You’ve been framed!

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I have attached a few photos here. Those are a few of the walls that exist in my house.
my art

I love art. When I have my Shabat dinners and friends (and family) join me, our surroundings are replete with color, often with symbolism. These framed pieces are our eye candy, to accompany our discussions and meals.

Yet, I still have a few pieces (including one custom made for me by an artist) that have not yet been framed. And, it turns out I’m not unique in that regard.

Lots of folks have unframed pieces of art hanging around (pun intended). Sometimes, it’s because the price of framing a piece approaches the price of the art itself. (I can vouch for the fact that when I first began increasing my art collection, it would cost about $ 1000 or two for a painting- and $ 800 for the framing I wanted. That certainly slowed down my acquisition pace, when I realized that I had to almost double my budget to get that art work on my wall.)

Sometimes, it’s not the price. You have to find the right provider- and get the artwork there to be framed. (OK. I’ll bet that often means price is one of the reasons you are looking for the right place.) Some others want to frame it themselves. (Hmm. That sounds like another price issue to me, though.)

But, with the plethora of frame designs, mat sizes, mat colors- often not fully price marked in the framing shop, we feel overwhelmed when we walk in and try to make a choice. But, there’s some new approaches that are now available. Via the web, of course…Simplyframed.com, FramedandMatted.com, Framebridge.com are three interesting choices.

Simplyframed.com has frames in white, black, and natural wood. To be honest, not among my normal choices, but for an 18 by 22 piece, the cost comes in under $ 250. It would run about twice to thrice that at my normal, frugal choice (Michael’s)- or four times that at my higher end choice (a local custom framer). Oh, there is also no way to get mats that aren’t black or white. So, if you want a frugal service- and not much else, SimplyFramed is for you.

FramedandMatted.com lets you get black, white, silver, gold, or wood frames- with a variety of mat colors. If I were to frame the painting myself using their components, it would be about the same price as simplyframed, so this is a better choice from my point of view- especially since they will frame it for you for a VERY reasonable fee. Their turn around is about two weeks, which is slightly longer than my local site, but still fast enough.

I could have fallen in love with Framebridge.com if they had better mat choices. Their frame choices are extensive, but their mat choices are black, white, with the occasional grey choice (for certain frames). Or, you could use a “floating” frame, which lets the art work appear in the glass frame without a mat. I really can’t compare the price, since I chose a much more expensive frame than the others offered. But, if I stuck with the vernacular design, it would be about the same pricing.

Then, there’s framesbymail.com. With a wide variety of choices for frames- and mats, too! Their prices are pretty good- but you will be framing your art yourself.

So, for me- with real artwork, I will probably stick with Michaels, framesbymail.com, or my custom framer. But, if I were to decide to frame a poster, a large photograph, or something similar, I would opt for one of these cheaper, online alternatives.

Let me know what you decide to do with that art work hiding in the corner of your attic.

 

 

As of 15 May 2020, Framebridge agreed to be acquired by Graham Holdings- the entity that remained once the Graham family sold the Washington Post to Jeff Bezos

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7 thoughts on “You’ve been framed!”

  1. Frames bought at auction are a cheap alternative, and sometimes they are wonderful. You can dispose of the picture inside, then get a professional picture framer to mount your own.

  2. Sadly, I have had to leave much of my collection back in Wisconsin including a Dali which would just be wasted down here should something happen to me and that would be a shame as it is an A/P. But everything that I do have is framed. Not much of a collection yet but now I am looking at some art here in Mexico…who knows that I will discover…and I may pull out the old paints and paint a couple of my own once again…
    Chef William Chaney recently posted..Chicken Milanesa

    1. Ooh. Starting a new collection is always fun, Chef William…
      And, that goes double if you are the one who is creating the art. So creative. My paintings would be on the par with those created in kindergarten art…

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