Thursday, February 11, 2010

Metal, Resin or Wood

Metal moulding comes in a vast array of colors, often with matching mat choices that can boldly announce any art piece in an original way. Enamel paint covers the metal with multiple contour choices, it has often been in the past, the more economical way to purchase framing. That is not so now. It is very competitive with wood today. Metal framing is very durable and its finish comes in mat, satin or gloss. Because of the overwhelming varieties, we do not carry this in stock at all times, but can have it available to you quickly.

The unique thing about metal is that a purchaser can, if they choose, put this together on their own with the right tools. A flat head screwdriver! That makes this product great for shipping and is very light weight. So ordering metal.... can mean that it can be delivered any where in the world. Glass for this product could then be purchased locally and the owner of the art piece could inevitably frame their own work!!!!

When purchasing a finished product, be sure to check the finished corners. This is the most important cut for the framer. If a framer is good, the corners will connect with clarity and join perfectly without gaps or shredded metal shards poking out. And if it is perfect, when doing this yourself, you will have no problem joining the four sides together and having it look professionally done.

Having the variety of color, finish and contour, metal is often the FUN choice to make.

Resin mouldings have been in the market place for years now. They are a great choice for a very ornate type of frame. With resin poured into moulding lengths, a great attention to detail can be featured. They are a medium weight and there are large choices available in colors, mostly golds, silver and platinum looks. These are great for any type of frame job. I have personally used them for mirrors throughout my home. Looking at them you would never know that they are not a wood product.

Wood on the other hand is very different. Color choices are limited but the choice of contours are non stoppable. From 1/2" widths to 5" widths, the shapes are countless. Being a natural product, it is much heavier for shipping but the variety of choices makes up for it!!

Wood also has a natural appeal, a down to earth effect that warms up a room. Most wood is contoured and then stained for the natural effect. Other wood moulding has been shaped and then given a resin 1/4" topper that is pressed into the contour the manufacturer is presenting. Each one is different. Often a manufacturer will use one contour with a choice of two to six colors to choose from.

Wood can not be pieced together by the purchaser. You would want a framer to do that job, trust me! We can ship you the frame, you purchase glass locally and close it up yourself and voila, another "I did it myself" project complete.

For 99% of our customers, we do the job from start to finish. Our work is guaranteed. You will love the choice you've made for your treasure.

When new mouldings arrive, it's like Christmas to me!!! I only wish I had more walls in my own home to keep on hangin' things around!

At Just Hangin' Around, we have a great selection of moulding. If we don't have it, and you've seen it before, we can usually get it if its not out of stock at the suppliers!! The only difference being, that our in house mouldings have a price that can't be beat.

Still looking forward to working with you.......

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Getting to know us....... well that would take a lifetime, but I can fill you in on a few things. Rick and I, married 30 years, have three great kids, a beautiful daughter in law, a fabulous son in law and three wonderful grandchildren. I was just marvelling at the Sunday night dinner table how our family of five has grown to a family of ten with hopefully more to come! My husband thought, a few years back, that I needed something to do with my time. (Like raising three kids wasn't enough) So he signed me up for the Columbia Picture Framing School. At the time I really wasn't to interested in going but decided to make a go of it anyway. Meantime, we purchased the inventory from an out going frame shop with all their old equipment and plunked it in the basement. Looking back.... it was a lot of plunks or piles rather of matting and machinery that we thought we could put to use. It was a one day sale so we thought we had hit the jackpot! To our dismay, later down the road, we realized that we had put the cart before the horse! I then took the course, which I absolutely loved, came home and taught my husband. It was his plan that I would do this job, but he loved it as much as I did! I love color. The realm is so vast. It is a great way to find your artistic and creative side leaving you with a sense of great accomplishment. Especially when the finished product is shown to the client and they LOVE their piece. It didn't take long before we realized that old materials and machinery are just too much work and not what clients wanted. It did, however, teach us to hand cut matting, design and create ways of dealing with an over abundance. My math, which was typically none existant,(other than measuring for baking!) needed to be reprogrammed into my brain as we now deal with everything in fractions (my worse subject ever). Who knew! Now my dear husband, who has built me several homes over the years, is very good with fractions right down to the 32nd of an inch. But he too has had to deal with the change over to metric, which has us both looking at a chart now and again!!! After a year or two, we purchased all new equipment and began to really enjoy our little business. A computerized matt cutter was godsend. Rick has it totally figured out, but me, not so much. The road to building clients was slow at first. Always start with family. So we did. And they were so great. Soon friends got wind of our basement ventures and then we were off and running. As we have been strongly connected to our community through church, schools and volunteering in sports, we soon created a niche in the town of Langley. My husband, Rick, has his own full time job but as he can't sit still on weekends, you will often find him in the shop puttering away on the latest job. He is so particular and precise. His favorite work is with hockey jerseys and memorabilia that he frames with them. Go figure! He does a fabulous job and takes pride in his work. ( I never realized just how much of an artist he really is til now). Since we started, the world has changed so much. Computers, online everything and the web world. We have not taken advantage of it yet. So this blog is to pick up the pace and hopefully share our talent with you. We treat each project with such care and only once in 17 years have we had to redo a piece because I chose the wrong color of matting for someone who told me to just go ahead and pick whatever I thought would look good for the piece. Apparently orange wasn't her color. Ha ha. Live and learn. So drop us a line or better yet, gather up all the special moments in time that you have collected and give us a call!!!! We will be waiting.........