Custom Framing-Pandemic Style

Reflecting on the past year, we find ourselves overwhelmed with gratitude.

Thank you, Red Wing Framing customers, for making us essential.

This past year, the word "essential" has taken on new meanings. It's become a label for nearly everything—essential workers, essential businesses, essential services, and even essential… custom framing?

Yes, indeed.

Dear customer and friend, by entrusting us with framing, preserving, restoring, and enhancing your cherished items, you have made us essential. We've seen a significant increase in family mementos, treasured photographs, personal crafts, stitchery and needle arts, children's art, sports memorabilia, spiritual art and icons, historical figures and items, political posters, and even "saved" thrift store artworks. Thank you. You are 100% essential to us. Our hearts are full, our shop is bustling, and we proudly continue as dedicated preservers of personal, collective, and public essentials. Make an appointment with us today to preserve and display your treasures.

A few favorites from our team:

Stitchery! Valerie shares, "Stitching is very comforting to me. It's one of my personal passions, and I was able to get some great stitching done this past year. Seeing how others have stitched through the COVID year has been a great joy. Our creative passions help slow down life's craziness and leave treasures for generations. Let's keep creating!"

Florals! Clare adds, "One of my favorite quotes is by Lady Bird Johnson: 'Where flowers bloom, so does hope.' This past year, hope has been in great need and short supply for many, so it makes sense that people want to be surrounded by the simple, timeless beauty of nature. Flowers don't care about pandemics or politics. They simply deliver elegance, grace, and steadfastness. Flowers bring hope of renewal and will always look great in a frame on the wall facing your Zoom webcam!"

Puzzles! John says, "Puzzles have boomed in the pandemic era, and we've had a lot of fun seeing what our customers have put together. Pandemic puzzles will represent various memories of these times. They bring a sense of comfort and maybe even exemplify a 'job well done' while waiting to go back to work. Or maybe a puzzle is just a puzzle!"

Revive the Past: Make the Old New Again

As we reflect on 2019, we've been inspired by the influx of antiquated artworks, thrift store treasures, historical relics, and discovered family heirlooms that have found their way into our workshop. Starting the New Year, we're energized by our customers’ "old is new" projects and can't wait to see this trend continue. While brand-new pieces have their charm, in a world increasingly focused on "reduce, reuse, recycle," we're excited to motivate YOU to have some framing fun with your "old" treasures.

We have a few customers who are top-notch treasure hunters, masters in the art of unearthing "lost art." They find old, discarded, and forgotten artworks in secondhand shops, antique stores, and online platforms like Etsy and eBay. Originals, prints, etchings, drawings, paintings, needleworks—the variety is endless, and each piece carries its own history and character. Our mission is both preservation and presentation—we prepare the art to be displayed in a way that honors its aesthetic essence and ensures it will be protected for many years of enjoyment. Old family pieces and "lost and found" childhood artworks have also topped the frame-worthy list. It's amazing what a fresh frame and mat can do to rejuvenate these pieces!

Another facet of the "old is new" movement is the restoration of vintage family photos. Our digital experts can revitalize, refresh, and digitally repair your cherished photographs. Need extra prints of Great Aunt June for your cousins? Discovered a photo with an old coffee stain across Grandma’s smile? We can fix that, and we can print that! We're also specialists in caring for original photographs. Preserving old photos is both a science and an art, and our certified professionals will help you make the right choices with materials and mounting processes to ensure the safekeeping of your photographic heirlooms. The safest place for your old photos—if not tucked away in an acid-free album—is in a frame with UV-protective glass and archival materials.

So, what do you have stashed under the bed in that old family box that might be worth displaying? How about that drawing your daughter created in 8th grade, or Great Aunt June’s cross-stitch sampler? Maybe you've stumbled upon a painting at the Salvation Army that deserves a revival?

Art is all around us, and we challenge YOU to make the old new again.

We're here to help you transform your cherished finds into stunning displays that tell a story. Whether it's in person, via email, text, or video, let's bring new life to your treasured pieces together

Worth It.

What Makes Something Worthy of Framing?

Does it need to be a masterpiece by a renowned artist? Should it have a hefty price tag or historical significance? Sure, in May 2018, the Peggy and David Rockefeller family auctioned $600 million worth of original works by Monet, Renoir, and Picasso in New York City. These pieces undoubtedly fit all those criteria, and we would be honored to frame the work of such masters.

In the business world, perceived value is defined as "the worth a customer ascribes to a product or service." In our world of framing, perceived value extends beyond monetary worth to encompass the sentimental and emotional value a customer assigns to the artwork or object being framed. Our most cherished projects are those that resonate with our customers' stories—their hearts, histories, lives, families, memories, and hopes.

So, what if your project is just something your child drew in kindergarten, an old needlepoint your grandmother stitched, or simply a picture you found and liked? (Yes, we hear the word "just" a lot.)

Frame-worthy? ABSOLUTELY!

There is no price tag that can capture the true worth of such projects. Consider the value to you or your child who sees their artwork professionally displayed, fostering encouragement for creative and educational endeavors. Think about the value of preserving your grandmother's stitchery, a piece passed down through generations, keeping her name and story alive. And even if it's "just a picture you liked," that connection alone merits preservation. The reasons to frame something don't have to be deep or philosophical, but the impacts of these projects can be truly priceless.

You have entrusted us with your project to frame. We are honored to learn and share in your story. Fine custom framing is our passion and our story, and we are equally privileged to work with your $66 million Van Gogh or your late pup’s paw print in plaster. If it matters to you, it matters to us.

So, is it frame-worthy? Yes, and you don't need to justify it.

Cead Mille Failte

"A hundred thousand welcomes" is the English translation of this Gaelic salutation. This cross stitch was expertly mounted over an archival board and framed with a perfectly patterned moulding. These projects showcase the time, talent, and creativity of needle artists, and we are experts at helping our customers achieve their finished piece. I wonder how one might express "a hundred thousand stitches"?

The 12 Days of Frame Shop Christmas

Happy Holidays from Valerie, John, and Clare. We are grateful for your business and friendship, and look forward to seeing you soon! In the meantime, sing along...

/

Mat Design 101

One of the most common questions we receive from customers during the design process is, “Should I have a mat?” followed by, “How much mat will show?” The answers depend on several factors, including the type and size of the artwork, archival and mounting requirements, current trends, and, of course, customer preference. Our design team, led by Master Certified Picture Framer Valerie Becker, is experienced in crafting the perfect mat design for each custom project.

Some artworks require matting to be properly mounted for museum-quality preservation within a frame (yes, we do that). Delicate artworks with holes, torn edges, or unsightly borders may look incomplete without matting. Art prints with wide paper borders may be improved with a single or double mat. Sometimes a mat is unnecessary and can even detract from the design. For example, this sweet needlework was completed with a border that perfectly served the framing composition without a mat.

According to industry expert Chris Paschke of Designs Ink, professional framers and designers typically follow proportion and ratio guidelines, such as maintaining mat margins that are wider than the width of the frame, avoiding “stripes” by using wider mat margins, varying widths of extra mats and art borders, and ensuring “breathing room” for matted artwork (2001). Paschke suggests that contemporary designs demonstrate wider mat dimensions.

The first image below represents a “gallery style,” with a wide and thick white mat—providing plenty of breathing room for the little fox. To make more sense of this concept, consider the wide mat as a wall in a room with the fox image hung on it. Would you look first at the plain wall, or the fox?

A little Photoshop magic shows the fox again with a thin mat. Although the image is larger, the thin mat and frame start to look “stripe-y,” which can be distracting to the eye and create subtle confusion.

An alternative to the “wider mat” guideline is when a piece of artwork is float mounted. This type of design is characterized by an artwork that sits on top of, rather than under, a mat. In these designs, it is standard practice to maintain a small mat margin, as seen to the left in this pastel by a customer’s little granddaughter.

Extra mats and specialized fabric mats use color and texture to enhance the framing design. The print below by Andy Warhol is matted with a bright base color that accentuates the artwork’s “Pink Lips.” The dramatic blue suede mat atop the ship draws the eye to the artwork by gently contrasting the art’s highlights.

However, the most important rule of matting is that there are no hard and fast rules. The overall goal of framing is to enhance the artwork and draw the eye to the object(s) being framed. Much discretion on how that is done is left to the eye of the designer(s). As Paschke notes, “Some framers have a natural eye for identifying a design that fits, and this is often why some designs appear much more successful than others” (2001). Experience, training, and a discerning eye for aesthetics are essential components of the formula for “right” matting (we’ve got those covered).

We are excited to work with you on your project, and we guarantee our designs. Stop in or call to schedule an appointment with MCPF Valerie and her team!

References:

Paschke, C. A. (2001, June). The essence of design: Proportion. Retrieved April 30, 2017, from DIP Online website: http://www.designsinkart.com/library/D-EssenceofDesignProportion200106.htm