My, my. Where does the time go?

When last we “spoke” I was writing from the framing conference.  Evan and I were so pleased with the conference this year…. classes were wonderful and we had the opportunity to meet with framers from all over to touch base and trade thoughts and ideas.  We also saw many familiar faces… it’s nice to be a part of such a friendly, dynamic community.

Since our return we have been busy putting some of what we learned into place.  I have been working to get a monthly newsletter out with a target for the premier issue being the first week of April.  One of the first things that I did was send an individual email to each and every person in the Finishing Touches address book.  Our newsletter will be permission based, so I needed to be sure of each address and needed to have each person’s permission.  It took some time, but it was nice to finally have a “clean” email list, and hearing back from so many people was just a joy.  I am always pleased when someone takes the time to tell me that they are still enjoying the work that we framed even after so many years.  More progress:  I now have a “subscribe” button on the website  down at the bottom of the home page.

Evan took some really cool technical classes and is currently designing some great new framed samples for the store.  With spring here all of a sudden (!), and summer just around the corner he is putting together a summer/wedding themed display to give you all some great ideas.

We are always looking for new ways to “get the word out” about our store and recently I attended a Women’s Speed Networking Event sponsored by the Southern Rhode Island Chamber and Fresh Connections.   In response to my question, “What’s speed networking?”,  I most often heard, “It’s a lot like speed dating”.  Having never been a speed dater, I was still in the dark and a bit skeptical.  But I attended and got the word out to lots of people and had a lot of fun in the process.  Imagine having 30 seconds to concisely tell the person sitting across the table from you about your business and then 30 seconds to listen to her tell you about hers.  Then, on cue, quickly move down one seat and do it all again!  Not only did we have to tune up our speaking skills, but our listening skills as well!  Interspersed with the “speedy” part of the evening we had the chance to listen to a couple of great speakers:   Erica Ricci who spoke about presenting our businesses in very compelling ways,  and Joanne Daly who addressed some of the financial concerns women face.

So until next time…….

Learning in Las Vegas

Las Vegas never ceases to amaze.  We are staying at Bally’s just down the street from the hotel hosting the show and conference, the Mirage.  It looks so close that I estimated it to be about a ten minute walk.  Evan, however, did a dry run on Saturday evening and to walk from his room to the Mirage Conference Center is almost thirty minutes!

 My classes yesterday were wonderful.  “Color and Design Trends Workshop” with Michael Pacitti was an interesting and informative discussion.   Did you know that the “hot” color for this year is Tangerine Tango?  I didn’t, and immediately thought about our web site that I revamped this fall …. the color of the font is pretty close to the 2012 color chosen by Pantone.  Looking at the color for 2011, Honeysuckle, I see that it’s very close to this year’s color.  I’m guessing that even my hosting company follows the color trends pretty closely!

 Kirstie Bennett’s, “Taming the Social Networking Beast”, examined social media as it relates to business.  With all that we have to take care of in business today, it’s hard to keep up with social networking.  Kirstie discussed the major social networks used today and had practical suggestions for beginning and maintaining contact through social networking without spending huge amounts of time on any one site.  

 Evan’s class of the day was with Brian Wolfe of Wizard International.  As you know, Evan can create spectacular mats with the Wizard, and is constantly experimenting to see what else can be done with the machine.  Brian is tops in his field and led an extremely informative seminar.  I can’t wait to see what Evan and the Wizard turn out next!

West Coast Art and Frame Show/Professional Picture Framer’s Conference

Wow, it has been awhile since my last post …. where did the time go? December was hectic, filling orders, tending to business, and of course, participating in the family holiday preparations and traditions. It was wonderful to spend time with family and friends and catch up with those I don’t see as often as I’d like.

January is always a slower month allowing me the time to attend to tasks that were put off during the fall. I had several projects planned at work and around the house. I had promised myself to spend only one hour per day on each respective task, but I soon found myself “on a roll” and working longer on each project than planned. Parkinson’s Law ruled the day: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. Not much relaxing going on in January, but on the “up side” a lot was accomplished.

Evan and I leave tomorrow morning for the annual framers’ conference and trade show, the West Coast Art and Frame Show. We each have a full slate of classes and are looking forward to something new for us, the Chinese Dinner Extravaganza. We, and 58 other picture framing gurus, will be transported via limo to a relatively small, family run restaurant for an evening of great food and great company.

Last year I posted as often as possible on the blog in an effort to keep you all informed regarding our experiences and all the new things that we discovered at the show. I will try to do the same this year as well.

Celebrating Small Business

Kudos to American Express for their efforts to support and promote small businesses with the creation of Small Business Saturday.  I was very impressed with the commitment that American Express made; not only with the national advertising that was wonderful, but also with the promotional materials created for small businesses to use.  The small business owners that I spoke with in the weeks leading up to November 26th were enthusiastic in their plans for the day.

Our plans were modest, but we were pleased with the response in our store.  Even the lift that you get from people coming in saying, “I’m here to support small business on Small Business Saturday!” is gratifying.  We are fortunate to have a client base that appreciates us all year, but it sure is great to have that “special” day.  So here’s to small business and the wonderful clients who shop at small businesses every day of the year.  We couldn’t do it without you!

 

Whew!

Recently, I finally clicked “publish” on two websites, one “new and improved” and one “brand new“! I loved the process; choosing themes, organizing pictures, editing copy from the old website, setting up new email addresses … all fun stuff. But a lot of work. And I always find myself endlessly proofreading prior to publishing looking for the inevitable error or awkward phrase. At the end of the day I just have to convince myself that it is “good enough” because I know that I’ll be adding and changing as we go along.  Plus there are the inevitable kinks in the process that show up after publication that have me on the phone with my hosting company’s support team.  Sure enough, I spent quite a while Friday evening after publishing on the phone with support.   The next day my mom, siblings, and I met for breakfast and I was lamenting about my latest glitch. My brother Dave, who has the awesome ability to not only understand all things in the technological world but can also explain in terms that make sense to the average person, saw the problem and solution immediately.    That evening he fixed the problem for me, explaining everything as he went along.  Thank you, Dave!  It is so much easier when you have the ability to see the “big picture”.

Hopefully you will notice right away that the Finishing Touches website has a sleeker, bolder, look and feel. We think that it reflects our efforts to move the business into the 21st century. Right now the site includes the basics but there is a lot of room to add pages and pictures and we intend to continue to grow the website as we go along.

What is conspicuously missing is needlework finishing. You’ll only notice one reference to it up in the navigation bar at the top that when clicked will bring you to our completely new website, Fabulous Needlework Finishing. There were many reasons for the decision to give the needlework finishing its own presence and is a continuation of a process that we began a while ago. I think this gives us a lot more flexibility and the ability to very clearly state what each side of the business is all about.

We have a lot of great ideas and one of the best aspects of the internet is the ability to include you in the journey.   So check back at both web sites often and let us know what you think!

New Beginnings

I have always looked forward to the fall as a time of “new beginnings”.  The student in me has never grown up and when September rolls around I find myself planning for the year ahead.  I miss the feel of newly sharpened pencils, the crisp clean pages of a new notebook, and the anticipation of the coming year.

This fall is especially poignant for me because along with the anticipation, there is also much retrospection.  It has now been two years since Steve passed away.  And shortly after we celebrated my “Wall of Fame” award at the end of April, my mother in law became ill and spent several weeks in the hospital and a nursing facility before she passed in July.  If you happened to visit Finishing Touches on any given Wednesday then you will remember Steve’s mom (Dot) and his Auntie Dot.  When Steve’s parents retired in the mid 80′s they decided to volunteer at Finishing Touches.  Every week Dot, Charlie, and Auntie Dot would come and spend a day helping out in so many ways.  After Charlie’s passing, Dot and Auntie Dot (or “the double Dots” as Steve used to say) continued to volunteer on Wednesdays.

Dot B, Jan, Steve, Auntie Dot

 Our business has always been very much a family affair.  In the early years my parents were there as well on Wednesdays to help out and cheer us on.  Then they got the travel bug and spent months at a time in their motor home exploring this vast country of ours, but when they were home they could be found each Wednesday at Finishing Touches.  Evan and Dan grew up in this family business and Evan will often say that his first job at Finishing Touches was sweeping the floor in the shop when we were still home based.

During my time of retrospection I found it difficult to write on this blog.  My thoughts were not focused and there were so many other tasks that needed my immediate attention.  Lately I have been reflecting on the accomplishments that Evan and I have achieved in the business over the past two years.  We have completely remodeled our shop so that there is a more convenient working area and a larger showroom with better displays for frame corners and framed samples.  And Evan has lots of great framed samples for inspiration.  We purchased a computer driven mat cutter that greatly expands the range of possibilities when it comes to matting your pictures.  We have moved all of our accounting over to Quickbooks and installed framing specific point of sale software that helps us to be more organized at the framing counter to better serve our customers.  We can do so much with this software and it has allowed us to spend our time more efficiently.  That was no small task learning two new programs virtually simultaneously!  We decided to join the Professional Picture Framers Association and we attend our regional meetings.  We go to the annual trade show and conference and take advantage of as many educational opportunities as time allows.  With all of these changes, we never lost sight of the fact that people come to our shop expecting an upbeat and happy experience along with expert picture framing.  Steve left some big shoes to fill and I’m betting he would be pleased with our choices as we guide this business into the future.

The road has not been smooth;  it’s been filled with uncertainty, angst, second guessing, stress, sadness, and yes, even a fair amount of humor and optimism.   In truth, the road in this journey of life is not smooth; it never is for any of us.  The best we can do is to take what we have been given and do our best to fully appreciate the times of joy and try to make sense of the times of trial and sadness.   The journey continues as we travel down a very different road than the one I knew just a little over two years ago.

As Daryl would say, “Stay tuned…..”

Details

One of the things that we enjoy most about our current mat cutter is having the ability to embellish the matting in wonderful ways.  Evan has been delving into the software and discovering some really cool features from bold to subtle.  At Finishing Touches we generally like to think in terms of subtle enhancements;  those of you who knew Steve will remember that he used to say that we could go “over the top”, and in some cases that’s what will work best, but in general we lean more toward the subtle.  For example, here you see three Hawaii postcards that are antique reproductions with rounded corners floating on a woven mat.  The top mat has been cut with rounded corners repeating the corners of the postcards to compliment in a subtle manner.  Evan built a frame that is reminiscent of the type of surfboard that Duke Kahanamoku would have used in the 1930′s when he was the reining surfing champion.

This antique map has a beautifully detailed border.  Evan extended that detail to the surrounding mat to add just a “little something” to the mat while drawing the viewer’s eye directly to the map.  The frame, a burled wood with gold interior trim, is reminiscent of the era when the map was produced.

In this next example, Evan framed this lovely bobbin lace piece along with two of the bobbins that might have been used in its creation.  The top matting has been raised above the objects providing adequate space between the objects and the glass, and that mat is cut to create the illusion of the lace design.  A bit bolder, and it works wonderfully.  Museum glass was used to protect without distraction.

Sometimes a detailed mat can be used to create a lovely illusion as is the case with this simple card from Brugges.  We wanted to look at the picture and imagine that we were in a house in Brugges looking out over the city.  Evan cut the mat surrounding the picture to resemble an antique window and backed the cutouts with a mirror.  The mirror captures movement as you walk by the frame enhancing the illusion of gazing out of a window to the bustling city below.

Perhaps you have something that is very plain as is this love letter and accompanying envelope from the late 1800′s.  It needs to be framed in a manner that is evocative of the era, and the matting and frame that were chosen compliment the simple paper of the letter perfectly.  However, the letter was written by a woman and she had the lovely penmanship of that era.  Moving closer to the framing you can see that Evan added a very subtle detail to the matting that adds just the right feminine touch and replicates the beautiful flowing strokes of her pen without distracting at all from the letter.  The letter was encapsulated in an archival quality clear polyester that provides excellent support and is totally reversible. An opening was provided on the back of the frame so that both sides of the letter are viewable.  Museum glass was used to protect without distraction.

 

The following are a few mats that Evan cut to spark your imagination.  

What do you envision as the subject of each of these matting choices?

2011 TMD Wall of Fame Award

April 29th was most decidedly not a typical day at Finishing Touches. Each year URI’s Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design honors three successful alumni with a “Wall of Fame” award celebrating their achievements in the field of Textiles at the annual Spring Splash event.  This year I was pleased to be honored for my work at Finishing Touches preparing textiles for framing or display as wallhangings and creating soft furnishings for my clients using their needlework and textile treasures.

The work day just flew by and before I knew it I was home getting ready for the black tie optional event.   Evan, Dan, Kelley, and I met at URI and the evening began with a lovely reception at the University Club followed by a wonderful dinner.  We were pleased to be seated with Dr. Patricia Helms who nominated me for the award, and two students, one of whom is currently an undergraduate in the textiles program and was the designer of one of the fashions in this year’s fashion show entitled, “Fashionably Ever After”.

The conversation was lively and we laughed about the things that have changed and the things that have stayed the same at URI.  For instance, registration and movies.  Registration is much different.  The current undergraduates register for classes each semester by computer with a simple “click”.  When Dan was an undergraduate in the 1990′s registration was accomplished with a touch tone phone.  Back in the 1970′s when I was an undergraduate, we registered by mail and reported to Keaney Gym at assigned times, filled out forms, and waited in line for our turn to go from table to table to drop or add classes as needed.  And movies?  Yes, they still show movies at Edward’s Auditorium!

Dr. Patricia Helms is an amazing woman who taught for many years in the TMD department before retiring in 1999.  She has traveled extensively since retiring and has visited 73 countries, including many that are not on the the “typical” tourist’s bucket list.  She was able to catch up on what is happening on campus from the students’ point of view.  And we were all intrigued hearing about some of her travel experiences.

Before we knew it, Lynn McKinney, Dean of the College of Human Science and Services, was going from table to table urging everyone to begin to move to Edwards Auditorium for the Fashion Show and Awards so that we wouldn’t be late!

I had arranged for an executive van for my mom, Steve’s mom, and his two aunts so that they could attend the event without worrying about driving at night and finding parking, etc.

Auntie Dot, Mom Bertwell, their driver Kevin, Mom, Auntie Ev

I had hoped to see them arrive, but they were already in their seats by the time that we got to Edwards.  However, my sister was waiting when the van pulled up and took their picture with their driver, Kevin.

The fashion show was fantastic and featured everything from internationally inspired fashions, urban fashions, fashions that could be worn by either men or women to lingerie, and eco-chic designs.  The creativity and quality of work was just superb, and the models were perfect on the runway.

While the judging took place backstage, the Awards Ceremony began with the Wall of Fame Awards.  

That’s me accepting my award. Also honored this year with a Wall of Fame Award were Cindi Blair, BS ’89 and Teresa McCarthy, MS, ’98.

The Industry Partner Awards went to The Jones Group, Macy’s and the RI Sewing Network.

Katie Schelleng received a Special Appreciation Award for her almost 20 years of service in the department and for her work with the Historic Textile and Costume Collection.  And Elsie Jane Brindle Brown received recognition for donating items to the Historic Collection and establishing an endowment fund to support the Collection’s activities.

Six students received $1000 scholarships including Kaleigh Guay (our dinner mate and creator of the Eco-Chic Umbrella dress). Victoria Vanasse, Leslie Lawrence, Keri Giblin, Nicole Russo, and Elizabeth Hogan.  In addition, the Weavers’ Guild of Rhode Island awarded TMD graduate student, Jennifer Pisula, a $1000 scholarship in memory of Bertha Gray Hayes.  The money for the scholarship comes from the proceeds of the sale of the book, “Weaving Designs by Bertha Gray Hayes:  Miniature Overshot Patterns”, written by RI Weavers’ Guild members Norma Smayda, Gretchen White, Jody Brown, and Katherine Schelleng.

It was a wonderful, exciting evening and one that I will never forget.  I am pleased that I have been able to work in the field of textiles all these years, and it means so much to me to be honored by my alma mater.

My late husband Steve is never far from my thoughts, especially when there are good times to share.  I was pleased that so many friends and family were able to attend the event and share the evening with me.  I am blessed.

Beautiful Textiles

Every now and then I have the opportunity to speak about Finishing Touches and some of the wonderful items that we have framed and finished over the years.  Last week it was my pleasure to welcome Dr. Margaret Ordonez and a group of her Textile Conservation graduate students, and to speak to them about  Finishing Touches and my methods of mounting textiles for display.  The students are currently studying Exhibition and Storage and are creating an exhibit at the Textile Gallery on the URI campus.

I enjoy preparing for talks because it gives me a chance to revisit various projects that I have completed over the years and to look at the photos again.  I thought that you might enjoy seeing a bit of what I do at Finishing Touches.

Boxed edge needlepoint pillows

As is the case with most small business owners, I wear many hats.  Since my husband and business partner, Steve, passed away in 2009 I have taken on additional responsibilities and functions in the business but still maintain my specialty, needlework finishing.  Custom picture framing is fairly self explanatory, but needlework finishing is a bit of a mystery to most people unless they are needleworkers.

Octagon pillow, knife edge pillow and purse

Essentially,  ”needlework finishing” is the art of creating a soft furnishing or accessory using a client’s completed needlework.

Pillows are far and away the most popular finish, but needlework can be fabricated into anything that you can imagine ranging from Christmas items, soft sculptures, bell pulls, purses and bags, to rugs and wallhangings, and everything in between.

Rugs and wallhanging are items that I thoroughly enjoy finishing.

One piece wallhanging with twisted cord trim

Constructing a needlepoint rug or wallhanging is a tremendous amount of work and requires countless hours of time to complete, but the result is truly beautiful.

Often the rug or wallhanging will be needlepointed in several pieces and I will need to block, or square up, each piece separately before sewing them all together and backing with a lining fabric.  Look at the wallhanging below.  This was sent to me as nine separate pieces.  The challenge was to block each piece so that they are precisely the same size and then join them together ensuring that adjoining parts of each motif in the design are exactly aligned for a “seamless” look.

Nine piece needlepoint wallhanging

Wallhangings are especially challenging due to the fact that a support system must be created that will be safe for the needlepoint, and easy for the client to install because it is not unusual for the item to come to me from another part of the country.  Once the wallhanging is complete, I package and ship it back to the client with everything needed for installation along will complete instructions.

Extra fabric strip with cardboard attached

Framed sampler

Additionally, I prepare antique textiles for framing, a responsibility that I find very satisfying.  Often an antique sampler or other textile will have been framed in a manner that does not provide the best protection for the piece.  Perhaps it was mounted years ago not using archival materials, or is sagging, or the glass was allowed to rest on the needlework.  I take the framing apart and gently clean the needlework and prepare it for framing in a manner that is correct from a conservation standpoint.  This lovely sampler had an additional strip of fabric added to the finished edge and had been mounted to cardboard.  I carefully removed the distracting fabric and the bits of remaining cardboard and prepared it for it’s frame.  I like to mount to a fabric that is similar, leaving an inch or so of the mounted fabric beyond the sampler allowing the sampler to be the center of attention.  We have a great selection of frames that work beautifully with antique samplers and textiles.  Whenever framing textiles, it’s very important to use a spacer between glass and the textile.  Never allow the glass to rest directly on the textile.  We recommend Museum glass or Conservation Clear glass with any framed textile.

I hope that you have enjoyed this glimpse of another aspect of Finishing Touches.  If you have any questions please feel free to post a comment and I will do my best to clarify.

Updates. Not just for computers.

Styles change.  We get inspired to redecorate and change everything in the room from the wall color to window treatments, from flooring to furniture.  But when the artwork goes back up on the wall, it no longer works.  Often the pictures are replaced and stored away for years until they are rediscovered.  The frames still don’t work, but we remember what it was that we loved in the artwork.  Perhaps the artwork brings back many wonderful memories, or reminds us of someone special as was the case with these lovely engravings.

A client came in with these recently and related that they were originally her father’s.  She used to have them hanging in her home but she didn’t like the frames and no longer had the space to hang three together.  She wondered if there was anything that could be done with them or if she should have just one reframed.  We think that in a case like this that it’s important to keep all three together so that none are misplaced.  If she had opted to frame just one, we would have put the other two in a sleeve on the back to ensure that they stay together.  We suggested a mat with three openings and a traditional gold frame that would blend quite well with the pieces as well as her current decor and allow her to view all three.

The new matting has a black core, so when Evan cut the openings the bevel is black which gives it just enough definition and enhances the crisp details in the pictures.  She is now able to enjoy all three of the engravings in a frame that takes up less space on the wall.

Often it is not necessary to change everything …sometimes simply changing the mat color is enough.  If you have artwork that no longer blends with your decor, perhaps an update of the matting is just the update for you.