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!"
What We Did On Our Summer Vacation
Our customers had a busy and fun season, which means so did we! Stop in with your summer vacay projects and keep the smiles of the season going strong all year long.
Welcome Northfield Framing & Fine Art Printing!
We are delighted to present Northfield Framing & Fine Art Printing, established in August 2019!
Since opening Red Wing Framing & Fine Art Printing in 2002, our goal has been to create a triad of certified custom framing shops that are easily accessible to a large portion of south-central Minnesota and western Wisconsin. With the addition of Northfield to our Red Wing (2002) and Rochester (2014) locations, our dream is coming to fruition. We are immensely grateful to our customers, friends, families, and business supporters who have made this possible. Thank YOU!
Our new shop is located in the beautiful Bridge Square of downtown Northfield, MN. The area offers ample parking along the streets and neighboring lots, and our design and retail shop has fantastic mojo. Northfield is a community rich in industry, agriculture, arts and culture, a fantastic foodie scene, and home to two prestigious universities, Carleton College and St. Olaf College.
In addition to our wide selection of custom framing samples and fine printing offerings, we are excited to offer ready-made frames, framed and loose prints, original art, artisan-crafted jewelry, handmade quilts, bags, and notions, pottery and Motawi art tiles, art cards, and fine gift items. Please stop by and see us Thursday (11-7 pm) and Friday/Saturday (11-5 pm)! Shop our wares, design a project with our master framer, take a seat in our comfy chair, and enjoy the opulence and warmth of our brand-new space.
"Come on in, the framing’s fine!"
New Gallery Collection: Alphonse Mucha
We are excited to showcase the first framed pieces from our collection of Alphonse Mucha prints. Mucha, a Czech artist (1860-1939), was known to have “drawn before he could walk.” His artistic career skyrocketed after he was urgently selected to create a poster for the Parisian stage star Sarah Bernhardt's production of Gismonda. Bernhardt was enamored with Mucha's work, and his creation transformed the art poster industry. For years, Mucha's talent was in high demand. Today, we can appreciate his works in various forms, including print reproductions of his production posters and decorative panels. Mucha was celebrated for making beautiful art accessible to a broader audience, offering his prints and posters at affordable prices. According to the Mucha Foundation, "It was Mucha’s belief that through the creation of beautiful works of art, the quality of life would be improved. He also believed that it was his duty as an artist to promote art for ordinary people.”
We are delighted to present our first set of framed Mucha prints, now available for viewing and purchase in our galleries. Each piece is framed with exquisite, preservation-quality materials to honor the artist's compelling vision and the inspiration and beauty he sought to elevate for everyone. Silk mats, museum glass, and delicate-style frames highlight the magnificent women in Mucha's works, offering viewers a unique experience with each piece.
Learn more about Alphonse Mucha at www.muchafoundation.org and visit our galleries to see the collection for yourself! Both framed works and prints are available for purchase in our gallery.
Framing a Nation
We were honored this past August to have a hand in preserving a very significant and special piece of history. The letter, dated 1920, contains a seal that holds pieces of lead from the “bone box” which held and transferred the bones of “probably thirty Pilgrims who died in Plymouth two hundred and fifty years ago.” The writer eloquently stated, “In looking at this piece of lead you will visualize the entire compass of American history starting with a handful of stalwart men on Plymouth Rock, to a nation of 110,000,000 people.” Whoa.These relics were brought to us by a passionate historian to be framed for display by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, and more importantly, preserved for coming generations. The piece will initially be exhibited at the Mayflower Society House for the 2017 Pilgrim Congress. This assembly meets every four years to elect its Governor and officials and honor its 30,000 members across the globe. Our MCPF Valerie Becker considered the aesthetics of the display venue in the design process. It was suggested that the finished piece should be quite grand, and we were excited to deliver! The design features an exquisite Larson Juhl Biltmore Collection frame, and a complementary Nurre Caxton fillet surrounding each mat opening. Two solid and pure cotton base mats add support and depth, further highlighting the significance of the relics. Our Master Framer left no stone unturned when it came to considering the archival preservation of this piece and the materials involved in the project. Extensive care was taken to ensure that these historical objects will remain protected from dust, UV light, acid producing papers, material gasses, and other elements that cause deterioration. We are humbled to be given this opportunity and experience. Our customers’ passions are OUR purpose, and we are grateful to have such wonderful, interesting, and meaningful projects to share.