Small box frames

[pramsay13]

I've been asked a few times if I want a stall at local fayres etc. and up until now I've said no apart from one that I was involved in organising. My thinking is I don't really have anything to sell as I offer a bespoke framing service although I do recognise that the exposure is no bad thing.
Anyway I'm wondering about making up some small box frames with something inside but I'll be competing with people who buy Ikea Ribba frames for £3.50 each.
Do any of the manufacturers do something similar at a decent price. I'm sure I've seen someone that does a white and black box frame with matching spacers.

[GeoSpectrum]

I wouldn't compete with ikea, you are on a hiding to nothing. I make box frames from barewood moulding form Lion with a barewood spacer, but I hand finish them, in reality this is just a couple of coats of paint, but not black; off black, off white, Farrow and ball colours etc, anything to add a value, be different and justify the higher cost that you will have to charge.

[Graysalchemy]

If your reason for going is to promote bespoke framing then selling cheap box frames to compete with Ikea frames is not going to help you promote bespoke framing it will cheapen what you do.

Don't try competing with Ikea you won't and its not a bespoke framers market. Personally i wouldn't bother with them.

[pramsay13]

My thinking is that I would like to be able to attend these local events to have a stall, and to sell a higher quality alternative to the Ikea frame but I haven't seen one that is suitable.

[Steve N]

If you are doing these fairs to promote your business and to sell a higher quality alternative to the Ikea frame, why do you want to buy in frames, make your own, show the high Quality that you can produce

[Jamesnkr]

If I were in your shoes, I'd be doing something on the stand. Cutting mounts; hand finishing; gilding; wash-lining mounts. Something that you can let people have a go is best. You need to get some interaction with the passing customers otherwise it will be a very dull way to spend a day.

And have some samples of your frames, and stacks of business cards. And probably an advertising flyer too, well illustrated and with some blurb, and a 10% voucher if you visit on a Monday - Friday (whenever your quietest time is). Oh yes, and it should be printed on good thick glossy stock.

If you want to sell ready-mades, make them hand finished and not cheap. Farrow & Ball colours are a very good suggestion; people like them and recognise them for what they are. You're not there to sell endless cheap picture frames that don't fit people's pictures, you're there to advertise your bespoke services.

I bet that if you make 1000 cheap ready-mades to sell at £2.50 you will sell exactly as many frames as if you hand finish six ready-made frames and advertise them at £75 each. (Probably none; possibly one or two.)

[prospero]

As said by the others, if you want to do it use it as an opportunity to promote your business. By all means
make up a few display pieces - something to grab people's attention. Don't go into it from the perspective of
trying to knock out cheap bits'n'pieces on the day. OK, you might sell a few little items but it's just not worth
the trouble to make a lot of stuff.

Having said that I have known people who did OK selling little pictures. One chap in particular. But... he used to
set up a stall at the back of his shop which opened onto a car park. No cost for the stall. Also this was once a year at the
Lincoln Christmas market. 200,000+ punters passing by. He would spend the entire year making small frames and shoving
anything he could into them. No offcuts to be seen in his workshop.

[Whitewater Gallery]

How far is your nearest Ikea, if they are more than 50 miles away are you really competing with them?

[pramsay13]

I'm looking to make my own frames, but I'm wondering if any of the suppliers have factory finished box frames with matching spacer that is reasonably priced.

[prospero]

You might try Simons. But they are the middle man. The big boys (IKEA et al) will be paying the same or less than Simons buy them for.

Unless you ship in a container full from the far east you will struggle to make a bean.

[Not your average framer]

My wife and I have a stall two, or three times a year at a bank holiday car boot market. I sell a few frames and old 1940's to 1960's adverts, while my wife sells a few household items that we no longer require. It's not something that we are overly serious about and it does not raise much in the way of money. Both of us can take it, or leave it, but if the weather is o.k. it can be a bit of fun.

My wife always makes more money than I do, because household items are easier to sell. I have taken some small box frames, but the volume of sales for box frames is not exactly impressive. So my first comment is, don't rely on selling any significant volume of box frames. Stock your stall with a good variety of different items, hopefully something for everyone.

I make small box frames from left over off cuts in the scrap bin and often put one, or two in the shop window. They're not massive sellers, but I do sell some. The spacer that I use is Emafyl 501029104, I often have off cuts of this becuase I use it as a spacer for football shirts. As a result making these small box frames effectively cost me nothing for the materials, because they were already destined for the dumpster.

Not all the moulding off cuts that I use up in this way are always deep mouldings, but the emafyl moulding can extend beyond the outer moulding and has it's own rebate for a piece of mountboard and a backing board. This creates what Roboframer calls the cockcoo clock effect, but if the price is right they still tend to sell.

I don't want to sound to negative, but making money on market stalls is a bit of a difficult to predict, sometimes you will have a good day, sometimes you won't, although the run up to Christmas ought to be good. I would suggest that you need to sell more than just framing to make it worthwhile. I hope it works out well for you.

[red]

when i used to do woodturning i tried craft fairs,that was back in the 90's it
was generally soul destroying,i had days when i sold nothing other a days
selling an expensive item made up for it.i gave it up eventually there
were too many hobbyists selling stuff for next to nothing.
when people buy frames from poundland/ikea what chance have you got?
crafts people who made there wares at the stalls on their often attract more interest
this would give you a better chance of sales

good luck

[red]

when i used to do woodturning i tried craft fairs,that was back in the 90's it
was generally soul destroying,i had days when i sold nothing other a days
selling an expensive item made up for it.i gave it up eventually there
were too many hobbyists selling stuff for next to nothing.
when people buy frames from poundland/ikea what chance have you got?
crafts people who made there wares at the stalls on their often attract more interest
this would give you a better chance of sales

good luck

[Jamesnkr]

I enjoyed watching a wood turner at a fair so much that I pestered my father until he bought me a lathe!

[prospero]

I used to know a guy who painted a bit. He wasn't half-bad but he suffered from "this weeks daft idea" syndrome.
On the end of his house there was a little shop and he used to display his paintings within. He also had a selection of
small gifts and various objects-de-art. Bear in mind he lived in a little village that was very quiet. Almost to a fault.
A car went past every week or two.....
Anyway, he was very exited one day because he had GOT A STALL AT THE LINCOLNSHIRE SHOW!!!
Obviously expecting big things.
Agricultural shows get a lot of visitors, but they go to look at tractors and cows. They don't spend money there apart from
the beer tent.

So he is packing up the stall after the show closed and he had taken all of 30p. Not a happy camper.
He had some of his paintings there priced at £75. A lady drifted in at the last knockings and asked the price of a 20x16 canvas
propped up a chair with no price on it. He told her £1.50. His wife nearly had kittens. The lady asked if that included a frame.
Yes he said and pointed to some of the big gold swepts he had. Wife had another litter.
The thing is, the lady didn't take him up on the offer.

Apart from being a mildly amusing little anecdote, it does point up just what you are up against sometimes.

btw. I think the cost of the stall even in them days was a grand+.

[BaBaZa]

Double rebated frames can be a cost effective alternative to using spacers:


http://mainlinemouldings.com/index.php? ... Spin=Start

[A3DFramer]

I started my business doing antique fairs, though now long retired, the time was before Sunday Opening and the Weekend trade was very vibrant.

A lesson I soon learn was; Was I selling to the public or to other stall holders.

The advice from others is sound, even then long before IKEA, cheap framing would languish on your stall. Quality moves but slowly and takes time to build up a customer base.
Although not my main line, I found making display cases for the jewelry stall holders became my bread and butter. Fortunately I had come into framing by a back door and was not totally dependent on mount card, fabric lining was my first option and doing Antiques Fairs I had plenty examples of 'past masters' work for inspiration.

I now realise weekend fairs were a rich learning ground, even if we did not sell a lot the footfall was high and we learnt from talking to the wide range of potential customers who wanted to spend time talking to us.

Our circuit grew and it was at a bank holiday weekend fair at the Wembley Conference Centre, where I met the first designer, who drew us into doing Pub Refurb work.

[pramsay13]

How do the double rebated frames work Ricky?

[BaBaZa]

The quick and inexpensive method is to use hot glue(or similar) to hold the glass in place(top rebate). The object being framed is attached to the backing board which is inserted in to the lower rebate, held in place with framing points. The visible part of the rebate matches the front of the moulding.

I'll text you a pic of the frame I have on my desk at the moment, assuming your number still ends 37?

[pramsay13]

Yes it does. It was the glass I wasn't sure about so that's helpful.