I just got back from my action packed weekend in the framing capitol of the world. I’m referring to North Carolina of coarse. There actually is one frame shop per block there.
I’m tired and very glad to be back home. Left here at 3pm Friday and got back last night at around 7pm. During that time I have been driving or riding about 35 hours.
I want to thank Tony and Kassandra , Jerry Ervin, Warren Tucker and Betty Newman. As I move this spring I have an opportunity to go any direction I want to with my new shop. I figured I would check out the entire spectrum of framing galleries. I have officially seen that spectrum in its entirety. I’m not any clearer but I am much more informed. I found few common threads between the shops I visited.
I would be remiss if I didn’t share my opinion of the shops I visited. I know I love hearing about what Grumblers think of others shops.
Applewood is very elegant. They are wanting at very upscale gallery and are well on their way to getting that. It’s very bright and airy. Because they have customers that come in the “back door” they are actually decorating their workroom. There is no doubt that in the next few months they will have, hands down, the most pleasant workspace in the trade. This interested me as I think my new store will have a “semi open” concept.
Warren’s place is a framesmith’s dream come true. If there weren’t three of everything I would think I was seeing double. Ironically they have a wizard that holds the only dust I found in the place. I’ll bet it will be for sale soon. His moulding storage facility houses more mouldings than some suppliers do. I know he has received some grief as the “low end” guy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. They make custom mouldings and can match any finish, old or new, that you want. They build their own stretcher bars and liners. They sell some Roma and Larson (that is NOT stocked) and Abe Munn. His staff is second to none. They are very friendly and obviously love their job. I think he followed the advice of “hire people smarter than you and get out of their way”. I could go on and on…..I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing this but he is an EXCELLENT host. If you find yourself in Wilmington look him up. He has three fully stocked refrigerators in his garage, or so I have heard
.
Jerry’s place is the quintessential frame shop. It’s very neat clean and straightforward. The samples are well lit up and varied. He has a nice mix of preframed art, paper art and custom framing with little space. When he told me what he spent on his build out, I had no choice but to visit. If you think you need $10,000 or $20,000 to relocate you have to check out this cats shop. It is in a strip much like the one I’m moving to and I’ll bet there will be much of his shop echoed in mine.
After visiting Betty’s place and I can confirm one fact. There has never ever been a single walk in customer at her studio. This shop is about 3 miles off the interstate yet a whole world away. I would bet that 99% of framers that had her location would not be framing more than a few weeks. I can see her location as a constant battle to get and maintain customers without spending all income on advertising. It’s very rustic and country there. The shop actually plays up that perfectly.
Thanks again friends for the tours, beers, discussions, education, entertainment, and time. It was an interesting trip.
I’m tired and very glad to be back home. Left here at 3pm Friday and got back last night at around 7pm. During that time I have been driving or riding about 35 hours.
I want to thank Tony and Kassandra , Jerry Ervin, Warren Tucker and Betty Newman. As I move this spring I have an opportunity to go any direction I want to with my new shop. I figured I would check out the entire spectrum of framing galleries. I have officially seen that spectrum in its entirety. I’m not any clearer but I am much more informed. I found few common threads between the shops I visited.
I would be remiss if I didn’t share my opinion of the shops I visited. I know I love hearing about what Grumblers think of others shops.
Applewood is very elegant. They are wanting at very upscale gallery and are well on their way to getting that. It’s very bright and airy. Because they have customers that come in the “back door” they are actually decorating their workroom. There is no doubt that in the next few months they will have, hands down, the most pleasant workspace in the trade. This interested me as I think my new store will have a “semi open” concept.
Warren’s place is a framesmith’s dream come true. If there weren’t three of everything I would think I was seeing double. Ironically they have a wizard that holds the only dust I found in the place. I’ll bet it will be for sale soon. His moulding storage facility houses more mouldings than some suppliers do. I know he has received some grief as the “low end” guy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. They make custom mouldings and can match any finish, old or new, that you want. They build their own stretcher bars and liners. They sell some Roma and Larson (that is NOT stocked) and Abe Munn. His staff is second to none. They are very friendly and obviously love their job. I think he followed the advice of “hire people smarter than you and get out of their way”. I could go on and on…..I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing this but he is an EXCELLENT host. If you find yourself in Wilmington look him up. He has three fully stocked refrigerators in his garage, or so I have heard
.Jerry’s place is the quintessential frame shop. It’s very neat clean and straightforward. The samples are well lit up and varied. He has a nice mix of preframed art, paper art and custom framing with little space. When he told me what he spent on his build out, I had no choice but to visit. If you think you need $10,000 or $20,000 to relocate you have to check out this cats shop. It is in a strip much like the one I’m moving to and I’ll bet there will be much of his shop echoed in mine.
After visiting Betty’s place and I can confirm one fact. There has never ever been a single walk in customer at her studio. This shop is about 3 miles off the interstate yet a whole world away. I would bet that 99% of framers that had her location would not be framing more than a few weeks. I can see her location as a constant battle to get and maintain customers without spending all income on advertising. It’s very rustic and country there. The shop actually plays up that perfectly.
Thanks again friends for the tours, beers, discussions, education, entertainment, and time. It was an interesting trip.
