Introspective Ramblings

Create a Post
F

fireframer

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Posts
128
Loc
minneapolis suburb
I am really just curious... What personal qualities do you possess that makes you well suited for this profession? If you choose to take the question to task, try not to read others' answers until you have formed your own. I would love to see if there are clear patterns that emerge.
 
Personally, I have a creative side, but also have a side that likes to build things, and figure out how to put things together.... so either I should be an artist, or a mechanic. Framer is somewhere in the middle.
 
I have a good eye for color and design. I'm creative in many ways, and most of my hobbies involve putting things together in some way. I'm from a family of artistic engineers, and I put all of it to good use when I'm given the opportunity. I like geometrics - and the square cuts of mats and frames (we don't do many ovals here!) appeal to me just as much as the round smoothness of the rings I use in my chainmail.

What I'm not good at - I'm shy and I would love to pay someone else to sell at the counter! After years of framing I still hate the selling part. (I think the last guy who owned this place was exactly the opposite - he did some really carppy work, but he could sell museum glass and fillet to nearly everyone who walked in!)
 
I like to build things. Everything from Model Railroads to business to picture frames. There is something wonderful about creating something from nothing. I have been making leather frames and get so much enjoyment from the knowledge that I started with raw wood and made something that no one else has in there shop.
 
This is funny that the last 3 all said the same thing. I did not look at any other answers before posting mine.

Pangolin, I have never meet you but I have worked with your brother many times. He has been quite helpful with my leather frames.
 
I have a great deal of accounting and customer service background as well as knowledge about the framing industry. Mastering those helped me lay a decent foundation to begin my business. If anything about my personality has helped me...its that I don't give up easy.
 
Can't take direction. ADHD. ENTJ.

Second career. Previously a federal government executive, but couldn't stand that boring environment. Wanted to be more responsible for my own career, and not let "the organization" take control. Wanted to take more risk.

And this is lots more fun.
 
Okay, I skipped to the end without reading other posts, like you asked. Here are a few qualities that help me to be well-suited for this job. Good design sense and good people sense. Needing variety in order to stay engaged with my job. This is why, although in school I was one of the most 'intellectual' people, the thought of a desk or academic job just feels like a slow suffocating death. I need a lot of new things to happen, to see new things, and to interact with many people in meaningful ways. Which is strange for an introvert, I suppose, but that's how it is. All the art that comes in, and the interesting folks who bring it, along with the chance to create design treatments, meets all these needs in my way of functioning.

Also, these are all short term, concrete tasks, not like sitting at a computer working on some endless loop of a business project. Even when it was done, it wouldn't seem done to me, because the next day would be more of the same sort of thing. With this job, there's always something new and different happening. This is a job with a lot of distractions, and I'm wired to be naturally distractible, so I just make sure that whatever I'm distracted by is still productive. Looks scattered to an outsider, but I get more done than anyone else there.

Plus, a personality that values creative fulfillment and interpersonal connections over how much money I make. Granted, there are framers who make a fine living. That's great, I admire you, and you can be proud of yourselves. But most people who do this job do it for the life, not because it's lucrative. I could make more money at a lot of other jobs, but this one is pleasing in the ways that matter most to me. Forgive me, please for how long this post is.
Thanks for starting the thread. Now I'll go back and have fun reading other people's answers.
 
LOL.... I'm embarrassed mine was so long after all your brief answers. I suppose I could have just written ADHD like Ted did and made my answer about ninety percent shorter. It's the truth. Ted, what's ENTJ?
 
ENTJ is the kind of person you don't want to meet. Look up Myers-Briggs Type Assessment, and see if you can find how this personality type is described. In short, extroverted, intuitive, judging, and something else (the T). Really bad people.

I saw a license plate with ENTJ, and knew immediately that this was trouble.

Ask my wife.

But to be fair, there are degrees of ENTJ. Sometimes I behave.
 
Ted, the "T" stands for Temperamental..... emphasis on the "mental". :D

A past boss wrote in her letter of recommendation that I was a "resource". I like hearing a good story and helping making it into a great story.

I married my banker so the $1.47/hr doesn't always bother me. :rolleyes:
 
Ah.... I'm pretty much the polar opposite of that personality description. Do have a tendency to fall for those kinds of men, though. But nice versions of it. The best.

The man who taught me to frame has this kind of personality, and he worked hard at learning to temper it with gentleness. Succeeded at that, and he was a great boss and teacher. They hired me 16 years ago, moved away 12 years ago, and are still some of my dearest friends. He's full of projects, black and white opinions, intensity, laughter and encouragement. Can't get off the phone with that man without hearing the words "We love you so much." He used to be more prickly, and it's so good to see how he's relaxed into life.
 
I was a part time framer employee during my college days. The learning involved art history and hands on art production. Before I owned my shop I was a freelance muralist, calligrapher and portraitist.
I come from a long line of teachers and pastors,communicators all,with a love of language and expression, and not afraid of people.

Sociability,art background,communication skills.

I think those things are what makes my shop such a fun and engaging and satisfying place to do business for my clients. My long time employee of 18 years and I bounce off of one another, we often will lightheartedly 'doubleteam' a client. We do not have a financial ulterior motive,we are achieving the best design for the piece,the money falls in where it does because the prices work.I genuinely love what I do for my livelihood. I think framing is great work and my enthusiasm is genuine and infectious.
 
traits

I am a perfectionist. My obsession has caused me many problems in my personal life, but has always served me well in framing. I will remove EVERY bit of dust from that glass or fabric mat, or whatever. No matter what it is, I will make it PERFECT!
Also, manual dexterity has been a plus, and I'm an artist.
 
Hey Jo: same as me. Work too hard, too much conscience. Lots of examples of giving too much to good causes, helping too many people. I learned that I have to think of my kids first, and stop giving away the farm.

I also had to learn that other peoples' problems are not mine.
 
I'm an artist, a perfectionists, a mechanic (aircraft and auto resatoration) and an all around handyman ( carpentry, plumbing, electrical, etc) so the frame shop is a natural, as are a couple of other busines interests that I am involved in..i love "working" in the frame shop.
 
Okay, without reading what others have said (will check that out later as I am very curious)

To me framing brought together so many aspects of my life. It seems that all my jobs I have done before this were building up to become a framer.

I worked in an artsupply store for many many years. (gave me retail experience and art supply knowledge). Alan and I have run several of our own businesses, succesfully, so that gave me a lot of business experience. Turned out I am great with numbers (the accounting part of the business)

I studied fashion design for a while. Although I never graduated, it gave me a sense of design, and, more importantly, color feel. I have quite a good natural sense for color and color matching.

For years I have worked with wood, building some of my own furniture (not the very complicated designs though) and I enjoyed that as a hobby.

I started taking art classes a few years back (have been painting and drawing my whole life but never had any real classes) and that's how I came to the framing part, when I realized what a huge market it could be and how much fun it is to design a frame around art.

I used to be very shy but step by step I have come a long way and I'm not a bad sales person. For a while, I was very concerned about my accent (I'm dutch) but somehow even that has become an asset, as it get people to ask questions and talk about their own trips to Amsterdam and they almost always assume because of this that I know quite a lot about art. (have to work a bit more on that though!!!)

I love framing and I do believe in what I do. Somehow it translates well to my customers. I haven't done this long enough yet, but it is slowly starting to become a passion.

Okay, and now I'm going to read what everyone else posted!
 
I believe that in almost all cases there is more than one way to do a job, or some aspect of a job, well. Working through the various ways to frame art and objects both challenges and teaches me at that same time.
 
Hanzrobo said:
I am a perfectionist. My obsession has caused me many problems in my personal life, but has always served me well in framing. I will remove EVERY bit of dust from that glass or fabric mat, or whatever. No matter what it is, I will make it PERFECT!
Also, manual dexterity has been a plus, and I'm an artist.
Click to expand...

Same here...glad there`s more of "me" out there. L.
 
I started out artist. (Am still) I was working in a gallery, I was trained to frame and became very good at it quite quickly. You need color sense, design sense, creativity, and a little bit of OCD. It does require you be picky. I also like working with people.
 
I really liked your answers, Ylva. Yours, too, Beveled.

The wierd thing about me is, I'm so not obsessive about my work. Careful, but not obsessive. And I'm the opposite of a neat freak. I live so much in my head, and am about ideas and connecting with people on their insides, that I don't even notice how things look around me sometimes.
My brain filters out anything I'm not focusing on, so I tend to make piles of clutter and then not even see them. I have to pretend I'm someone else to see how most people see, because I can work in a place that looks chaotically jumbled and do just fine.

In fact, it's a bit unnerving for me to be in a place where everything is spotlessly tidy and in order. I need a bit of clutter and a lot of still visual input just to keep all the wheels in my brain busy. Then I can focus the part of it that pays attention on the task at hand. But I need the other stuff there to give the rest of my brain something to do while that part focuses on work. Listening to music helps in the same way, but only if I like it. If not, it's like torture, because I can't really tune it out.
 
shayla said:
And I'm the opposite of a neat freak. I live so much in my head, and am about ideas and connecting with people on their insides, that I don't even notice how things look around me sometimes.
My brain filters out anything I'm not focusing on, so I tend to make piles of clutter and then not even see them. I have to pretend I'm someone else to see how most people see, because I can work in a place that looks chaotically jumbled and do just fine.

In fact, it's a bit unnerving for me to be in a place where everything is spotlessly tidy and in order. I need a bit of clutter and a lot of still visual input just to keep all the wheels in my brain busy. Then I can focus the part of it that pays attention on the task at hand. But I need the other stuff there to give the rest of my brain something to do while that part focuses on work. Listening to music helps in the same way, but only if I like it. If not, it's like torture, because I can't really tune it out.
Click to expand...


You should see my home Shayla, you would like it! Or my desk for that matter. Funny thing is though, although I like the messy and can always find what I need, very quickly, my shop is very open, clean and airy with no cluttering and mess at all.
Everything else in my life is certainly not over organized, but we do have certain routines and organization. If only to get the kids out the door on time in the morning...
 
Create a Post
Back
Top