Last month we covered some good reasons to frame and touched on visiting a framer. This month, I want to go a step further with the art of framing and even take you on a visit with a very special framer available to you in Middleburg area.

Framing, like many other services, offers a wide range of options. You can spend little to frame a photo or thousands if you wish. Moldings, that is the frame itself, can often account for the most expensive part of your framing cost. Most framers rely on several lines of molding styles by molding companies that you see in the way of samples on the wall. Ask about pricing in this area because there are often less expensive alternatives that may be less per foot while offering a similar look, but again don't go cheap if your budget will allow more. The molding can really make or break the final results. You can also frame things inexpensively or invest in conservation framing which protects through acid free matting, which will not turn your fine print yellow by leaching acid into it. These conservation techniques also offer optional materials such as special UV protecting glass which will protect your item from fading. You do pay for what you get and it makes sense to consider the value of what you are framing, both today and what it may be worth in the future.

A few examples of this might be a signed limited edition print having more importance than a cheap poster or a snap shot. Interestingly enough though, I have seen examples such as diplomas, where the budget was next to nothing and was thinking, they just spent at least 4 years and thousands dollars to get a document proving they have the education and now they aren't smart enough to invest more in its framing than the cost of about 3 of the 5,000 pizzas they ate during the process! So, think of framing as one part pretty and one part protection. If really means something to you and that means you plan on having it around for awhile, invest in good materials. Also, if the item is really important, but your budget will not allow for proper framing now, waiting might be best . These are good topics to discuss on a case by case basis with your framer.

When looking for a framer you may find they come in a variety flavors! Some just frame, some sell prints or art and gifts. Some have art galleries, but framing is a art related service of that gallery. I would say most of these framers specialize in general framing. By this I mean the frame mostly prints, photos, diplomas and such. Often their services include shadow box framing for things such as memorabilia or a child's dress and then other services such as repair and some original paintings as well.

Just a few examples of this range in and around Middleburg would be Potomac Gallery in Leesburg, who while offering prints, original paintings, and even some gifts and collectables, have made framing their specialty for many years. In the town of Middleburg you have an interesting example of framing range. Joan of Art, whose founder Regina Hilleary, operates a satellite location to their shop in Marshall where her brother Jim and his wife Susan do the framing. Their services provide customers all the techniques mentioned above at reasonable prices.

To the other end of the scale we have Waller Framing whose owner, Bill Waller, can only be described as absolutely passionate about the art of framing. Bill, who travels the world in the interest of his craft, has been framing in the Washington D.C. area for some forty years, studied and worked at the Corcoran Gallery and the Phillips collection before continually migrating more and more west to his now fourteen years in Middleburg. The store there is really just a showroom and is packed with the many samples Bill offers.

As mentioned, when you frame, you should give thought to that which you are framing and thus to your budget based on the piece. While Bill still frames a bit of everything for his clients, without question his specialty is framing original art. His shop in Hume, is more the type of place you would find on a back street in Florence than in Virginia. Every piece of space is occupied by saws, drying racks, benches and a like, leaving only narrow areas to walk much like the streets of that great Tuscan city. During my visit, blues filled the air, not Bocelli. Bill and his Argentinean assistant Coto, work surrounded by hand carved frames, some from the sixty five artisans Bill works with around the world, but others made by them. Coto is applying gold leaf to a frame he has just hand finished while Bill, at his bench draped in warm light from a window, reminds me of a leather worker I once met in Florence, as he went about his day.

In the grand scheme of things, Waller as a framer is all about the frame itself and his personal knowledge of art. Where most frame shops are selling molding between $8 and $20 a foot, Waller offers his clients beautifully carved and hand finishing moldings, some replicating great frames you have only seen in museums, which can easily hit $600 a foot. Frames in the several thousand range are easily possible. This of course, is not within everyone's budget and not every project he does is in this range, but it is a service few others can match and it's nice to have his talent close by. Examples of his work can be seen on some of the paintings in Trowbridge-Lewis Galleries in Middleburg as well.

So, whether your child painted it for you using their fingers or you just purchased a collector painting from an auction in New York, framing could be in your future and this area can easily handle your project. Just give them a call.

www.tomneelstudio.com
540-364-4401