Framers Rules

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Susan May

Susan May

PFG, Picture Framing God
Forum Donor
Joined
May 28, 2000
Posts
5,929
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moved to Clermont, Florida
Since the first rule of framing is "Don't bleed on the artwork.", and the second (according to Bogframe) is "If you don't cut yourself once a week, you're probably not working hard enough." can anyone tell me the other rules of framing?

Or should we call them the "Framer's Commandments"?

Sue
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We would be remiss if we didn't include
"Measure twice cut once".

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Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the cat.
 
How about: Read the job sheet!
 
Check stock on EVERYTHING before ordering. Just because you thought you had enough backing paper for a year doesn't mean you won't run out Thursday afternoon - too late for local delivery, just before the weekend, with a rush job of 21 pictures due on Monday.
(Guess who has to take off to run to the supplier tomorrow?)
 
framer- I have made a lot of money from quite a few people on framing puzzels.
Keep in mind we have to frame for people with bad taste as well as good. Keep the rules comming, they're great!

Sue
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[This message has been edited by Susan May (edited June 23, 2000).]
 
One rule should be "no when to say when" Sometimes you should just let well enough alone. Like when you finish cutting a large triple opening mat and realize there is a slight "splinter" about the size of a millimeter stuck underneath the surface of your top mat (virgin Crescent Rag, of course), and you try to delicately pick it out and end up doing more bad than good, and you come to the realization that no one would have noticed it anyway. Of course this has never happened to me, I've just read about it in journals for the criminally insane
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.
 
Never wear colored nail polish when working with matboard.

Never clean glass on top of artwork.

When your instincts tell you a job isn't going to be profitable, best listen to your instincts, they will be right.

The customer isn't necessarily always right, sometimes they just don't know any different.
 
Try never to say: "OOPs" in front of a customer, when working on their artwork.
Never work on a customer's artwork with the customer hovering over you. Guaranteed Murphy's Law will prevail.
 
Chelvis: Speaking of splinters under the surface paper - I want to know what salary does the guy receive who shakes the 'splinters' onto the cores before the surface paper is applied in the matboard factory? Whatever it is, he is not doing his job properly...I found two sheets this week that didn't have any at all.
Perhaps the Managing Directors of matboard companies could drop in and explain these spots to our customers!

Has 'Quality Control' been totally abandoned by manufacturers of all the products a framer needs? Every day I believe more and more that it has gone forever.
 
Hi, everyone. Yes, I'm still around. Was amused in another thread at the mention of puzzles. Reminds me of the great time I had with one a year or two ago. Had to get the puzzle framed by the next day. Often I would mount them down in the vac press by spraying the back of the puzzle and then placing it carefully into the press between the board it was to be mounted on and a board to keep it together. This particular puzzle was a Christiansen puzzle with an uneven outside edge. I put the pieces in the press then went on to do something else. When I opened the press, by mistake I had mounted the puzzle to a piece of foamboard rather than the colored matboard the customer wanted. The outside mat was to be cut leaving a fillet of the board on which the puzzle was mounted. Try removing a puzzle from a piece of foamboard. Then I remembered I had the very same puzzle at home. All I needed to do was put it togethert that night and substitute for the incorrectly mounted puzzle. Wrong. After staying up half the night my wife and I came to the end of the puzzle to find one piece missing (don't all puzzles come with one piece missing?) Not to worrry, maybe I could pry that one piece off the first puzzle and bingo be complete. Wrong. At the shop I doscovered they were the same picture but cut in different shapes. I spentr half the day peeling off the foamboard on the first puzzle and cutting tightly around the angles edge to get something I finally could mount down on the original color of matboard. The customers only comment when she picked it up? "My, you have a lot of bandaids on your fingers."
 
HA HA... HEE HA. ha. ha. LOL.....


NO PUZZLES RULE NUMBER ONE.

No joke for years when I interviewed for jobs I flat out tell the employers no puzzles.

framers rules
 
Awaiting pick-up, you've just hung the finally-finished photo-collage-project-from-**** . Your current customer spots it. "Oh, you're so creative!" she purrs, while you stand there grimly telepathing, "Please, please don't want one." She does.

Big Rule: If you don't want to sell it again, don't let anyone see it.
 
MerpsMom- I have to agree, I did two eighteen (18!) opening double mats. (top color was white and the bottom was gold) The lady said there was no time limit. (Thank GOD!) I had to cut the first mat three times; the first was fliped math, the second was BIG mat splinters, the third was beutiful. Don't ask how the back looked. the second mat I did right the first time.

Rule #1 on multi-openings... check the math, check the math, then check the math.

They were beutiful when they were done, however no other customer saw them.

Sue
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As for PUZZELS... you are chickens. I use fusion to dry-mount them. It holds well and has been known to hold up through being dropped.
Woody- listen to osgood, read the sheet. (like we have'nt all made the same mistake)

so far I think all rules are number one.

Sue
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Had a cust bring in a PUZZLE today. That's not the bad part (we do puzzles). Any way the customer already put some sort of goo that petrified the whole thing (that's still not the bad part). It was a Kinkade (that's the bad part).

DOH

And a Rule?

Rule 37:
77 Spray does not make a good machinery lubricant. And WD-40 does not mount items well. Do the math.
 
Mark Lzier- That "Goo" is called Puzzle Saver, however, I don't think it "saves" anything. You waste time and money when there is Puzzle Saver involved. Best bet is to glue it down and tell them it would have looked better, and been less expensive, if they did not use the Puzzle Saver. I have had puzzles fall apart while framing them after the customer had Puzzle Saver on them.

Could be worse... I once had a customer ask if I could frame a fishermans hat. (It still smelled like the fish!)
Sue
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No such luck. It colud have been "Modge-Podge", but I think it was white glue.

Rather appropriate for a LightPost?
 
Hay Man,

This board is really cool, ya know. I got a rule or two. First make sure there is beer in the shop. Can't frame with out my beer. Next a TV is nice to keep us natives calm in the afternoon. Third never yell at me. I'm looking for a job in Daytona for the fall if anyones interested drop a dime. You all be cool now.

BG

[This message has been edited by Benny Goldman (edited June 30, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Benny Goldman (edited June 30, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Benny Goldman (edited June 30, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Benny Goldman (edited June 30, 2000).]
 
Benny,
You sound like the perfect employee...Any customer who expects the art to be framed by a sober man has no sense of humor.
Rock on, **** .

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Jim Miller, CPFcm; GAFP Committee Member
 
I just remembered one: No candles in the frame shop. Did you see Nightmare of Frame Street, when the lady caught a map on fire? Sometimes I think most of the "Nightmares" could have been avoided.

Sue
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After dry mounting a poster to foam core, do not set it near the wall cutter...and get distracted by a customer...and expect to get back to it later. Something tells me it ends up as backing material for another project.
 
The only actual rules I have presented as rules in our shop are:
No food where we frame!!!!
And No glass above the rim of the can.

There are some other safety ones, I guess now that i think about it. I also am required to pat myself down before leaving so all the tape measures and pens stay in the store.

(spinning smiley chosen by my son)
 
Never work on top of another customers artwork.



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Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the =^..^= cat.
 
When assembling frames left is long.

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Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the =^..^= cat.
 
I always thought things reversed once you pass the equator: seasons, swirl patern when you flush, frame sides . . .
 
Lance,

I'm a little to the, er, on the left myself! Got started that way and know enough to not try to change it now. Thought I was the only one and I'm not down under, either.
 
How many of you are have left handed shops?

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Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the =^..^= cat.
 
I'm left handed and of the five people I have worked with (not including my mom) four were left handed. By the by, we do little on the left also, I guess the rule is be consistant.

I have one question about "left-handed" tools, why are the Pro-Trimmers made plastic? Right handed ones are wood and metal, reversable ones are plastic and wear out. I won't even get started on trying to teach a left-hander to cut mats!

Sue
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"Left-handed people are the only people who are in their right mind!"
 
Our rule is if a normal client takes x amount of time, an interior designer takes 2x. If they have a partner with them, that time becomes squared, and if, God forbid, 3 of them come the time amount becomes exponential.
 
OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
(big sigh for left (cack) handers!)
 
My rule that I am learning to live by.......
Never let your smallest customer become your most demanding!!!!!!
 
I guess the next rule is to always check the dry-mount press before closing it.

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Sue May :)
"Everyone is born right-handed, only the greatest can over come it!"
 
I know that food was mentioned as a no-no in the work area, but I found out the hard way, even water (God forbid a cup of coffee) should be banned from the work surface. Yeah, it's common sense, but sometimes you forget!

Nightmares? I worked for a moron who decided to take his glass garbage can home for fall leaf clean-up, and put a small plastic garbage can in it's place. The result? Eight stitches under my left kneecap, and a boss with a black eye.

Good rule for customers - if you're going to frame it, have it done right the first time! Don't pick a frame or a mat because it's cheap. You'll only regret it later, and spend more money ( and waste my time) "fixing" it on another occassion.
 
Rule #2:
Sometimes the job is not worth it.

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When you look back it's better to regret what you did, than what you didn't do.
 
I know that I have lots of rules, but here is all I can think of now with all these putty fumes in my brain...

The fewer opinions, the quicker the sale.

Almost always, they will pick the first corner sample I showed them. (Smart customers will just drop the piece off, leave me a cookie, and be back in two weeks. God bless them!)

When hanging pictures, a hand's width between
will always look nice. (Who needs a pesky ruler anyway?)

The amount of time spent with a customer at the sales counter is inversely proportional to the bottom line profit of the job.

Linen and putty are to be used AND stored in two separate rooms. (Two separate buildings if possible!)

If a customer says "I don't like gold!" they will inevitably choose gold. (Thank you Framing Goddess Teri!)

The quicker you finish a frame job, the longer it will take the customer to pick it up.

"How much will it cost to frame a picture?" is like asking "How long is a piece of string?"

"How long does it take you to frame a picture?" usually means "Can I have it done by tommorrow?"

More later...
 
More Rules...
Serious Rules:
AT THE SALES COUNTER
1. Never interfere with someone else's sale in progress, unless you are asked.
1a. IF you are asked for an opinion, always agree with your fellow employee.
2. Do not drink or eat in front of the customer. Even Lookie-Loos. It looks bad. It is okay if they drink or eat in front of you.
3. Do not assume that the customer has all the time in the world to spend on decision-making.
3a. It is okay to make the decision for the customer. Listen to them.
4.Qualify your customers. Do not assume that they cannot afford to frame, do not assume that they CAN afford to frame.
5. There is no reason for a customer to know the price per foot of moulding.
5a. Always have a place to "tuck" in a PITA charge.
6. A customer given a discount ONCE will expect it FOREVER. DO NOT DISCOUNT.
7. Orders placed with an accompanying deposit will always be picked up quicker than orders placed without one.
8. Customers who walk in with a piece of art, should always leave without it.
9. ALWAYS thank your customer. Even if they thank you.
FOR EMPLOYEES:
1. A job done slowly does not always equal a job well done.
2. Develop a knack for moving your mouth (to talk) and moving your hands (to frame) at the same time.
2a. If you can only do one at a time, stop talking.
3. Never assume...
3a. The blade in the mat cutter is fresh.
3b. There are no globs of putty on the counter.
4. People with sweaty palms do not make good picture framers.
5. Artists do not always make good picture framers.
6. Always plan ahead and expect the worst.
7. Always take the trouble to fix that small problem NOW. It will ALWAYS only get worse over time.
8. Dust seal everything that you can.
9. Masking tape is for wrapping packages.
10. Cigarette smoking and framing does not mix.
11. A never-before stretched piece of art on canvas will never look good stretched. (Why do publishers sell this crap?)
12. Do not quit your framing job on Dec. 1. It is not worth all that bad karma.
13. Always offer to help the customer carry their framed piece to their car.

FOR FUN:
1. An original piece of art that is "sold" and hung for "display" will always attract the attention of art buyers.
2. A metal frame sample functions beautifully as a bottle opener.
3. If you are a rep, odds are better that I will be in a good mood when you arrive if you call me first. An appointment is not necessary, a "heads-up" is a nice courtesy that I appreciate.
 
Thanks!
This is a very informative and CIVILIZED board! I always knew framers were a "cut" above... (sorry...)
A few more general business rules...

1. Underpromise, overdeliver.
2. EVERYTHING is negotiable. (don't tell your customers this one)
 
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