Molding

Kburke

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Jan 28, 2006
Posts
8
Loc
Columbia, SC
Grumblers,

I hope all is well. I was wondering if anyone could provide me with a provider of molding? The few I've been able to run down on the net all require you to have a business license. Since I am a newbie, I don't have one. Any suggestions?

I am in South Carolina...anything in my neck of the woods would be a bonus as I could go pick it up and not pay shipping.

Thanks,
Kevin
 
I can't imagine any supplier selling to anybody without a tax license. Unless they sell retail too. Why not get a tax license? Yikes, mine costs like $25 every other year........somebody has to pay the taxes on goods sold. If a supplier sells to you you are expected to collect the tax when you in turn sell it, that is why they need the resellers license, to verify they sold to you and you are collecting taxes on the product.
 
Kevin,

Custom framing IS a business! It isn't a hobby that we all pursue as a sideline to teaching or doing some other fulltime job. And any independant business requires that you have a sales tax certificate, a store front in many cases, and a business license just to name some starters.

Please don't become offended if you start to receive posts that refer to the business aspect of custom framing, that is what the majority of the members here do for a living and you are asking questions about framing and equipment and materials that are more on a hobby level than a professional level.

We all had to start out somewhere with our framing careers. I started out much like you in my home doing framing part time. I bought materials from retail houses like Dick Blick and Art Mart and paid full retail price for them. That was the tradeoff for not having a storefront to use nor a resale certificate to show that I was seriously using custom framing as a source of my income. I also used a Logan mat cutter and a Delta Contractor's table saw for cutting mats and frame legs.

My suggestion to you is to learn to crawl first. Your volume of frames isn't that much that it will break your bank to buy at the retail level for awhile. As you increase your business and require more work space, then you may want to consider going fulltime and doing all the real professional stuff that you will have to get into for a real business.

BTW, I taught at the post-secondary level just prior to opening my first frame shop so your path that you are on right now is closely aligned to what I have been walking on for the past 30 years or so.

Good luck.

Framerguy
 
Hi Kev. I don't know of any either, but I do sell to some local guys who simply enjoy making their own frames and so I sell them moulding in length with a discount. Until you "make it legal" you might wanna just ask local framers if they sell in length. Good luck with your exploration of the business.
 
Grumblers,

I am sorry if I gave the impression that I was trying to cut corners and get into something that I shouldn't be in. I am just looking for molding, I'll pay retail. I went to a local frame shop and asked them if I could be some length and they were going to charge me the full price as if I was buying a frame from them. It didn't make sense to me to have to pay the entire price of a frame if I was going to assemble it myself. I even went into Michal's and Hobby Lobby (gasp, I know...forgive me
They thought I was an alien from another planet. They could not wrap their brains around the idea that I didn't want them to build my frame for me.

I've searched the net and still couldn't turn up any decent catalogues of available molding (I might be totally looking in the wrong place). I probably used the wrong terminology in my post. I just need a wider choice of moldings that I can pick from. I am just kind of bored with using the profiles that I make myself on my router table.

Sorry for any confusion. I promise, I'm not trying to double dip into the retail market without paying my dues. Honestly, I don't ever forsee myself opening up a shop. I just enjoy staying busy doing something that I truely enjoy doing...and helping friends/family get those prints framed that have been hiding out under beds for the last 5 years. I don't even make any money for my time. What I charge them covers the materials and a saw blade here and there.

Cheers,
Kevin
Columbia, SC
 
Originally posted by Kburke:

I am sorry if I gave the impression that I was trying to cut corners and get into something that I shouldn't be in.
Not at all the impression I got, Kevin, I was just trying to give you a heads up on some of the reactions that have been printed in the past when people come on here looking for help with a hobby. ............ I am just looking for molding, I'll pay retail. And that's where Dick Blick and Art Mart come in handy, they do sell to anyone at retail. There is also a catalog sales company, whose name eludes me now, who sells ready-mades in both metal and wood in most of the standard sizes. It is a family owned company and they have a really nicely put together catalog, maybe somebody else will come up with the name............ I even went into Michal's and Hobby Lobby ......They thought I was an alien from another planet. Yeah, they both have ground rules that their employees have to follow. I don't know what Michaels has to offer in custom moulding but HL only had a few hundred samples. (And it seems like when a profile IS popular or sells well, they take it off the display!!)

I've searched the net and still couldn't turn up any decent catalogues of available molding I found this site on a Google search, maybe it will help. ............. Sorry for any confusion. No confusion here. I know where you are right now, I was there back in the late 80's, I became burned out with the political BS that was going on in the education field and started building frames as a stress reliever! ........... Honestly, I don't ever forsee myself opening up a shop. I just enjoy staying busy doing something that I truely enjoy doing...and helping friends/family get those prints framed that have been hiding out under beds for the last 5 years. I don't even make any money for my time. What I charge them covers the materials and a saw blade here and there. Yeah, those were my feelings too back then. But, once the bug bites you, it's very hard to just walk away and pick up a golf club or a fishing rod and completely forget framing! Some never go beyond the hobby stage but, for many, custom framing has become their second career.

Good luck.

FGII
 
Try AmericanFrame.com

Other than that - honestly go get a license. You will have a business and can use your framing purchases as a business expense. According to which state you live in you can claim a loss for up to 5 years.
Once you get a license, call Omega, Studio, Vermont Hardwoods, etc. Just ask for the catalogs :)Get samples as / if you need them.
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I had checked with Home Depot and Lowes. Neither of the local stores still carry picture frame molding. I'll check with the other suggested sources for molding.

Thanks for the time,

Kevin
 
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