Looking for specific moulding

E

Emily

Grumbler
Joined
Dec 30, 2003
Posts
30
From
Beresford, SD
A customer brought in a project... wanting me to frame an old 1938 newspaper in a frame similar to what he has on another piece. This frame is 3/4" wood moulding, black (w/ wood grain showing), and scooped. It reminds me a lot of LJ's "Heyward" black shadowbox moulding, only, well, short. Not shadowbox. Or, like Vivian Kistler's Picture Framing book 1: page 16, profile 14 and 23 mixed together.

I've exhausted my three suppliers... does anyone have any ideas on where I could go to check? I'm only gonna need one stick.

This customer is the local newspaper editor. I do NOT want to tell him I can't match it!

Thanks,
Emily
 
I don't think there is anything that irritates me more than trying to match a moulding that was made 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago. Whenever anyone brings in a group of things to be collected on the wall, I strongly encourage either a basic metal frame or (what I push first) a mixture of 2 or 3 styles so that as time goes on, we can still maintain the 'look' without matching.
And my favorite ones are the ones who say, "I don't need it to match, only be close" so you show them one that is the same color but a little larger and the carving is slightly different and they want it to match better. GEDDOUDAMYSTORE!
 
I agree Ellen. I will try and coordinate a frame to work well as an additional framed piece to hang w/the original. But after years of framing, I've learned that it's normally a waste of time to try and exactly match something that the customer doesn't know who made it, or I've never seen it when looking through catalogs in the past. Another thing, alot of time, the moulding the customer wants me to "match" is some low-end frame that they think will be the exact same price as what they paid 5-10 years ago.
 
This isn't going to help Emily one little bit, but it might give her a chuckle.

About two years ago, a photographer came in with a frame to try and match it. It was clearly a Mexican readymade from a very long time ago. The 20x24 probably cost $25 at the time it was purchased.

His client, an old congregation, had a dozen-or-so with all the past pastors and needed one more.

The closest match we could come up with was one of the bigger L-J Queen Victoria mouldings and it cost about $300 for the empty frame.

They bought one, but ignored my suggestion that they get a dozen for future use.

One thing I tell my customers when they are trying to match an old frame (even one of mine) is that it is probably better to choose a contrasting style with a similar
"feel" than to look like you were trying to match it and fell short.

A 335WO from 2004 is NOT going to look just like a 335WO from 1978. (I think ash trees have evolved.)
 
Nurre Caxton has a few black moulding profiles with a very similar finish to the LJ Heyward. I didn't see any scoop styles, but there is a "Bevelwood" 1 1/8" Black Ash that might get you close?
 
I just found a 3/4" flat top black with a very similar finish that I got from Don Mar. It is their number 396A. It appears to be one they import themselves; I can't find it in their crossover list.
 
Thanks Cliff, and all, for responding. I tried calling Don Mar, but they are singularly unable to help me out. I was hoping for a fax or email with a catalog page or drawing of the moulding, but since I don't have an account number, and in fact am not eligible for an account since I reside in South Dakota, I'm S.O.L. If any one has a suggestion around this problem, or any other moulding companies that might have a suitable moulding, please, please, please let me know!

Thanks,
Emily
 
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