Wow. Just wow.

"I am a citizen of the United States of America. I do not speak your language. Misfortune forces me to seek your assistance in obtaining food, shelter, and protection. Please take me to someone who will provide for my safety and see that I am returned to my people. My government will reward you.”

This is the first paragraph written in English and this is repeated in 13 languages. It is called a blood chit and it is from the Vietnam War (1968).

A blood chit is a prepared message carried by military air crews and by other service members deemed to be at what the military calls “high risk of isolation". It is written in local languages that a lost service member can present to most anyone who might help.

It is printed on silk for durability and was distributed immediately before a dangerous mission.

Blood chits originated in England 200 years ago and was introduced to US military during WW II. It has been used during the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War and through both Middle East conflicts.

Valerie Becker was recognized as a Master Certified Picture Framer this month by the Professional Picture Framing Association.

This is a significant accomplishment in the picture framing industry and demonstrates a skill and knowledge set of picture framing at the highest professional standard.

Valerie was the first in the state of Minnesota to accomplish this accreditation and one of only 60 Master Certified Picture Framers in the world.

Congratulations Val!

You can read more about it at the press release.

Happy holidays!

Since the topic is big plans, it just seemed fitting to show an example of one of the smallest projects we have worked on.

2013 was a challenging year. There were several things that did not materialize as planned and there were several large projects that we were proud to participate in.

We have several exciting plans for 2014. It is a bit premature to announce anything yet, but the wheels are in motion already and we are very optimistic and excited for the new year.

We have been using a Gunnar computerized mat cutter since the shop opened in 2002. This equipment has easily paid for itself both in terms of productivity and quality. The Gunnar is a Swiss-made piece of equipment and it has never failed us.

But the dependency this has created is not a good business practice. If this equipment were to fail, we would have to resort to hand-cutting the mats. We've done this before and it works, but it is slow and manually cutting a mat is an easy thing to screw up.

That being said, a computerized mat cutter is an expensive piece of equipment. It doesn't pay to purchase cheap equipment if it is going to fail or become inaccurate.

We opted for a Valiani. The Valiani is a substantial piece of equipment. It is larger and more rugged than the Gunnar is and it is of Italian origin.

Italian engineering is much different than Swiss engineering. The Swiss like minimalist design and the Italians like over-engineered designs.

We intend to keep the Gunnar and use the Valiani for larger projects.

1) I will enjoy the buffet.
2) I will come back again. Thank you as well.
3) I will not smoke and be younger than the age of 16 as I dispense fuel.
4) I will floss twice a day, every day, the entire week before my next dental exam.

That's all I got.

=============

Actually, 2013 is ramping up to be a very ambitious year for several reasons.

Life is not simple, but it should be enjoyed. Creativity is a uniquely human delight that drives this enjoyment.

"Your Dog" by Yoshitomo Nara is a personal favorite. It is in one of the rotunda galleries of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

It completely captures how the world must look from a child's perspective. You cannot help but enjoy this and feel the wonderment of it all.

Happy new year!

We have been very busy re-inventing here at the shop.

To begin with, we have been very focused on slowly unveiling Red Wing Digital. Red Wing Digital is a print-on-demand product that provides unique large-format presentation products, namely the Panel Print and the Acrylic Print. The Acrylic Print is slowly getting ready for production, but it has taken longer than hoped.

Secondly, we have a new business partner. Fine Art Prints on Demand is a United Kingdom company. This is a side of the business (printing and framing fulfillment) we have been quietly working and growing for a number of years. FAPoD is our third customer for this side of the business.

These two developments have driven our third initiative. We are moving our production to a larger facility. We have narrowed our options down and expect to be able to make some final decisions shortly.

It has almost been six months to the day that this blog has been updated. This is inexcusable and consequently here are the excuses;

1) It has been very, very busy at the shop. The crush began in August (the last blog posting) and has been unrelenting ever since. The simple solution would be to hire additional help to manage the workload and to some degree that was the solution. But as a business survivor of 2008 (remember Lehman Brothers?), you learn not to trust short term business trends. So you suck it up, put in long hours and satisfy each and every customer.

2) Contributing to this work crush has been the success of the new products at RedWingDigital.com. This is a new business model for us and it takes time to hammer out a smooth workflow. But if it were easy, everybody would be doing it. Look for new products soon.

3) It is supposed to be quiet in January so we closed the shop for ten days and took a long road trip to the most remote part of the United States that we could find. However, this January was the busiest January ever even with ten days removed from the calendar. It isn't fair to have a customer wait for my vacation, so it meant even longer days once we returned.

4) This stuff doesn't write itself, especially when you are tired and have convinced yourself you have writer's block.

That being said, I promise not to allow that kind of break in the blog pattern to ever occur again.

This business is only as good as the customers and we have the best customers.

Case in point; the busier we get, the less attention web administration seems to get. But it is too important to ignore for very long. This morning I was determined to bring the Video/News section of this web site current (go check it out). This involves the painful task of writing press releases, proofing them and then re-writing them. I know it isn't as bad as breaking rocks for a living, but it is still a job that I do not look forward to.

At some point you need to include testimonials to add some credibility to the releases. And this is when I am reminded how good my customers are.

Thank you Jeff Marcus. You have been a steadfast supporter for many years and we appreciate it. Now go support Jeff at his web site White Light Photography. This is good stuff.

The end of June signals the end of the first half of the year. Last year was a good year and so far this year is ahead of last year. The business mix has changed over the years and we have been fortunate to be well positioned to leverage the change.

Red Wing Digital has been a significant time and money investment up until this point. There are still a few issues that need to be worked out, but the product inventory is now in place and the details regarding product design have been finalized. The orders have been increasing at a nice and realistic rate. Packaging and shipping issues are being addressed now and we are always looking for more production space.

This is our 10th year of business and we have been tracking business patterns since the very beginning. Invariable the second half is quite a bit busier than the first half, for a number of reasons.

The bottom line is that we owe everything to our loyal customers. Thanks again.

Back in July of this year, there was a blog posting that discussed the first half of the year and what the second half of the year looked like (1st Cutting...).

Now at the end of the year, it seems overwhelming to look backwards. That being said, the point of this entry will be all about the forward.

If there is one lesson learned in this business, it is to trust your gut. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. And if it does feel right, it probably is. 2011 feels very right.

The new web site is close (and late) to being rolled out. Products are being refined and some new projects are already in the queu. It will be very busy and a lot of work.

But it is still a labor of love and that is what really matters.

Thank for your support. We are very grateful for our customers.

This business is project driven. Which means we become involved in projects, they begin and then they finish. Some projects have longer life cycles than others and all projects are unique.

The most current project is a series of family portraits. The Human Resource department at Treasure Island Casino has contracted with us to provide family portraits (photos taken, printed and framed) for all of their 1,500 employees who want to participate. At first this might seem like a church directory project in which the goal is to be as efficient as possible and creativity is not a factor.

But it isn't, and here is why.

Each family has their own story to tell. There was the guy who was extremely body conscious, but without hesitation pulled up his shirt to show me his gastric bypass scar. Or the young family who had a little boy with serious skin graft scars all over his body from a bad burn accident and watching this little guy busy running around trying to keep up with his older siblings as much as he could. Or the married couple who have been married for 55 years and who still enjoyed ribbing each other with wisecracks. This photo is a young mom who had just found out she is pregnant. Her joy is obvious and she is so excited that she is exaggerating her pregnant belly.

The other aspect was the challenge of using a very spartan set consisting only of a white vinyl backdrop and a simple bench and still making every image unique. It was easy to fall into patterns of using a common pose that would always work. The challenge was to slowly add to the repertoire of winning poses by experimenting.

This project was not especially welcomed at first because the hours are long and crazy (the casino operates on a 24 hour basis), but after two weeks of photography I am really sorry to see it end. The casino employees are fun and genuinely fond of each other. The demographics are at the lower end of the income scale, so it has been especially well-received perk by the employees.

This has been a lot of fun.

Half of the fun of framing (and it is very fun) is researching the art. This was a piece that was recently acquired in an art auction and this artist merits the research.

The piece is entitled "Nude & Flowers" from 1964 and painted by Russell Patterson. It is 12"x16" and it is an oil on hardboard.

Patterson was a fascinating personality who lived from 1893 to 1977. He began his career as a magazine illustrator working for Vogue, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan and Redbook. During this period he achieved celebrity status as an illustrator of beautiful women.

In the early 1930's he became restless and decided to become a Broadway costume designer for several successful Broadway productions. By the end of the 1930's he had moved to Hollywood to work on scene and costume design.

Again he became restless and developed a comic strip called 'Mamie', which became a Sunday syndicated cartoon that ran for six years. The Mamie character was glamorously portrayed, which leveraged his artistic talent and his sense of fashion.

By the 1960's he reverted back to being a fine art artist, but was not above exploiting his celebrity status by being a judge for Miss America and Miss Universe pageants and endorsing Medaglia D'Oro coffee and Lord Calvert whiskey.

Patterson was a renaissance man who grew up in the public eye. He enjoyed new challenges and he especially enjoyed his high profile status in the media.

Now the challenge becomes how to best frame this original that does this artist justice.

July in Minnesota means the first hay cutting of the season. In a normal year, most farms will have two cuttings and then leave some winter ground cover for the critters. The first cutting will have the most yield, but it isn't until the second cutting that the break-even point is reached.

For a farmer, the first hay cutting is an opportunity to reflect on the business (year-to-date), and also project the business going forward for the rest of the year. Stretching this metaphor to a near-absurdist level, it isn't that much different in the art industry.

Business is up and the industry is cautiously optimistic. The nature of the business has changed and the types of projects have also changed. Anticipating what those changes will be and responding to those changes are some of the biggest challenges a small business owner will face.

We will continue to evolve, but we will also continue to provide the things we enjoy most about being in this business.

A new web based product is under development and should be available before the end of the year (the evolving thing). There are also discussions taking place regarding an original art exhibit in the November/December timeframe (the enjoyment thing).

And of course, thank you for your patronage. Art is good.

Cash's (sometimes called J&J Cash) is a UK company located in Coventry, England. Cash's has been producing silk embroidered bookmarks, luggage and clothing labels and name tags for over 150 years. You might assume something as ubiquitous as a clothing label would not merit museum level custom framing.

But you would be wrong.

Cash's produces a product that is clearly motivated by quality and pride in craftsmanship. It is genuinely a work of art, much in the same vein as a beautifully machined watch. A labor of love, so to speak.

This is a silk embroidered horned owl, which is part of a limited run of coniferous forest animals Cash's produced. Other varmints include a peregrine falcon, an otter and some wood ducks. Each piece is about the size of a business card and each will have their own frame.

Cash's is currently producing a series of Beatrix Potter silks, which is a perfect visual for the embroidery medium. And the price is very, very reasonable.

It was three years ago today that Charley Harper died.

Charley was a very unassuming artist from Ohio. He began his career as a book illustrator and over time migrated to a wildlife artist. But not the typical wildlife artist. Charley used his graphic art skills, his penchant for precision and his sense of humor to portray the natural world like no other artist ever has.

This piece is called "Isle Royale" and incorporates exactly what a birch tree forest feels like. You might think you are alone, but there are probably dozens of different eyes watching you at any given moment.

Goodbye Charley. You are missed.

Many years ago, a very good framing customer brought in this beautiful antique jigsaw puzzle to be framed. It was from the turn of the 19th century and the construction itself is a work of art. The pieces are scroll sawed and several pieces themselves are shaped as children's toys (monkeys, toy soldiers, etc.). It is a remarkable example of craftsmanship.

The only problem was that a single piece of the puzzle was missing. This seemed very tragic and because of the depth of the puzzle, it was as obvious as a missing tooth on a beautiful model in a toothpaste ad. But, it is what it is, and since it had been in her family for many, many years, it was decided to frame it up regardless, as is.

Jump ahead several years to the present...the customer removes a drawer from a dresser and low-and-behold the missing puzzle piece reappears from behind the drawer.

There is something very therapeutic in knowing that the missing puzzle piece will soon be reunited with its brothers and sisters and now the picture is complete.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Just to refresh...a customer had rescued this original Marc Chagall linoleum lithograph from slowly being destroyed by the mounting and the framing (please see: "How to commit art murder", or, "I ruined a masterpiece, but saved on the framing"...). The mats were leeching acid into the art paper, the non-UV glass was allowing the sun to fade the art and the mdf frame was slowly dissolving the art with formaldehyde out-gassing.

The rescued piece will be picked up by the customer today and some type of ceremony will take place to present the art back to the public library. I thought I would share the design details of this project:

It is a double rag mat design (100% acid free) with a filet. The bottom mat is a 1" reveal (this is a museum standard for a design with a filet) and the top mat is a 3.25" reveal. The art paper had some waviness and it is loosely held in place with archival corners on the backside. This allows the art to breathe and respond to the ambient temperature. The outside moulding is called an Amante design and is a classic moulding style. The glazing is a museum quality UV glass, which is almost imperceptible. It was decided not to conceal the staining from the previous mats and try to work the flawed feature into the overall design.

It looks very classy and is totally reversible for future framers in the event of a re-design.

Respect the art. Protect, preserve and present the art.

Apparently not.

In any case, it is time for a Red Wing Central Park Band Shell follow-up.

This time last year, the park was a mess. Frozen and snow-covered dirt piles were scattered all over the site. It looked like a project that was going to miss the July 4th deadline. But the Red Wing Construction company is very professional and proud of the product they deliver. The 4th of July deadline was met with days to spare.

After the project was finished, Red Wing Construction presented The Jones Family Foundation (the benefactors of the band shell to the City) with this beautifully framed momento. It is a 36"x32" multi-opening custom framed piece of the band shell from all different angles and during the very first performance. It also includes a custom embossed mat of the Red Wing Construction logo.

We were proud to provide all of the photographs, the printing and the framing and we have since built a few of these pieces for Red Wing Construction.

This is very tragic, but thank God a good samaritan rescued the art.

This original Marc Chagall lithograph had been donated to the local library. Many years ago, somebody made the decision to frame this irreplaceable art with the cheapest framing solution available. This included a cheap mdf frame with standard glass and paper mats. To further insult the art, the art was glued to the back of the mat.

So, let's summarize how this art was nearly ruined;

1) The frame was made from a cheap mdf material which out-gasses formaldehyde (an effective way to dissolve art),
2) The glass provided no UV radiation protection from the sun so fading is inevitable,
3) The mat was a cheap paper mat with acids that leeched into the art and foxing (bacteria) is growing on the paper,
4) The glue. Sigh, don't even get me started about the glue.

A biological, chemical and radioactive attack on the art. A true WMD from an art standpoint.

Friends don't let friends frame drunk.

Be that as it may, it is an amazing piece of creativity. Chagall was a Jewish Russian-French artist who lived from 1887 until 1985. He was a giant in the art world and an early innovator of Modernism. It really is inspiring to examine.

We are working on a new and completely archival frame design. I will post it when the project is finished.

Introducing Frank the Framer. Frank is an interesting persona. To begin with, he is very friendly and is always smiling with a warm wink. He cares about his appearance, judging by the neatly tied bow tie and perfectly parted hair and he can be both abstract and exact at the same time and is very colorful.

Over time Frank's purpose will become clear, but today seemed like a good opportunity to introduce him.

This morning the Minneapolis Star-Tribune business columnist Dick Youngblood wrote a very favorable column about our business here in Red Wing. It was a lot of fun getting to know Dick over several conversations and meetings and I really didn't know what to expect. Needless to say, I was very happy and a bit embarrassed by the attention.

But it was the sub-headline on the second page of the hard-copy article that really made me smile. For many years I thought I was a "washed-up sales rep" when in fact I was only a "burned-out sales rep". Imagine my relief.

You gotta love it. :)

The article can be found here.

Thanks for the article Dick and thanks for the support Dave and Dean.

This time of year creates some beautiful opportunities for panorama photography. The light is becoming longer and the trees are just beginning to turn color. The Mississippi River in particular is a good panorama subject in this area because there are plenty of river bluffs to capture the wide expanse of the river.

The photo above was captured at Buena Vista Park above Alma, Wisconsin. It is a spectacular overlook. The weather was borderline inclement, which creates wonderful atmospheres for the camera lens.

This is a 4:1 print. Large format printing is ideal for a very narrow print like this. In order to really appreciate a print like this, it does require some height to the image, which means it will grow very wide, very fast. A 12" high print becomes a 48" wide print. Add some mat (typically 3" all around) and some moulding, the overall image is nearly 5 feet wide. This is a 'high drama' image that demands attention as soon as you walk into the room.

A Certified Picture Framer (CPF) is a designation administerd by the Professional Picture Framing Association (PPFA). The PPFA adminsters the five hour CPF exam twice a year and tests in the areas of: (1) art and framing preservation, (2) framing knowledge, (3) the mechanics of framing, (4) the mathematics of framing and (5) art and image mounting.

To insure that any framer who has a CPF stays current in the professional framing field, a CPF must retake the exam and re-certifiy as a CPF every five years.

This is a very arduous and rigorous process, which is why very few framers bother becoming CPF's. Red Wing Framing Gallery is one of only five CPF's actively working in Minnesota.

We are very proud of the professionalism in which we address our business and we take our industry very seriously.

This should be important to any client if their art is important to them.

Recently this Norman Rockwell concept sketch was in the shop to be re-framed. Rockwell would rough sketch a proposed painting, present it to a potential client and solicit feedback. Hopefully he would be awarded the project, finish the piece, get paid and then move unto the next project.

Does the fact that an artist is directed what to paint diminish the art itself? Not at all. Artists who can support themselves strictly on their own creative output are rare. And it is a minor step from an artist taking on a commissioned project to a full-time commercial illustrator. The net result might not be an artist's first choice, but finding opportunity to be creative within the boundaries of a client's expectations requires both a unique skill set and maturity as an artist.

This is the segue into an upcoming exhibit that was just finalized this week. The working title (and it will change soon) is "Tough Guys and Tough Cookies" and will be a presentation of original art used for pulp magazine covers. This art typically presents scenes of over-the-top drama, usually with somebody in peril. It is a sub-genre illustration art that required efficiency and productivity on the part of the artists. The pay checks were smaller than most of their colleagues, but it paid the bills and allowed artists to create art for a living.

This is the third year in a row we have had the pleasure of working with Grapefruit Moon Gallery. The first two shows (original pin-up art and original Cream of Wheat art) were very successful. This will be a bit different, but consistent with the idea of presenting 20th century illustration art and various subsets. More details next week.

People who invent snappy metaphors to describe business principles might say something like; a small business today is like a great white shark, always on the move, never resting, never sleeping. That sounds way too contrived, so it would be best to simply say that a business must constantly ask itself what it does for a living, and is it where it wants to be in doing that thing it does.

The name change is more a matter of acknowledging how this business has evolved. We frame and we print and we do anything in between. Also it was time to freshen up the logo; shine our shoes, so to speak. This was harder than you might think because the fonts used are fabricated for our needs. It isn't an off-the-shelf font, but it does have a basis in the history of this business. But it is too difficult to explain without hand gestures.

The new web site is another matter. The changes appear to be mostly cosmetic, but under the hood it is an entirely different animal. It would take a rocket scientist to explain the differences and unfortunately, one isn't immediately availible.

With any new web site, it is very easy to be driven crazy trying to chase down every image resizing requirement or some dropped html code. This is called 'overhead' and produces no income. Overhead bad. Income good.

But, you do what you have to do, when you have to do it.