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I spend my days trying to get them hanging back on the wall. Gave up on any organization system long ago.
 
Since we moved out here to Cody and NO one delivers to us all has to ne shipped in by UPS Fedex or truck I arrange them by supplier. That way I know about how long it will take to get in. If someone needs it in ahury and does not want to pay overnight shipping I go to the closers supplier.

I used to have them by color before when we were in Jersey and had delivery trucks bring them to us for the supplier.
 
Mine are all done by color. I'm picky like that! ;)
 
I'm pretty particular on my walls. I used to do them all by sections. Like 6 rows of golds, then woods, etc.

Then I realized, from the customer's point of view, that all the frames "look the same" if they are surrounded by the same color.

...Imagine you are going to a car dealership. You want a blue car, something stylish but not too fancy. ...and imagine they keep all 85 of their blue cars all in one lot. That would be too much for the eye to take.

So, now every is to be different from the row next to it. So it might go something like this...


Gold Ornate | Distressed Wood | Nurre Color Panel | Black | LJ Confetti | Gold Ornate | Inlaid Wood |


...but usually I'll organize a row by profile, then size, then color. So, on the Nurre Color Panel it would look like this:

(in a row)
Large Red
Medium Red
Small Red
Large Green
Medium Green
Small Green
Large Bronze
Medium Bronze
Small Bronze
etc.

I also put expensive ones closest to the customer so they want to touch it and talk themselves into it, because they chose it. But finished corners I put up decoratively to center the counter.

Definitely keeping distributors in their own row or rows together to make things a little easier, at least for the ones you buy from the most.


Here's a photo of the above descriptions:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-...SI/AAAAAAAAArw/BU7-ZgzWC-Q/s1152/IMAG1154.jpg
 
I am re-arranging my walls once again.

This is what I am currently doing. I posted it on fb already; and general feedback; men hate it, women love it......

I am putting some collections together on color; mostly my dark wood as that is what currently sells most in my shop. Some color collections are spread out and so will my silvers and golds be. It's going to be a mix and as long as I can find what I'm looking for; it's perfect.

I hardly have customers pull samples by themselves but I've noticed that they do this more easily with this set up because it's not as organized.....I'm not done yet so it's still a bit messy...

artemis walls 1.jpgartemis walls 2.jpg
 
ylva...i am unsure. And I am normally out there. It is daring. And if it works for you, then love it, it will work. And LOVE LOVE LOVE the red walls.

My wall is screaming for a redo...I am think of going by mood. I have tried to make my wall look traditional and safe and yada yada...I am gonna make it me.

Really, textures and colors and how bold a frame may be, etc.....I have a pattern company that classifies it stuff by its own adjectives..."mellow" "tangy" "piquant" and "extra spicy" It SO works for them...

Besides, I market my shop as "Not your grandmother's needlework shop" That definitely applies to my framing. It can be mellow, but I like to make statements and help my people do the same.

I do biz with loads of companies but choose only what I like. Or can sell.

My customers get to know me pretty fast, so what the hay.
 
I have one wall that holds all the profiles I have in stock. When times were good I bought an awful lot of boxes. Now that things have slowed, that inventory is generating cash. I also tell customers that the best values are on that wall. It includes a lot of plastic.
 
I gave up doing the...
rows of black
row of blackwith gold
row of gold
row of silver
row of walnut shades
row of mahogany shades
row of cherry shades
row of maple shades
row of whites Shades....and then along comes something like Larson Juhl's S T I T C H line well WTH row does that go in?

It broke up collections, so I could never find anything. Grouping collections together makes them look strong on the wall, breaks up the monotony and doesn't restrict you, the wall has more organic free flow to it. I do sort it by company though, so say when a certain unnamed cheap brands tend to chip, shred finishes, I can clear them all out in one pass.
 
Sounds like we do what Randy does. By company, and within that, by collection.

Sort of. With random exceptions.
 
I definitely prefer doing it by collection, or by style (which is not the same thing as color). Keeping all the pieces from a collection together makes it easier to find what you need, if one sample has the right look but is too big or too small. You can easily just select the appropriate size from the same collection. Or keeping all the Spanish style frames in one place, and all the cherry hardwoods in another place. Ultimately though, you have to do what works for you. If you think in terms of color, then by all means put all the blacks together, all the silvers together, all the golds together. If you think in terms of size, put all the skinny samples in one place, and all the fatties in another place. You want to make it easier for yourself to find what you need in the first place, and to put them back when you are done.
 
Another thing I like to do is have some space between the samples, rather than cramming one up against the samples right above and below it. That way you can actually see what the sample looks like. This is particularly important with higher-end samples like closed corner frames, but it's applicable across the board. Now, you'll probably complain that you don't have enough room to do this with the 1800 samples you have on your wall, and here's my response: do you really need 1800 samples? Maybe you really only need 1000 samples. Trying separating your samples by about 1/2 inch to an inch. If you are running out of space, decide whether you really like a sample before putting it on the wall. If you don't like it, you probably aren't pushing it to customers. Also, look at each sample and try to remember the last time you sold it. If the answer is never, maybe you don't need it on the wall. That space on the wall is expensive -- you pay rent for that space every month. Your moulding vendors aren't paying any of your rent. They are getting a free ride on your wall. You can't charge them directly for the space like grocery stores do (yep, your local grocery makes its suppliers pay for space on the shelves), but you can make them carry their weight. Big sellers, put those right behind where you normally stand when you do design. You want the customers to see them, and you want to find them easily. Five-inch wide samples, put those at the top. They don't sell very often, but they are good eye-candy up there. And if something never ever sells, or is a more trouble than it's worth to cut and join and fit, throw it out.
 
Ylva I love the look of your walls and the hanging of your samples :) As you can see in my avatar I have mine diagonally too :)

In need of a rearrange myself. Have to so it soon to as I want my counter space back :)
 
Eagleman

Sorry for this post. I'm fairly new to the forum and can't find a button to post a new thread. Can anyone help me?
Thanks, Eagleman
 
Choose the section you wish to post in from the main page. Open that part of the forum such as Business Issues and there is a button in the top left that says Start New Thread.
 
Ylva said:
I am re-arranging my walls once again.

This is what I am currently doing. I posted it on fb already; and general feedback; men hate it, women love it......

I am putting some collections together on color; mostly my dark wood as that is what currently sells most in my shop. Some color collections are spread out and so will my silvers and golds be. It's going to be a mix and as long as I can find what I'm looking for; it's perfect.

I hardly have customers pull samples by themselves but I've noticed that they do this more easily with this set up because it's not as organized.....I'm not done yet so it's still a bit messy...

View attachment 14246View attachment 14247
Click to expand...


You know what would look great on that wall???

TANGERINE!!!:shutup::shutup:
 
Yup!:thumbsup:
 
I am a collection and manufacturer girl as well. I try to keep them in "sections" making it easier to find ...

Brightly Colored
Rustic
Black
Gold and Silver
Biltmore
Hardwoods

That type of thing. I am do for a redo as well. I enjoy it, but it is a lot of work, a two day project for me. Waiting for all the new eye candy from Vegas and I'm going to weed out some duds.

I brake up my wall with framed samples. The eyes like it.

Love seeing everyone's ideas and walls. Thanks for the thread!
 
I think when I redo it I am gonna want my favorites in the center, probably 3 rows vertically then fan out diagonally from there with the golds and silvers on top on each side and then bright colors radiating out.
 
Why does it matter if the companies are together or mixed??? :shrug:
 
The arrangement where I pull every sample of the wall and show it to them.....:D

My customers hardly ever browse my samples; they ask me what I think would look good....I always encourage them to pull samples of the wall; but they rarely do. But. With this new set up in the making; the few customers I had loved the look and did walk to samples to pull them off the wall......
 
blackiris said:
Why does it matter if the companies are together or mixed??? :shrug:
Click to expand...

So I know when I can get them. Do they come on Thursday, Friday, or from the East Coast? If they need it by a certain time I know what company I need to use.

Hey, you finally got me to mix my mats, don't push your luck, lol. :icon21:
 
MaJa said:
So I know when I can get them. Do they come on Thursday, Friday, or from the East Coast? If they need it by a certain time I know what company I need to use.

Hey, you finally got me to mix my mats, don't push your luck, lol. :icon21:
Click to expand...

Well I guess if it happens to you that much, go for it!!

I'm so glad you mixed your mats!! YOU will sell soooooooooo much more fabrics now! ;)
 
Ylva's design is really engaging. There is a really fresh look and a unique way of displaying the corners. I like that they are not crowded.

More than half of my customers are resistant to pulling the corners off the wall themselves. I have found that leaving more than the usual amount of space, enough to get the fingers around helps. I pay close attention to the process those that do select their own corners go through. They spend a lot more time shopping and designing, and more importantly, a lot more money. I really encourage them to spend some time finding just the right frame, even when I have a ton of work waiting in the backroom.

I have observed that they prefer to have similar things together. They could care less about my problems or what works best for me. I am of the opinion that what works best for them is what really works best for me. (no matter what I do I can't seem to keep all the discontinueds off the wall anyway. My POS is updating almost daily).

A frequent framer might visit my shop 4 times a year. I try to keep things consistent for them because I hate that the grocery store rearranges the aisles several times a year so I have to hunt for things. I do rearrange displays and move things around a bit to keep things fresh, but most of the time, my customers are not becoming bored with the look of the shop. Sometimes they are only in every year or two. I might move the samples around, but I still keep the similar designs together.

This makes it harder for my employees, and sales reps don't much like it either. But it makes it way easier to pay the bills. I'm sure it isn't the only factor, but since I insisted on grouping them by design instead of supplier, sales and my average sale have steadily increased.
 
Much depends on the way you work with your corner samples,
and if you use them as a visual statement in the shop. Our shop
is very small, so with space at a premium, the corner samples
aren't spread out on walls. Too, although it's fine with me if
customers look through the samples, less than ten percent
ever do. Most times, I bring over a handful* of samples and we
choose from those.

We have about 3000 samples in this area, which is 30" deep by 16' long.

*Or armload. :icon19:
 

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Mine are grouped by color. The ends, both sides, have the vendor's initial on them which makes it quick & easy for me to know whether it's a moulding I can get in quickly or not.
 
wvframer said:
Ylva's design is really engaging. There is a really fresh look and a unique way of displaying the corners. I like that they are not crowded.

More than half of my customers are resistant to pulling the corners off the wall themselves. I have found that leaving more than the usual amount of space, enough to get the fingers around helps.
Click to expand...

GREAT IDEA leaving space......... Sometime when the customer goes to pull one off..... they have to put their foot up on the wall and yank hard!! LOL :D

Dust......... that's another issue........

*who does the...... "wipe the sample on the back of your leg....." before you set it down near the artwork?? I DO I DO !!!! :D
 
Because I do a lot of mobile framing where I take samples to the customer / client, I have most of my samples in boxes, with only 4 sections on the wall; each section is enclosed in a "frame".

The frame with the easiest access has those I inventory; they are grouped by color within width.
The next is the most popular (those I sell the most of, or those I like the best, or with the greatest variety), grouped by width and color.

The next two are grouped by color and style within price, with the least expensive at the back bottom.

I also have a "special drawer" where I have my special leaf closed corner samples, that I only show selected customers eg., those that think framing is expensive, so I show them what is really great quality at only $265 a foot, minimum 6 feet.

For my boxes I have them sorted first by width, then rabbet depth, and finally finish and color. [I'm not going to carry a box of narrow frame samples with 1/2 inch rabbets to a customer that has a canvas]

When I talk to the customer I get an idea of what they have and can generally narrow it down to 3 or 4 boxes I can take to the customer; Sometimes I have to make a second trip, but after visiting the customer, I get to know what they like. unless I have duplicates, I pull the appropriate samples off my wall to put in the boxes before I go.
 
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