Today's Fun Lessons...

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Verdaccio

Verdaccio

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Jan 22, 2007
Posts
757
Loc
Berthoud, Colorado
First full day of framing in the new shop! Samples for my wall, and prints to sell. We open on Saturday!

Anyway...today's fun lessons:

#1 - Order at least 1 foot more moulding than you need or you could find yourself almost exactly 1" short on the fourth stinkin stick - some flaws got me.

#2 - If you did not order an extra foot, and you are almost exactly 1" short on the fourth stinkin stick, cut the print down to fit! :P

#3 - If you get two sticks of a moulding to make a single frame, look at them before you cut them - they may be different freakin colors! Le Circque...UGH!

#4 - When joining a frame that is 50+ inches long, tilt the underpinner

#5 - Purchasing the hydraulic jack that makes working the underpinner at tilt easier was a GOOD IDEA...

#6 - Not purchasing the wings for the underpinner...- "I don't need no stinkin wings!" - when joining a frame that is 50+ inches was a BAD IDEA...

#7 - The first cut to create a 45 on a 12 foot stick of moulding means that your 8' chopper suddenly becomes a 20 foot chopper...Thank God for doors!

#8 - When you suddenly have a 12' piece of moulding sticking out of the unsupported side of your chopper, you need something to hold up the other end..my solution was a trash can with a foam block...I think they make free-standing rollers for table saws that are adjustable.

Fear/excitement/terror/hope/lackofsleep...:party:
 
Verdaccio said:
I think they make free-standing rollers for table saws that are adjustable.
Click to expand...


I have two of those stands in the shop, They work great with the chopper and the vnailer. I put black magic maker at different set points so I can adjust them fast for different uses.

framer
 
I use em also framer. I drove two sheet metal screws in it to switch from chopper level to underpinner level.

Carry on.
 
#1 - Order at least 1 foot more moulding than you need or you could find yourself almost exactly 1" short on the fourth stinkin stick - some flaws got me.
#2 - If you did not order an extra foot, and you are almost exactly 1" short on the fourth stinkin stick, cut the print down to fit! :P
#3 - If you get two sticks of a moulding to make a single frame, look at them before you cut them - they may be different freakin colors! Le Circque...UGH!


I have found that ordering an extra 2-3 ft of moulding is sometimes not enough. On one or two frames, I always just order chops, and let the distributor cut out all the flaws, warps, different color lengths, scratches, etc.
Welcome to the wild world of custom picture framing. ;)
Bill
Ocean Art
 
Good luck, Verdaccio.

:thumbsup:
 
I had a frame shop in Longmont before I moved to Florida, my sister lives in Loveland -
beautiful area!! Good luck with your new shop!!

(love the portraits)
 
Congratulations on being an accomplished painter with strong business and sales experience. I am just curious, if you are familiar with the business and relevent business models, why did you consider opening a retail framing business?
 
Thanks for the replies. :) We are indeed doing a reception with drawings all day ("Please sign up to win", and help me start my mailing and customer list. :P ). The reception is from 6-8 in the evening. We will have refreshments all day and cake and wine in the evening. I have ads in both the local papers.

Greg: The "disclaimer" I have in my signature came from a previous topic where people agreed that it would really be a good idea if we all had disclaimers telling people about our experience when replying to a topic, so the reader had some idea of who was giving them advice...as I was new at the time , I took it to heart and listed my experiences out.

Help me understand your question. Are you asking if opening a framing store today is a prudent business decision... Or are you asking why I left what I was doing before to pursue this path?

But either way, here is the short list:

  • I want to make my living with my creativity. Painting and framing are natural extensions of each other.
  • I found a great artsy location on a corner of the downtown main street with reasonable rent and room enough for me to paint and frame.
  • The town is the most affluent area within 30 miles, and it is on a growth curve.
  • My nearest storefront competition is about 8 miles away.
  • My nearest big box competition is over 10 miles away.
  • There are 7000 homes within a 5 mile radius of my shop.
  • There are about 20,000 homes within a 10 mile radius of my shop.
 
The most imoprtant rule of all, IMHO, is the one that my mentor Ira Frencle told me when he first hired me, to wit: "Don't Bleed On The Artwork!!!!!"
To this I add, always have a decent supply of comfortable Band-Aids close by.
 
And along the lines of "don't bleed ... ", similarly "don't talk or sneeze when working (particularly on a giclee)" ... a drop of spittle or nasal drip will ruin your day!
 
Bogframe said:
The most imoprtant rule of all, IMHO, is the one that my mentor Ira Frencle told me when he first hired me, to wit: "Don't Bleed On The Artwork!!!!!"
To this I add, always have a decent supply of comfortable Band-Aids close by.
Click to expand...
Along that line, I might add "Pay attention to how you hold the razor blade". I was scraping glue off something earlier, looked up to talk and resumed.....OW! Sharp side up...deep....not good. Nice bright blue Band-aid.
 
"Pay attention to how you hold the razor blade".


Val, I try to always take a piece of white framers tape and fold over the blunt side of the blade. Doing so accomplishes two things.
  1. First it makes my blades easier to find and pick up
  2. I know by touch if not by sight that the edge without the tape is the sharp side.
 
Oh, come on, Verdaccio ...admit it. Just like all artists you decided custom framing was way to expensive and decided to open your own shop so you didn't have to make all the rest of us so wealthy.

;)
 
j Paul said:
"Pay attention to how you hold the razor blade".
Val, I try to always take a piece of white framers tape and fold over the blunt side of the blade.
Click to expand...
Do you really?? I'd need a whole roll of tape....I have razor blades all over the place! Getting cut rarely happens, I just got lucky yesterday!
 
Yes. Stubborn things, they are!

Purple Band-aid today.
 
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Ever try the double edge ones? Takes all the guess work out of it.​
 
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