Millenium Womens Guild Tapestry

Ricky · Post by **Ricky** » Thu 27 Mar, 2008 10:40 pm

Ok,guys Heres the rub,
The local womens guild did aTapestry come needlework collage of the year 2000, its not exactly a work of art but they like it.
Its 3'x2' With pieces of 2"x1" sewn into the top & the same in the bottom to weight it down, and it hangs pride of place in the village hall.
they have now deceided to have it framed after 8 years of hanging there. Guess who got the short straw, (oh yes & they don't have a lot of money in the fund) So its a dillema it could bring me some work in but it may not.
One problem is they dont want it taken to bits, and at its thickest point its three & a Half inches so i've suggested a 4" deep velvet lined box frame
with the tapestry hung as its always been only inside the box frame,
does this sound feasible or am i going the wrong way, what do you guys think & how much would you charge I havent given them a price yet but Im thinking £60 to £80. The moulding for the frame is £1.48 ft
(Just thought how do i protect it if I use MDF for the box, will the lining be enough protection)
Nightmare Heeeeeelp.

Moglet · Post by **Moglet** » Thu 27 Mar, 2008 10:50 pm

One thought that immediately jumped to mind Ricky is the 2-be-1s. I would assume that it would damage the fabric over time (assuming it's not suitably sealed in some way???

).

Question: is the back of the piece relatively flat?

Moglet · Post by **Moglet** » Thu 27 Mar, 2008 10:52 pm

Oops! Meant to preview...

Meant to ask

Is the back of the piece relatively flat, i.e. does the 'thickness' come from stuff stuck on the front of the piece?

Post by **prospero** » Thu 27 Mar, 2008 11:06 pm

The ladies could save you some time getting themselves the velvet (about 6" bigger all round) and neatly stitching the tapestry to it. Then they could bring it to you with a lot of the donkey work done. I would put the velvet on canvas stretchers leaving about a 3" border. This would increase the depth though..... You could wrap it around foamcore (depending on how heavy it is) and use a good rigid board behind that.
Pricewise, it's up to you. But at £80 you would be doing them a big favour.

Put a 1 in front if you want to be realistic. If you have to do the stitching, think 250+.
However nice (and skint) the ladies are, you are not a charity.

Not your average framer · Fri 28 Mar, 2008 12:01 am

Hi Ricky,

There a few things to think about here.

I don't know what you have for an underpinner, but not all underpinners will take a 4" deep moulding, so check and see if yours can cope with it.

Also you ain't gonna be able to stack wedges very far into 4" of moulding, but with a frame that size it will be very easy to get the leverage to pop the front of the mitres open if you are only relying on glue to secure the fronts of the mitres. You might need to nail the front of the mitres and fit and touch up to finish.

It's a lot of work also if it's gonna hang in a public place, there some glazing and safety issues to consider. Eighty pounds ain't gonna go very far on a job like that allowing for your time and possibly thicker glass too!

Roboframer · Post by **Roboframer** » Fri 28 Mar, 2008 12:12 am

Finding it hard to picture it all - why would they not have the battens removed?

Is it to be glazed?

For what they are prepared to pay I'd possibly offer to have them keep it just where it is - make a frame, with glazing to fit over it and just fix the sucker on the wall over where it hangs - possibly.

Or - I'd do a proper job, for the price they want to pay, on the condition they show, on a nice plaque underneath 'Framed by ........" Plus grovel to me in their newsletter.

Not your average framer · Fri 28 Mar, 2008 8:10 pm

Roboframer wrote:Or - I'd do a proper job, for the price they want to pay, on the condition they show, on a nice plaque underneath 'Framed by ........" Plus grovel to me in their newsletter.

Sound like some worthwhile focused advertising to me. Will they let you take some publicity photos and let you have a copy of the newsletter to display in your shop window. Of course it may help to persuade them if you are willing to include their membership and contact details as part of your display.

I'm slightly deviating here, but Mike Royal makes him self available to Womens groups and the W.I. as a visiting speaker to talk about framing and tapestries. Might be something to follow up here. If so don't forget to take lots of business cards with you.

Moglet · Post by **Moglet** » Fri 28 Mar, 2008 8:14 pm

Not your average framer wrote:...take some publicity photos and let you have a copy of the newsletter to display in your shop window. Of course it may help to persuade them if you are willing to include their membership and contact details as part of your display.

Better still, if you're helping them out with a price like that Rickly, send off a press release to your local newspaper!

Not your average framer · Fri 28 Mar, 2008 8:43 pm

Moglet wrote:Better still, if you're helping them out with a price like that Rickly, send off a press release to your local newspaper!

Hi Ricky,

Robo and Moglet are right on the button here.

A joint press release with some photos would be even better, if you can get it. The ladies will like the idea of some good publicity for them, but it probably won't even occur to them that by their public association with you, they are giving a public endorsement of you as a framer.

If a private recommendation is good, then a public recommendation is even better! A nice photo of ALL the ladies and their framed tapestry would look good in a newspaper article.

Moglet · Post by **Moglet** » Fri 28 Mar, 2008 8:55 pm

Not your average framer wrote:... A joint press release with some photos would be even better...

... and your local rag might very well look on it more favourably if the initial request came from the ladies. Might well be worth yourself getting involved with the editorial, mind, to ensure that the skill required to complete the job gets the attention it deserves.

(Btw sorry, Ricky, for mistyping your name earlier!

)

Ricky · Post by **Ricky** » Sun 30 Mar, 2008 3:43 pm

Hi Guys
Sorry for the delay in answering been away gigging,
thanks for all the advice I'll be taking Robo's & Moglets
advice & do a good job for what they can afford.
Plus, plug for some good publicity to go along with my ad in the local rag.
Thanks Again
Ricky.