1899 Doctor certificate, special framing techniques & quality of products so that no tape was used attaching the certificate inside the frame

There are many items to frame:

  • Certificates
  • Photographs
  • Medals
  • Children’s drawings
  • Memorabilia of many kinds
  • Needlepoint (stretching & lacing)
  • Sports jerseys into shadowboxes
  • or other crafts
  • etc..

Each type is treated differently depending on it’s fabrication, & you always receive professional advice on colour, texture, design & other pertinent details to enhance your project. Because it has to appeal to you and hang in your own home, the final say is always yours.

For example:

  • Photos, prints etc. must not touch the glass or they can stick, condensate, buckle;
  • Needlework needs to be stretched/laced first – we have done lots of these;
  • Originals don’t require a mat board but can look much larger and more striking with one or several mats or a fabric liner.
  • And why stop with only one mat when you could use two, three or more.

LEGION of HONOUR MEDAL

Currently 600 + corner samples of moulding for your selection; new selections arriving several times a year. A variety of matboards in different colours & designs from Peterboro (a Canadian company located in Peterborough, ON) and Crescent (a company that has been around a very long time).

If the matboard white edge is turning yellow or brown, it’s either not an acid-free mat or it has “expired”; either way, it needs to be replaced before it damages the item inside the frame. Acid-free will keep it’s luster an average of 30 years. Conservation & Museum matboards will last 50-100 years.

Mats & Glass

Types

  • Regular
  • Acid Free
  • Conservation
  • Museum
  • RagMat

Glass

  • Regular
  • Non-glare
  • Anti-Reflective 70%, 92% or 99% UV protection

Styles

  • Single, Double, Triple & so on
  • Black, Solid or Coloured cores
  • Reverse Bevel
  • Float
  • V-Groove

Repairs

Minor repairs involving broken glass, replacing mats, re-assembling items that have dislodged or frames that have come apart are reasonably simple to fix.

Cleaning of original art or major repairs of frames would be re-assigned to the appropriate type of conservator. We have access to an “art conservator”, “textile conservator” and a “paper conservator” presently.

Client originally wanted to change the frame, but the mats had brown edges which means they were too old and now acidic.

It was decided to keep the frame and just change the mat to a single black one.
What a difference!

PICTURE FRAMING CLASSES

Haven’t you often wished you knew how to frame a picture properly, or cut a mat to fit the picture instead of trying to fit your picture into a store-bought size?

Well here’s your opportunity to pick up some easy pointers to help your future projects.

Classes held here at the Studio.

  • Maximum four (4) students per class.
  • Just $25/hour per person.
  • Book 4 consecutive hours in one day for only $80.
  • Fees can be paid by Visa, MCard, e-Transfer or Cash.
  • Discount on supplies bought during your class.
  • $25 due on booking and is non-refundable due to cancellation but can be transferred if class postponed to another date (maximum 6 months of postponement).

“I was more than happy with the outcome of my framing. Gillian’s knowledge on the subject was greatly appreciated and her friendly and outgoing attitude put me right at ease. Thank you Gillian for the beautiful finished piece.” Maggie Murphy, 2015

The certificate arrived and contained so many colours:  Red, Black, Royal Blue, Silver, Purple, Oatmeal – where to start?
RESULT:  The inner red mat has a black core which gives a fine black edge to the certificate.  The second purple mat matches the PPFA logo in bottom right corner.  The third & top mat closely matches the certificate paper.  The frame is gold but contains some red in the finish.
NOTES:  We stayed away from the blue ribbon because we couldn’t match the blue exactly.  We didn’t enhance the silver because, even though it came that way, warm & cool colours together have to be balanced very carefully.  The decision to make the other colours dominant seems to work well.

“We picked up 5 ‘Molas’ artwork from the indigenous peoples of the San Blas Islands off the Atlantic Coast of Panama. Gillian did a terrific job framing them, taking exquisite care to protect them. They’re just amazing, the work was quick and the price reasonable. We cannot recommend her highly enough, and will be taking more artwork to her for framing.”
Rick de Castro & Lisa Autio, 2015

Gillian does a wonderful job! We had an art piece that we picked up in Barcelona framed and it came out beautiful! Thank you Gillian! Sharyn Hillier on Facebook, 07AUG2017

Oh wow! You did an awesome job Gillian. I love it. Thank you so much, Helen 25MAR2019