opening of my new picture framing shop

[greenfields]

hi i have opened my new picture framing bussiness in co.tyrone n.ireland which is going very well at the moment and i have sold one painting the recesion has not hit this county yet i got football shirts today .
i hope things are as good as they are now and for the future
greenfields

[birdman]

Congratulations on opening your new business and I wish you much success. Have you picked a busy town in Co Tyrone and have you managed to gain a high street position?

[Bill Henry]

Good luck! I wish you well.

[kev@frames]

Congratuations, Grenfields
Wishing you every sucess and a long and prosperous business Gutsy move opening in a recession, hope it pays off well for you. Good man.
now get yer web site up

[Spit]

Greenfields, congrats on opening!

Were you the chap me & Moglet met by the Gunnar stand at the spring fair?

[greenfields]

wel thanks very much i hope things go well i am getting some suppliers now at the moment i see the suppliers in england are so much cheaper and have a good stock of mouldings they can deliver to co.tyrone in 3to 4 days and are the same price as getting it from dublin
now i was just looking for some info on mouldings i have about 45 samples on the board now the problem is do i buy say 2 mouldings from every sample so i have got every one in stock or do i buy lenghts of mouldings every week
i know getting lenghts every week from two suppliers would cost a lot every mounth so can i get the best advice about buying mouldings
and mountboards

[Bill Henry]

You might want to hold off trying to keep all 45 mouldings you have on display in stock. Especially, if you can get 3 to 4 day delivery, it might be worth your while, at first, to order chops until you find out what is really going to sell for you. I have some mouldings in the rack that have been gathering dust for years. Bad decision on my part.

Certainly, plopping length moulding into your chopper or saw will seem to be less expensive than ordering chops. But, say, your minimum order for length is 50 feet and you only need 8 to complete an order, you’re stuck with 42 feet of the stuff which you may not be able to sell for months or years. So, until you’ve used, maybe 15 feet of a particular moulding, you will not begin to turn a profit.

Although chops are more expensive to order (plus shipping), you will at least be turning a profit with each frame you sell.

My suggestion would be to start conservatively, and save your capital. There will always be some unforeseen items which you have not yet thought of that you will need to buy.

[Roboframer]

I think chop service is a good idea for a start-up too and wish I'd gone that route at first, or at least a combination of that and length, but then I was lucky by having a supplier on my doorstep.

Another thing that may be worth considering is hand finishing. This WILL mean carrying stock, but not very expensive stock.

Not talking about gilding or anything, basic woodstains and waxes, especially on ash. Simons will give 20% off 100 ft if you ask for 'the 100ft price', and their prices for plain woods are very good anyway - probably the best around.

Say you bought 100 ft of 5 different plain wood mouldings and wrote off a length of each to make corner samples. You'd get 6 corner samples from a 10' length - finish them in 6 different ways and you have 30 more samples on your wall. Then look at suppliers' catalogues and find out what they would charge for something similar already finished, you'd be amazed. For example, what costs me about 45p per foot unfinished, Nielsen sell for £1:35 per foot finished - just a basic woodstain. Charge the same, tons of profit.

For 60p per foot from Simons you'd get something very nice - and in just one frame could recover the cost of 100 ft (less mounts, glass, etc of course, but you get my drift, you'd soon be in to profit)

[prospero]

What Robo said.

Doing simple coloured wood mouldings is a piece of cake and allows you to have your own exclusive finishes. Ash with a quick wipe over and a touch of wax looks very good. You can either stain/paint a length or make the frame first and then paint it. Personally, I always make the frame first. You get nice blended corners and does away with the 'touch up' stage.
Producing good gilded finishes is not as hard as you might think. Takes a bit more practice, but the end of the day the possibilities are endless. Customers appreciate something they can't get elsewhere.

[greenfields]

great idea never thought of this i will get some waxes and wood dyes but what are the best ones to get for the job in question i have looked in simons catalouge there is some nice mouldings need some advice on the best waxes and dyes

[fineedge]

try the local hardware store first. I do a lot of hand finishing and have never ever bought anything from a framing industry supplier with which to do it.

[Roboframer]

You can get a lot of wood stains from hardware/DIY stores, but good waxes are more difficult to find.

Liberon waxes are great and Lion sell them - I have a local paint (etc) store that stocks them and sells to 'the trade' but as a framer I'd not warrant an account for the amount I'd use them, and if I did they'd not be that much cheaper than lion anyway.

Colron woodstains are good - most DIY stores sell those. I use Antique pine, Jacobean dark oak, American Walnut, Teak .... struggling now!

The Liberon waxes I use most are neutral (to buff any finish or just to buff unfinished) Antique pine, American walnut, black patinating and liming.

Instructions are on the tins! But you can get excellent results by just applying the stain (spirit based for ash) with either a rag, tissue or a brush (you''l find each dries different) - allowing to dry, rubbing in some neutral wax, allowing to dry again and then buffing. If you sand first and/or wax and buff a few times, you'll get a better shine, but a nice sheen is fine - you're not after something you can shave in.

I don't use 'colours' as such - just woodtones.

See those 5 stains mentioned above? Apply them, allow to dry, and then, instead of applying neutral wax - apply liming wax and you've got another 5 moulding samples - per profile!

In fact the combinations, just with the stains and waxes mentioned are endless. Try, for example antique pine woodstain waxed with American walnut staining wax - like that? Lime it!

[prospero]

great idea never thought of this i will get some waxes and wood dyes but what are the best ones to get for the job in question i have looked in simons catalouge there is some nice mouldings need some advice on the best waxes and dyes

My perfered method is artists acrylic paint. You can use it thick or thin as a wash. It dries quickly and when dry can be waxed and buffed to a nice shine.

Useful colours:

Mars Black
Titanium White
Raw Umber
Burnt Umber
Yellow Ochre
Red Oxide
Hookers Green
Ultramarine Blue

Titanium Buff mixed 50/50 with white gives a nice light ivory. Great for liners.

Try small tubes first. If you get really into it get the bigger 250/500 ml pots for economy.(online price is about 60% high street shops)

I use the good old Black Bison wax. Dark Oak for dark colours - Clear or Neutral for light.

Rottenstone powder is also useful for antiqueing and highlighting grain. Apply wax, wipe excess and let dry. Dust liberably and buff leaving dust in grain and crevicies.

As well as flat colours you can do two-tone effects. Apply a couple of thick base coats of a light(ish) colour. And when dry apply a diluted top coat of a darker shade. E.G. Sepia:

Two coats of Raw Umber with a dash of white. Let dry.

Add a wet coat of diluted Black. Make sure all the surface is wetted and wipe off with paper towel. You can stipple the black with a brush or dab it with the paper towel as it dries for various effects. I guarentee you will be pleased with the results. When you have had a bit of practice you can do very convincing wood verneer fx.

Mahogany:

Same but use Red Oxide Base.

For a warmer wood shade, use Yellow base and and use approx 70/30 Burnt Umber/Black for the top coat.

Don't buy expensive brushes. They soon get knackered. I get mine from local Pound shop.

I have used dyes in the past, but I find acrylic paint does the same job and goes way further. Very tough when dry.

Happy Dabbling.

[Jonny2morsos]

I keep virtually no stock these days apart from some blacks, fast moving traditional woods, natural wood veneers and some mouldings I sell to regular trade customers.

I also keep unfinished mouldings for staining/waxing as required and mark up accordingly

My experience is a 2 week turn around is generally accepted so if you get 3-4 days from your supplier you are OK.

Once you find out what you can move quickly then I would suggest buying in a bigger quantity to get bulk discount. Also look at your suppliers brochures and see what mouldings are common this can save you from placing two orders that you pay carriage on and instead place one carriage paid order. When you look closely it is surprising the number of mouldings that appear in more than one brochure and often at very different prices.

Look out for mountboard deals as well. Recently Daler Rowney white core was being offered on a buy 2 get 1 free offer. Double sided boards can be useful too e.g. off white one side cream the other i.e. two colours but only stocking one board.

You are not likely to get deals on conservation quality boards but then you will be charging accordingly.

Offer deep bevel and fillet mounts (mountslips) and have examples to show.

We take photographs of unusual jobs to aid the selling process.

John.

[The Crofter]

greenfields

Good to hear you are up and running and I hope all goes well.

My moulding is on display so when I started I wanted the customers to see a reasonable selection and not just a few lengths. A bit of psychology but displaying mounboard, moulding chevrons and stock pictures gives the impression that the business is well established and you have been a pro framer for years. Actually it will take no time at all to fill unused wall space.

I am slowly starting to use more hand finished moulding and currently stick to plain ash in various profiles. Only a few stain colours (black, oak etc) to start with but will expand as the jobs come in. Lion sell a pack (40?) of disposeable glue brushes which are perfect for applying stain. Bison wax is wonderful and my most popular finish is a clear beeswax on 38mm plain ash pillow. Smells great as well !.

[fineedge]

prospero wrote

I have used dyes in the past, but I find acrylic paint does the same job

Don't like stains and dyes either! Too unpredictable when the quality of the wood varies. I use mostly good quality pva's (primaries plus black and white) - eg. For darker woods I start with red, orange, or yellow and then layer it with diluted black until the required colour is achieved. Allow to dry and then wipe on a matt or velvet polywax sealer. Don't really use brushes either - I use dense sponges which builders use for bagging brick walls. I try to never pre-mix a colour and just apply it straight. I always layer colours and washes over each other. It tends to give a richer result. I have also found at times if something is just not working when hand finishing, I climb into it with a rag and thinners to wash it all off and land up with an exquisite "accidental" finish. But as Prospero said - happy dabbling, the possibilities are endless .