get through – Advanced Textile Framing and Advanced Mount Design & Function to add to his existing Advanced Conservation Framing one. Jo already had the Conservation and Textile, so just had to add Advanced Mount Design & Function. After presenting our prepared pieces, showing our practical skills and being tested on our knowledge and problem- solving skills, and showing a portfolio of customer work projects, we remembered just how much “fun” it is to be on the other side of an exam!!
But it was all for a good result, because we both now have all three Advanced Guild Certified Framer qualifications. Just a handful of framers have achieved this and we are the first framers in the world to have two people with all three Advanced Qualifications. This was even promoted by the Guild on their Social Media in November, laying it down as a challenge for other Guild members to emulate!
In November we welcomed visitors to the workshop, when we hosted the Larson-Juhl GCF Scholarship winners for two days of intensive training in all aspects of running a framing business and how to prepare for their Guild Certified Framer exam. The Scholarship has been running for a number of years now and awards training and exam funding to four candidates each year. This year the Guild elected to ask us to take on the training role, alongside our friend and industry colleague Ian Kenny, of Ian Kenny Framing Ltd in Larkhall and Hamilton. We will be hosting the next round of candidates in the Spring and formalising the professional framing training we offer with the launch of our new training dedicated website in early 2023.
December proved to be as busy as normal and we’re glad that the final job is finished, wrapped up and ready to be collected. 2022 has been a busy year that we’ve packed a lot into and we are looking forward to a very welcome break and time with family. Our thanks to everyone who has entrusted their framing with us during the year. We’d like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Peaceful and Healthy New Year. See you all in 2023 ……!
Alec & Jo
NOVEMBER 2022
We have our new qualification certificates on the wall – achieving a full house of all available from our trade body, the Fine Art Trade Guild. We were delighted to receive an acknowledgement from them on our achievement as the only Guild member worldwide to have two fully qualified framers on site.
This month saw more new beginnings for us and an addition to our business-model. For many years we’ve written articles for trade publications, provided education pieces for Guild members, lectured on-line and in person to other framers. We are active members of the Guild’s Framers Committee which sets the standards for framing and qualifications, and we’ve provided support via the Guild’s Technical Helpline and Online Forum. After many enquiries and requests, we are now starting down the path of offering Picture Framing Training. This will be aimed at those seeking to work as professional framers who are either starting out or are established but keen to learn new skills. As we are also Guild Examiners, we will also offer pre-exam refresher days – with our workshop also acting as one of the Guild’s testing centres for any of the Guild’s framing qualifications.
The full launch will come in 2023, but we started the ball rolling this month when we were delighted to host Joe from Capstone Framing in Yorkshire for two days of training. Joe was one of two winners of the Spring 2022 Larson-Juhl Scholarship Scheme run by the Guild. The scheme, which has been running for a number of years now, awards funds for training through the Fine Art Trade Guild for up to 4 scholars per year, as well as covering the cost of the Guild Certified Framer qualification. We were due to have two students on site, but one had to cancel at short notice, so they will be joining us for the next Scholarship Training Sessions in Spring 2023. Working alongside us as a fellow trainer was our friend Ian Kenny of Ian Kenny Framing in Scotland. Ian is also a fully qualified framer, and we’ve sat alongside him on the various Guild committees we’ve been part of over the years. Joe was put through his paces learning about all aspects of the industry and working through various practical tasks – all of which will be tested as part of the GCF exam.
We’ve been busy throughout the month with the usual increase in orders as we head towards Christmas. We had an unusually high number of oversize items in the workshop – from Michelle Greenw00d-Brown mosaics that are now up on display in Totnes town centre, 6ft mirrors in oiled oak frames, large canvases that were stretched onto bars and framed, numerous football and rugby shirts, through to a very long Chinese scroll that towered over us both once it was in its frame. Having a large workshop really does come into its own at times like that!
Just as it does when we have full exhibitions of paintings, with all hand-painted frames. The first few days of the month saw the completion of one such project, with all the paintings then heading to Marlborough College in Wiltshire for a solo exhibition. We were delighted to join the artist and his family on the first weekend of the show to see all the paintings on display. Both Alec and Jo were fully hands-on getting everything ready in time as we were on very tight deadlines. Much of the work was done behind closed doors out of hours so that we could utilise every workbench, including the design desk! Having a separate preparation/dusty room and a dedicated painting room enabled us to get the job done on time.
Our Christmas order book is now very busy. We closed our book for hand-finished frames before Christmas on 1st December and will be judging on a job-by-job basis for other work, with final cut-off date for all orders of Saturday 10th December. That will ensure we have time to get all outstanding orders finished in good time for people to collect before we close for the holidays on 22nd December. We do have a good range of stock ready-made frames in metric and imperial sizes for last minute items – and our January order book if fully open.
OCTOBER 2022
We are delighted to say that the workshop reopened after our bout of Covid, on 1st October. We will be slowly catching back up with outstanding work, pacing ourselves as we recover. We are also confirmed for our exams to take place in Scotland on 8th October, and the dates for amended opening hours are listed above ^^^ Appointments are available throughout the rest of the month and we look forward to getting back to normal as the month progresses.
Our rescheduled exams took place over the weekend of Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th October. Despite our slightly Covid-foggy brains we went into them determined to do our best. We each presented our three prepared pieces and then undertook a verbal and written exam as well as being tested on practical tasks. Alec had decided to surprise Jo and had arranged to also take his Advanced Textile Framing exam – having quietly prepared and studied for it. We are delighted to announced that we were successful in all three exams taken! That gives us a full house of Guild qualifications – sitting alongside our existing Guild Certified Framer exams and our Advanced Conservation Framing (both) and Advanced Textile Framing (J0).
This also means that Alec and Jo are the first married couple in the history of the Guild to both gain all three Advanced Framing Qualifications – which is definitely something to celebrate!
We should be getting our new certificates through in the next few weeks and will get those framed up and proudly displayed alongside the existing ones.
SEPTEMBER 2022
Covid has had an effect on plans for people worldwide over the past two and a half years or so – and our plans are no exception to that. Despite it all, I am sure we were not alone in feeling that we were through the worst of it and some semblance of normality had returned. An ability to make and stick to plans! Well, Covid had another trick up its sleeve for us in September. Because, despite having relatives who’ve had Covid, both of us had managed to avoid catching it – until this month.
Jo tested positive first and then a few days later, it was Alec’s turn. We seem to have caught a particularly nasty variant of it and it knocked us for six, along with a few other members of our wider family. The workshop had to close, and all work put to one side as we stayed at home to isolate and recuperate. Our exams, to take place in Scotland on 24th September, were cancelled and moved to October (see new dates above for when the workshop will be closed to allow us to travel for that) and we thanked our lucky stars that we’ve had our vaccinations and boosters, which has meant that as ill as we have felt, it hasn’t meant a trip to hospital.
Our thanks to all our customers for their kindness and understanding during this closure – we look forward to feeling more like our normal selves and back to normal service very soon. Updates will be put out on our social media – Facebook and Instragram – for the very latest information on reopening. @theframinglot
AUGUST 2022
A busy month for us as we ramped back up to full speed after our holiday and also (finally!!) took the decision to book and do final preparations for our next set of exams. Since 2019 we have been the examiners for framers around the country taking either their Guild Certified Framer exams, or for more experienced framers, their Advanced Framing qualifications. Now the tables will be turned, and we will be the ones tested on our practical skills, in-depth knowledge and problem-solving abilities. For Alec, this will be the second Advanced qualification – sitting alongside his first awarded certificate from 1993, his GCF and then his Advanced Conservation Framing qualification. For Jo, it will be her third and final Advanced qualification alongside her Advanced Textiles and Advanced Conservation, meaning that she will be become one of a handful of framers worldwide to achieve her GCF and all three of the Advanced qualifications available. The workshop will be closing for a few days towards the end of September to allow us to travel up to Scotland where the only UK examiner for this test is located – dates will be listed above ^^^ and appointment bookings will be blocked out on those days.
We’ve taken it as an opportunity to push ourselves to create some new examples for our gallery wall, as well as brush up on some more rusty skills that have become slightly less fashionable in recent times. Very traditional mount decoration methods of ruled lines, wash panels and so on – which will be sitting alongside the intricate cuts and designs we can create on our computerised mount-cutter. Bringing traditional and modern together to increase our design range for that fully bespoke experience. Customers will be able to see examples of our hand-painted mounts, multi-layer mounts and fabric-wrapped mounts displayed on the wall. We will also have other designs and options available to show as samples at the design desk.
Alec has also been having fun with frame decoration and we saw a great response to a series of social media posts on Facebook and Instagram. We featured video snippets as he built the layers from a bold vibrant plain red, then adding four splatter paint patterns, to create a unique and totally bespoke paint finish to match the CD graphics on an Ed Sheeran signed single. Alec is now busy creating a bespoke hand-painted frame in the colours of the Devon flag, to match a hand-painted four layer mount created by Jo for her cross-stitch Devon map. Both will also be on display on the gallery wall.
Why not follow us on Facebook or Instagram @theframinglot to see more examples of what we do and to get our very latest news.
The end of the month also saw us have a “late summer clean up” of our moulding stock. As a result we’ve got lots of NEW stock frames in standard imperial sizes, as well as some metric sizes and a smaller selection of odd-sized mis-makes. All are being sold at a discount from bespoke price. These sit alongside our superb metal ready made frames in sizes from A4 upwards. We’ve also identified a selection of supplier discontinued, superb quality moulding or overstock moulding that we can offer to customers at a reduced price. These mouldings are available for normal bespoke orders, while stocks last. They have the additional benefit of already being in-stock for urgently required orders!
JULY 2022
They are hinting at a few weeks of warm weather, which would be very welcome as July is the month when we take our Summer Break. The workshop will be closed from 5pm on Wednesday 6th July, reopening at 10am on Tuesday 26th July. After a busy year, we shall be putting our feet up for a while and (hopefully!) enjoying the sunshine.
We had a wonderful break in beautiful Brittany and are now back in the workshop again as normal.
JUNE 2022
This month marked the two year anniversary of our re-opening (alongside other retailers) after the very first COVID lockdown that stretched from March through to mid June 2020. Trading conditions during lockdowns was unpredictable – with huge volumes of work when we were allowed to be open, followed by more lockdowns and closures causing delays. COVID restrictions also caused issues with stock and supply chains from our suppliers. Volume of work and delays in getting supplies inevitably caused us to have no option but to increase our lead time considerably. Our huge thanks to all our customers who were so understanding throughout about the issues businesses worldwide were facing.
We are delighted to say that the situation with stock and supply chains is now much improved – and even more delighted to say that normal service has resumed on our standard lead times. For most work that is now our normal 2-3 weeks, with the ability to turn things around even faster than that for customers in more urgent situations.
Like the visitors to Dawlish a few weeks ago, who had brought a recently finished and unframed wedding sampler cross-stitch with them as a gift for a COVID delayed wedding that weekend. We were able to offer a range of framing options to choose from, and complete the job within 48 hours. Or the customer who needed a mounted print framed to take with them as a gift the following day – again, we were able to offer a range of options to choose from moulding we held in stock, and hand the finished piece back to them the next morning, ready for their journey up country.
June also marks the anniversary of us opening the business – and on 26 June 2022 we celebrated 16 years of The Framing Lot, by raising a glass. Our thanks to each and every customer who has supported our business over the past 16 years. We are looking forward to new developments and another busy year ahead.
MAY 2022
A few short weeks for us in May. We start the month with a trip to Scotland for a wedding. Twice postponed by COVID, we are hoping for a great celebration. Then we have the Guild Weekend in mid May, where we will be helping with the education on offer, Jo will be hosting her Master’s Dinner and presenting the Art and Framing Industry Awards and then Chairing her final AGM, before handing things over to the next Master of the Guild. The following day sees us dashing up to Derbyshire with our framing Examiners hats on – with 2 exams to do – before we head home again. We will be back to normal days and hours after Tuesday 17th May.
What a wonderful weekend of celebrations we had at the Guild Weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon! A lovely relaxed social meal with framers from the UK and Holland on the Friday evening, followed by a full day of education classes with around 180 framers visiting – from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Holland, Denmark, Italy, Canada and USA to learn skills, techniques, machine maintenance, sustainability in the industry and keep up to date with industry developments. The Guild is a truly international Family. We were treated to superb examples of framing excellence with the Framing Challenge and Mount Cutting Challenge award finalists on show – Jo and Alec were both judges for the competition again this year. Alec taught box framing, stacked mouldings, frame construction and hand-finishing techniques. Jo had her Textile Framing hat on and taught framers about everything from framing football shirts to antique samplers, silk scarves to leather jackets.
In the evening Jo put her Master of the Guild hat firmly on and presented the Art & Framing Industry Awards 2022 as well as inducting the first four women from the industry into the Guild’s Hall of Fame. A superb night was had by all. The next morning, slightly worse for wear after the night before(!), Jo undertook her final task as Master of the Guild as her three year term of office came to an end. She Chaired the AGM and then handed over to the newly elected Master of the Guild, Mark Wallington. He invited her to become his Vice-Chair and Master’s Warden – a nominated rather than elected post – which will keep her as part of the Executive team for another three years, there to assist and advise the incoming Master and to deputise in his absence. Ian Kenny, who served as Jo’s Master’s Warden for the past three years, presented Jo with her Past-Masters Badge – a beautiful miniature version of the Master’s Jewel that forms the Chain of Office for the Master of the Guild. But she gets to keep this one!
APRIL 2022
April was another busy month and we enjoyed the spells of good weather – particularly over the Easter weekend. April saw preparation for a number of artist exhibitions as Spring and Summer exhibitions get underway. Alec was kept very busy in his sanding/preparation room and his painting room as he produced a large number of stacked moulding combination frames and hand-painted and hand-finished frames. Having separate areas to do this work is essential to the smooth running of the workshop. It allows us to keep the dustier tasks confined to one space and his painting room is set up to allow him to be working on a large number of frames at the same time – with drying racks filling one wall. This is particularly handy when Jo is working on textile items, as it keeps her working area cleaner than if we were sharing work benches.
April seems a flurry of cross-stitches, embroideries and other needlework samplers celebrating upcoming weddings. But this April also saw a small flurry of antique samplers. These all belonged to one family and were being framed ready to be handed down two generations to the grand-daughters of our customer. A span of five generations from the young girls who had stitched them in the 1800s. We were pleased to be able to advise our customer on the best way to support the pieces – of varying fragility – and on appropriate framing and glazing to offer the best protection. All the framing in these cases was undertaken to Fine Art Trade Guild Level 1 framing standard – with the appropriate materials used to meet those high standards.
Both Jo and Alec finished the month by starting to prepare for the workshops they will be teaching at the Fine Art Trade Guild annual event – the Guild Weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon in May. Jo is teaching Textile Framing – from cross-stitch to sport shirts, delicate silk scarves and antique samplers, through to modern clothing items – she will be giving guidance, answering queries and showing appropriate methods, techniques and materials to use. Alec will be teaching all about the art of hand-finished frames, how to stack moulding combinations together effectively, how to extend rebates and create box frames to great effect. With over 150 framers from the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe, USA and Canada booked to attend, it should be a great event.
Jo is the current Chair & Master of the Guild, a post she has held since May 2019, having previously been a Director of the Guild since 2014 and an Executive Director since 2016. Her term of office ends at the AGM in May, but she will remain an Executive Director until May 2025. Both Jo and Alec also serve as members of the Framing Standards and Qualifications Committee, are Guild Certified Examiners, are educators on the telephone and on-line Technical Helpline for UK Guild Framer Members and have written published articles on framing.
MARCH 2022
Bit of an odd start to the month for us, as we had to have a few days working off-site. This also meant a dash up to Scotland and back to get the work done – always strange to travel that far and really only see the inside of another framing workshop! Our thanks to Ian from Ian Kenny Framing in Hamilton for his wonderful hospitality.
We’re now back in our OWN workshop and ready for a a busy few weeks for the rest of March. The new version of our pricing software is now live and our old system has been mothballed. All the necessary information has been migrated across though, so apart from seeing a slightly different version of the paperwork we hand over to you when an order is placed, everything else should be seamless (we hope!).
Spring is also the time when moulding manufacturers launch their new ranges – and discontinue some of their less popular ones. We’ve had Reps in from most companies now and the new ranges are now appearing on the moulding chevron boards. Stocks with suppliers are much improved this year – but when something is out of stock it tends to be so for quite a while. We are keeping an eye on this and adjusting things accordingly.
Alongside our new ready made frame range – we’ve had an update and refresh of our bespoke metal frame chevrons too. We have new colours and profiles available, as well as specially designed metal frames with matching spacers – which quickly and easily allow for a box frame look in a metal frame. Our metal frame ranges sit alongside our other bespoke framing options.
This month both Alec and Jo put on their “framing examiner” hats and headed first to the Cotswolds and then to the Forest of Dean to test framers for their Guild qualifications. Alec oversaw a Guild Certified Framer exam and then Jo oversaw a Guild Certified Framer Advanced: Conservation exam. We’re pleased to say that both candidates passed their tests and we were able to warmly congratulate them on achieving their GCF(AFP) and GCF(APF) Adv qualifications. Later that week, Jo put on her teaching hat as she gave a talk on framing delicate textiles to the London Branch of the Guild via a Zoom webinar. The London Branch used to just draw framers from the London and South East area, but since COVID restrictions it migrated to an online platform and the monthly meetings now attract framers from around the UK. Jo gave a demonstration on various techniques – from handling fabrics at the design desk, to appropriate methods of support for different fabrics. She used some of her own antique sampler collection to demonstrate attachment methods and also showed some examples of current customer work in for framing and how she had prepared them ready to be put into their frames. Jo is teaching her next session on framing textiles at the Guild Weekend in May, when Alec will also be teaching framers about box framing, extending frame rebates and other frame construction techniques to help them problem-solve more involved tasks.
As March draws to a close, Jo is heading up to London for four days of Guild related meetings. These are the first in-person meetings that Jo has chaired since February 2020, and will the last block of meetings before the AGM, when she is due to stand down as Chair & Master of the Fine Art Trade Guild, as her 3 year term draws to a close. Alec will be heading up to London on Wednesday afternoon to join her, so that they can both attend the Framing Standards and Qualifications Committee meeting on the Thursday. The workshop will be closed on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday, but both Alec and Jo will be back at work as normal in Dawlish from Friday onwards.
FEBRUARY 2022
We’d like to thank everyone for their consideration and understanding in January when we had to take a sudden trip to Northern Ireland after suffering a bereavement. It rather knocked us for six and that inevitably meant that we were not working at full capacity. We have been endeavouring to catch back up with ourselves and are now nearly there. We have been really grateful for the kindness shown by everyone who has had an extra delay in getting their work back.
February also saw the launch of our new ready made frame range. Exclusively from Nielsen Designs, world leaders in metal frames, the frames are available in metric standard and paper sizes from A4 upwards. In a range of 4 colour tones across 2 styles we can add a single mount and fitting if needed, or you can just buy and take them away. We also still have our own ready made frames that are wood moulding in a variety of sizes and styles but these are one off, whereas the metal frames can be ordered and purchased in quantities. We often get asked for paper size and metric size frames and so are delighted to add these to our range to fit those requests.
Our final day in February was spent learning about our new pricing software. Created by the same company as the system we’ve been using since April 2014, this new version has allowed us to migrate all our previous orders across so we can still look up your old orders if needed. We even had a request recently to check back in our old paper system – having kept every order since we started in 2006 has proved to be very valuable over the years. We will be taking all new orders on the new system from 1st March – so you will see some changes in the paperwork we hand over to you.
JANUARY 2022
Happy New Year! We are back in the workshop and are already hard at work, ready for a busy year ahead. Don’t forget we will be away from the workshop from Thursday 13th returning on Tuesday 18th January as we celebrate Alec’s 50th birthday. As I am writing this on our first day back, there will be more monthly news soon ……
Alec had a lovely birthday – thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes to him – and we enjoyed a few days away in London. We are now back at work with normal opening hours throughout the rest of January.
With the changes to Plan B announced by the Government, from Thursday 27th January it will no longer be a legal requirement to wear a mask when visiting us. However, as we have clinically vulnerable family members we will continue to wear masks for the time being when customers and other visitors are on site. If you are able to wear a mask, we would prefer that you do so unless you have a medical exemption. But we will not insist and nor will we query or question your right to make your own decision about mask wearing.
With only one entrance door and no other windows for cross-ventilation, we will also maintain social distancing by working across the design desk for now. It is a system we’ve had in place since re-opening after the first National Lockdown ended in June 2020 and we know that it can be frustrating at times, but so far it has kept us and our customers safe and well throughout the various spikes in infection and variations of concern.