Opinions Wanted Does your shop offer fabric wrapped mats and/or liners?

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Does your shop sell fabric wrapped mats & liners?

  • DOES NOT APPLY/NOT A FRAMER

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • YES

    Votes: 80 74.8%

  • NO

    Votes: 27 25.2%
  • Total voters
    107
  • Poll closed .
Mike Labbe

Mike Labbe

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Does your shop offer fabric wrapped mats and/or liners?​

Monthly Survey & Discussion for March 2009
Results are anonymous​

Franks, Raphaels, Falcon East, Finest, Framing Fabrics, etc​

Which vendor(s) do you carry?

Wrapped by vendor, or in-house?​


RESULTS from previous TFG surveys: LINK TO RESULTS​


Grumble surveys are purely for entertainment value, and to stimulate healthy/friendly discussion. Since the results only represent a relatively small group of participants, use them cautiously.
 
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We use Raphael's and do our own wrapping. Both mats and liners. Would like to use Frank's too but we've got so much Raphael's in stock we can't really justify stocking two suppliers at this point.
 
I use Frank's Fabrics and wrap in-house. I haven't done a lot of fabric-wrapping though, I think for the most part due to the logistics of importing from the U.S.; with the exchange rate, customs brokerage fees & duties, it can increase the cost significantly. However, Frank's has been terrific company to do business with!
 
I use frank's. can't say enough about the service. I buy liners chop and wrap my own mats. Just seems the most economical for both products if you factor in waste and shipping.

Jeff K
 
Raphael's. Why would one NOT offer wrapped liners/mats/whatever. So easy, so beautiful.
 
I use Frank's and am very happy with their service and quality.

Most of the work I do in-house but some liners I let them do. Prior to taking Baer's class I had them do mats too. Now I do all mats and most liners in-house.
 
Franks and Raphaels. Wrapped in-house and by vendor depending on the job. All mats wrapped in-house. Most liners wrapped by vendor but that is changing.

Baers classes are great for both beginners and those with more experience.
 
I don't understand the questions really. But we just never get much call for any of that stuff.

But, I suppose, if someone came into the shop and nicely stuck a 9mm to my forehead then I guess I'd have a good reason to maybe show them some fabric. :D
 
OK, a little less serious now....

At Vegas PMA09, about half of my students in the "Featuring Fabric Financially" on how, why and how to sell fabric in framing..... were photographers that were considering getting into framing. So, what does your "A" Game look like?
 
Raphael's, Framing Fabrics, starting with Frank's who we remember from way back before he started his own company, and miscellaneous vendor/liner companies.

All mats done in house. Certain liners and fabrics done in house and others done by vendor.

After 20+ year of offering this we have a huge stock of fabrics and liners and try to use stock as much as we can.
 
I offer selected fabrics from Frank, Raphael's and Framing Fab. We just love to offer heaps of options. We discontinued Framing Fabrics for a time, we got weary of the amount of discontinued samples that left us holding the bag. They begged for a second chance a year ago, we are being gracious and doing that...but with a lot fewer samples.

We do all our own wrapping of mats and liners, we offer flex fillet too.

In my sweet dreams Raphael's sells quarter yards. In my nightmares I am hunting up specific remnants because the left over was too big to throw out. Yes, we keep a log of all remnants and where they are...over 18 years worth of them.
 
Do all my mats and liners in-house, with Franks Fabrics. Have not yet figured out how to price the flexible fillets.
 
jules

It's been quite a while since I've done a fabric wrapped mat or liner but thanks to yesterdays seminar in Lansing I will be changing that. Baer was an inspirational instructor with his enthusiasm (not to mention his quirky anecdotes ) . It was an informative afternoon, the setting was great and I enjoyed meeting with fellow proffesionals. It has put a new spark in my eye and I am looking for the right piece to showcase at an upcoming event here in London. The flexible fillets are just what I've been waiting for. Now I can offer those specialty cuts I have available on my Wizard and still use a fillet. I am a happy framer. Thanx, Great Lakes P.P.F.A. chapter it was a pleasure to meet you ,julie
 
julie's Total Framing said:
Baer was an inspirational instructor with his enthusiasm (not to mention his quirky anecdotes ) .
Click to expand...
And a dog that likes bananas to boot! :)

I hope in the future to offer fabric-wrapped mats. Robo kindly introduced me to Baer's Fabric Wrapping 101 video. I think they look fabulous, and would be a real USP for me. Besides, I absolutely love to offer customers lots of options so that they can take home and spend years enjoying something really special. It also gives me a terrific buzz to be able to design and make special projects: "cherry on the top" work! :)

Finally, I unwittingly served my time as a designer under my dress designer/seamstress mother. I really like working with fabric: it brings back many good memories. I'm also a very tactile person, and I love the look and feel of different fabrics. Baer's comments on the video about humans having strong emotional links to fabric really resonated with me. :)
 
The Results are in!

Although voting is closed, discussion can continue.

Mike

Does your shop sell fabric wrapped mats & liners?

Yes: 75%
No: 25%
 
PaulSF said:
Have not yet figured out how to price the flexible fillets.
Click to expand...

Hey Paul... The flexible fillets run 2.25 a foot and since you need to buy full strips and pay freight and/or minimums I usually use a 4-5X mark-up depending on if it is a straight use or complex curves.

On another note:

I just attended a refresher course that Baer put on at our Great Lakes Chapter Meeting in East Lansing, MI. These courses are now underwritten by Frank's Fabric's and Wizard International. The 6 hour hands-on workshop is an excellent introduction to basic and more elaborate fabric wrap techniques.

The biggest value to the workshop for me personally, besides some of the more advanced techniques offered, was the way Baer presents the "material" instilling everyone in the class with confidence.

Fabric wrapping is one of the most differentiating custom services any frame shop can offer and expands the elements of design within a custom frame package exponentially.

Frankly, I was surprised at the poll results that 75% of respondents said they offered fabric wrapping in their shops. I wonder if we had expanded on the question and asked how often we offer this option to our customers and if we always keep it in the forefront of our offerings when talking with customers at the counter what the response would have been.

One other value of attending Baer's workshops is the renewal of recognizing what a valuable design tool it is and reminding us to feature it in our presentations.
 
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