One reason Bill Waller's frame shop is so seductive is that the quality and diversity of the frames in the windows stops you in your tracks. It takes just a moment of intent gazing until you quickly look over your shoulder to confirm that you haven't suddenly been transported to Florence.

The multitude of frames in Waller's windows are so beautiful, so finely crafted, so amazing in their range of historical periods that the desire to enter the small, magical shop is compulsive. Unfortunately, very often, the shop is closed. Closed for a very good reason.

Bill Waller and his international team of experts make 95% of the frames in his shop. His genius for framing the finest art and memorabilia is known and sought out internationally. So he and his assistant, Nicholas Gargiulo from Buenos Aires are most often found in the workshop at Bill's home creating and crafting what are easily among the most beautiful frames on the planet.

"I opened the Middleburg shop in 1993, but because we make everything ourselves, we could not possibly do all the carving, stippling, glazing and gilding in the shop. It's very intense work, and we really need to focus."

"We have a local source for tiger maple, a freezer full of molded parts and everything from Rococo to Bauhaus pieces in work."

Only on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will you be able to open the door and step into the tiny, elegant space. Then and there you'll meet the charming, intelligent, handsome gentleman who has as much time for the five-year-old with a treasured watercolor from The Lion King as he has for an individual who wishes to restore a treasured family painting to the boundaries it deserves.

A fine artist born in Washington, D.C., Bill grew up in Maryland and Virginia with a stop in Wilmette, Illinois.

"My dad headed up the microphone division at Bell and Howell," Waller explained. "Suburban Chicago was a terrific place when we were living there. I'm sure it is still a great place." Bill studied fine art with a focus on representational painting and, following his studies, worked at The Phillips Collection. He describes his work at The Phillips as a major influence on his life.

"Phillips was still alive when I was there in the sixties," he added. "I had an intimate day-in, day-out exposure to art and artists in a place Andre Malraux called 'the most fastidious gallery in Washington.' The Phillips had an enormous impact on me."

It was there that Bill realized that there was one aspect of art that he loved as much as painting. That was framing.

"It quickly became my passion," he explained.

He subsequently worked for a number of years in the best framing shops in the City, doing framing for the major galleries and museums. During this period he learned how to handle all kinds of work, from museum quality paintings, prints and photography to artifacts and objects that matter to individuals.

He developed an intense dedication to authentic framing that is historically and aesthetically correct. He devoted years to create the knowledge base he needs to place a piece in a truly appropriate frame, and he began to understand what a frame really is and how accurately it can represent the worlds that form the context for the art.

For forty years, Bill Waller has been establishing the boundary of beautiful compositions. Establishing the artwork in its surroundings. Protecting it from damage and defining its provenance. For anyone who finds herself on South Madison Street in Middleburg at Waller Picture Framing, the shop and the service are real treasures.

Certain historians believe that the Mesopotamians framed pictures in Northern Germany. Most agree that it probably wasn't until the 17th Century when framing began to be respected.

During the Renaissance, portraiture became very important as evidence of one's wealth, refinement and social standing. With that, came the associated importance of the elaborate, gilded frame that began to take center stage in grand residences.

Since then, most periods and many artists have demanded highly specific frames. Whether English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese or American; whether 17th and 18th Century English and French, or 19th and 20th Century American, Bill Waller can almost immediately present a frame for you to consider.

He will also be happy to explain the origin of the beautiful frames that capture your attention. For instance, if you are fascinated with the stunning frame that seems to be created with deeply carved and gilded waves, Bill will explain that it is an homage to Florine Stettheimer, an early-Modernist painter of extreme originality who designed it.

You might love the frames that he did as an homage to Goya, or you might be intrigued with the tabernacle frames or those with crosetted corners.

You might want a triptych or the perfect frame for your great, great grandmother's wedding fan. Whatever you want framed, you need not go far.

"We've framed a cookie, a collection of wax seals, a Samurai sword and everything in between," Waller says.

"We love every assignment, and we honor every piece we frame."

Waller is happy to restore and repair frames and bring antique frames back to life. He is also an expert "reclamation" framer, one who takes pieces that have been either poorly or inappropriately framed and re-frames them to improve both the appearance and their value.

You may make an appointment to visit Waller Picture Framing by telephoning the showroom at 540 687 6939 or the workshop at 540 364 6100. Please note that the shop is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.