Are We Slaves to Fashion?

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Framing Goddess

Framing Goddess

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Jul 18, 2000
Posts
4,318
Loc
Cleveland, Ohio
As you all may well suspect, The Framing Goddess has an irrefutable reputation as A Dedicated Follower of Fashion. Despite her most recent splurge on a pair of wet-look vinyl platform boots and faux pony skin vest, FG is most interested in home fashion trends.
Hence the following board-wide query:
What are you, as framers, noticing to be The Hottest Trends these days? I am sure you have noticed trends in the type of artwork that cutomers bring in to frame as well as what they buy off your walls. Also, what seems to be on the way out? (remember all those mauve formica frames we sold by the truckload?)
To get things going, here is what The Goddess has made note of:

HOT:
Frame mouldings in white
-white washed, white crackled, white highlights

Black frames
-still hot, satin finishes gaining on matte black, bigger, chunkier profiles are very strong.

Very simple moulding shapes
-tall squared-off stem mouldings and wide flat (with no bevel) mouldings are instant sells.

Luxurious little touches-- such as fillets, painted bevels, marbled panel mats with ink lines and extra deep bevels are getting more and more "common."

Textures
very strong textures in all aspects-- from slubby silk mats to distressed and patina'd wax frame finishes.

WHAT THEY"VE BEEN BRINGING US:

Botanicals are still surprisingly popular.

Sports Memorabilia

Mirrors

Old maps

Anything old and on paper--photos, portraits, WPA prints, letters, certificates

Kooky stuff- irreverent humor, outsider art (prison art, mental institution art,) political cartoons, comic book art, kids movie posters.

HAVEN'T BEEN SEEN MUCH LATELY:
posters
animation cels
duck stamp prints
wildlife prints, in general
architectural prints

So is it just us?
What have ya'll noticed in your neighborhood?
Jes' The Goddess being nosy again...
-FG
 
I've noticed a definite trend towards big, chunky moulding, especially on smaller pieces. We've been selling a lot of three to four inch moulding in funky sizes, like 8X8, or 12X12, etc.

And big mats on small artwork are selling, too. I've framed a 3X3 watercolor with four inch mats and four inch moulding....

Black is, as the Goddess has astutely noted, just as much a staple in framing now as it has always been in fashion. (For the Goddess: Is there truly anything more chic than the Little Black Dress?)

Been selling a lot of metals, too--not the typical rounded profile poster metals, but the thick, wide, flat Neilson metals. Neilson's brushed black flat metal has been FLYING off the wall. (Partially due to my and the other framers' fondness for it. The stuff has the tightest corners in the world; almost looks like wood.)

And is anyone else noticing the burgeoning popularity of dark wood? (My boss still carries about thirty different kinds of light oak, which NEVER SELLS, but the six (!)samples we have of dark wood can barely make it back on the wall before somebody else wants them.)

And now that this post is just as long as the Goddess's, if not longer
smile.gif
, I'll wrap up with one last observation:

Everyone seems to be digging up all their old pictures of Great Aunt Hilda and finally getting them on the wall. It's like Ancestor Appreciation Month, or something. (Which is cool because I can sell them boatloads of UV glass and conservation mats, etc., because "it's the only copy we have.")

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I don't care what color your sofa is.
 
Hate to hog the thread here
wink.gif
but I have a question:

Is antique glass as popular elsewhere as it is down here? I get a LOT of old frames with the original glass, and even if they don't want to keep the frame, they want that wavy old glass. LOL (Which sucks because if we break it we can't replace it...and it's usually already pretty chipped on the corners.)

There are whole shops dedicated to old glass--the kind that's salvaged from buildings and houses before they're torn down...and the stuff flies out of the store.

Is this just a regional thing, or is old glass a Nationwide Phenomenon? (And what is your policy on using antique glass if you do see it?)

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I don't care what color your sofa is.
 
Yes lots of old pics, war memorbilia and anything that comes out from under the bed
As far as art we are still framing alot of french provence and European streets, cafes,
doors. Big, Big Art is popular especially in our area with the gigantic homes being built. Expecting a great year, the twp. has approved 2000 bldg. permits. The area is booming with stock market yuppies. They love the big expensive Larson Juhl frames. Thanks to all those ads in magazines.
 
Goddess-Whenever I feel the need to get a sense of color direction in the marketplace, I just wander down to Dillard's (the closest major in the mall) and look at the Bath Towel display. It tells it all instantly
 
BevelAccents. I'm selling lots of these. They are incredibly easy and fast to assemble. I usually start without them, then say, "Oh, there's this new product that is so cool...no more steamroller effect". Then add the right BA and the 3-D effect sells itself.

As far as what walks in to be framed: it is still pretty much a little of everything.



[This message has been edited by Mel (edited February 14, 2001).]
 
The trend I'm seeing lately (maybe because I'm pushing it) is less mat - more frame. When I first started framing, it was triple mats on everything. Now I'm more likely to do one wide neutral-colored mat and a fillet with a big frame, maybe stack two frames and a fillet.

I'm also seeing quite a bit of artwork that customers have brought home from trips. More disposable income, more vacations, eventually it trickles down to the frame shop.

The fad for doilies with people's names crocheted in them seems to be on the wane.

Kit
 
Oh yeah - old glass. I don't see alot of it but when customers bring in an old piece to have the glass replaced, I save the wavy glass with bubbles and lines for my own framing. I LOVE that stuff! Kit
 
It is Fashion Week down in NYC you know, and white elegant classic is "it" right now. Anything you see in a department store is about a year behind what is "in". Then too we are behind by European standards even in NY.
 
*thick* mats...have been laminating up to 16 ply rag.
hand wrapped bevel liners using specialty papers, again 8-12 ply in depth.
seems more customers are conscious of framing that is correct historically for the art (may be my influence, but the tail wags the dog).
 
Kit--aren't you happy that the doily's loyal following is finally moving on?
wink.gif
(I did "update" one yesterday--which had been hot-glued to fabric that looked like the velour interior of an old Buick...we put it on an equally tasteless curdoroy fabric, but this time with linen tape. *sigh*)

And is anybody else seeing a resurgence in the popularity of papyrus prints? I'm having the worst time "centering" them--people always want them top-mounted for obvious reasons--and I usually center the image on the papyrus, since it's impossible to center the actual paper. :O And then some people go, "Oh, why is it so crooked?"

Maybe because the paper is, too. LOL Seriously, I'm framing a BUNCH of these recently.

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I don't care what color your sofa is.
 
Some of the cooler, newer things in our shop that are relatively easy to sell...

Crescent's specialty matboard (Glacier Dapple, Sand Drizzle, Elephant Stucco, etc.) - I know they're not conservation, but hey, the bevel is white. I tell the customer of it's non-museum qualities and am careful what is goes on.

LJ's Florentina series. It must be a hit all over. I've noticed that other companies are copying it right and left. LaMarche has a thinner one now that will come in handy. Their moulding only comes in three colors though. A thought...I wish one of these companies would come out with a matching fillet.

Roma's flat cross-hatch silver leaf. I don't know the number. It's beautiful and has a matching fillet. The gold is nice, too.

Lots o' fillets

Wider mats

And today I sold a 4 1/2" wide LaMarche painted Italian frame for a mirror. It's gonna be pretty nifty. Can't wait til the chops come!
 
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