The Framers Forum

I usually draw the line at 15 or so openings. But, I have a distributor of framing supplies that has a CMC who can be contracted to do many more than that. Their prices are a lot more reasonable than mine if I calculate the time I would need to do the same. This distributor simply loads the complete...

Growing up, a given in school and at home was a sense of quiet patriotism. No one talked about it much, but it was a part of the national character. In the last few years, however, there has been a sense that Americans should somehow be ashamed of our past. Certainly, there have been blemishes in ou...

Brilliant!

I think it is hard to judge the contribution of a web site to overall sales unless you are peddling a product on line. In my experience, new customers don’t usually volunteer how they found you – maybe it’s the web, maybe it’s a TV ad, maybe it’s a flyer. I usually don’t ask. But, these days, NOT ha...

This may be a dumb question but why are frame samples, lengths, etc. called mouldings?

Just a guess … ‘cause the word, “chrysanthemum” was already taken?

(sorry, I'm just a little punchy because we haven't had electricity at the house for two days)

If I truly knew how to market and advertise well, I’d be rich … which I ain’t. :) Especially with frequent repetition I believe the most effective thing you can do is try to imprint you logo and ‘catch phrase’ into people’s minds as often as you can. Picture framing is usually something for which mo...

I’ve ben faced with this problem a few times in the past. What I have done is cut a new mat with exactly the same dimensions as the existing one, and place the fallout of the new mat into the opening of the old one. This is then placed into the dry mount press. Mat board will transmit heat more effi...

We’ve tried all kinds of direct mail, and none of them produced the kind of sales that we were hoping for. Most of our mailings i.e. post cards and newsletters, offered 15% off. Those were criticized for being too low. It is said that a customer won’t cross the street for anything less than 25%. But...

As a suggestion, you might try posting this question on The Grumble . It is a U. S. Based picture framing forum which has a much larger base of framers. (They are a friendly group, too.) Depending on the make and model, they may be able to direct you to an authorized repair guy. Also, if you don’t k...

It is a recurring problem with most Morsø users, I believe.

The problem has been discussed several times in the past. Check out this thread and it might give you some tips.

Why would you advise someone to stick with the manual processing of data when a computer does it so easily - Triplicate order books - I use to generate a small mountain of them - finding customer information was a chore - generating mailing lists difficult - and understanding my sales patterns nigh...

I am a huge fan of the FilletMaster. :clap: I ended up doing enough fillets to justify buying the extension so I can cut them for very large mounts (mats) and frames. The “tall” plastic stop blocks are useful on occasion, too. I so treasure it that I bought a 5 foot length of PVC pipe and put thread...

We do not have a POS software system, but use a spreadsheet. It greatly simplifies the arithmetic, but you can use the principle with a pencil and paper as well. We determined how much to charge for a particular procedure by using a stopwatch and timing how long it took to stretch, say, a 16 x 20 in...

While POS software like Estlite are very popular and have advantages, are still using an “analog” work order form that we’ve had for years, modifying it as we add new services. WorkOrder1.jpg It is a three part carbonless form with the top and middle the same (we keep the top white sheet and give th...

Certainly, if the print has some intrinsic value, you should leave the tape removal to a conservator. Hugh Phibbs is a conservator for the National Musueum in Washington, D. C., I believe, and is a great resource. If the masking tape is not old enough to have become dry and brittle, we’ve has some l...

Welcome to the madhouse. Like Peter, I haven’t seen metal clad frames in, maybe, fifteen years or so. I would be as concerned with dulling the Morsø as well as slightly crushing or denting the top edge of the aluminum where the blade begins its cut. If you have access to a saw, I think it would be w...

I stuffed a pair of these fellas into my wife’s Christmas stocking. She is constantly irritated by the local squirrels that appear to have little or no modesty. http://www.mcphee.com/shop/product_images/w/11884__52704_thumb.jpg As soon as the snow gets off the bird feeder, she is going to try to dre...

If you are currently using a Morsø, you might wish to look into Fillet Master . There is a video on their site which explains it much better than I could. I used to avoid cutting fillets, if I could, since measuring those stupid internal miters was, for me, a hit and miss proposition. Once you get t...

New Years Resolutions? Sure, we’re familiar with them.

The usual for most folks is losing weight, stop smoking, … all that trite, impossible to accomplish drivel.

I’ve stopped making resolutions since I rarely can get past Christmas before they’re all a distant memory.

I debated whether to buy a left side Morsø support, but decided against it. As I remember it was fairly expensive, heavy, and would have eaten up a lot of floor space which I can ill afford. I echo Dermot's suggestion. Instead, for only a few dollars (maybe $25 or so) I got myself an adjustable roll...