• Welcome to the Framer's Corner Forum, hosted by the Professional Picture Framers Association. (PPFA)
    You will have to register a free account, before you can SEARCH or access the system. If you have already registered, please LOG IN
    If you have already registered, but can't remember your password, CLICK HERE to reset it.

Post WCAF Post

Ken Tuvman

Well-known member
Messages
65
Location
Lake Minnetonka MN
Company
Best Picture Framing
Amazing experience for me in Las Vegas to meet many of you face to face and for the opportunity to enroll in classes taught by true professional artisans with so much love and passion to the art medium. At many times felt like I was trying to drink water with a fire hose!

Very grateful for the inclusiveness and friendly spirit of the art community!

Ken
 
It was nice to meet you too, Ken.

We do have a great group of people in the PPFA, don't we. And you are now part of that great group!

Maybe next year, consider volunteer for an hour to help out in the PPFA booth to meet even more great people.

take care.
 
Hi Ken,

It was great to meet you at the show. Picture framers are truly warm and welcoming people. :smile: So glad you had a chance to network, take training and walk the show floor. Now I hope you get a chance to rest and digest it all. ;)
 
Hi Ken,

It was great to meet you at the show. Picture framers are truly warm and welcoming people. :smile: So glad you had a chance to network, take training and walk the show floor. Now I hope you get a chance to rest and digest it all. ;)
Ha, rest?? It's going to take me a week to get things settled now that I've got back. I always dread the week after.

And Carol, Not to bury it, (I suspect Sheila or someone will start a thread), but CONGRATULATIONS on your award!
 
Hello Again! I'm also on Underpinner, a Facebook user group and a question was asked about the general vibe of the show - another person in this forum who'd reached out to me late last year, also wanted more details - here's what I wrote about my experience as a newcomer to this industry:

My first show and new to the picture framing industry - here's my brief report: Level of professionalism was very high; industry is very inclusive - coming from a sales background in promotional advertising, meeting artisans / skilled mechanics is a different persona than that of a salespersons. Having spent most of my time as a beginner on the PPFA Corner website, it was suggested I take as many basic classes as possible and that's what I did. I arrived Saturday afternoon and from Sunday to Wednesday morning, immersed myself in classes - Chris Pashke (mounting & art ID), Tim Franer (fillets hands on workshop) , Paul Macfarland (canvas stretching) , Jim Miller (mounting objects) Jay Goltz (pricing) - and sat through a portion of Hugh Phibbs class on mounting - his knowledge base was way over my head! Met Russ Wood and purchased his series on mat mounting and painting bevels. Attended almost every networking event and met many independent framers from one person/home based shop to retail store front owner with many employees - lots of different ways to do this business. Cliff Clifford Wilson moderated Framers Corner live and Mark Klostermeyer moderated a leadership breakfast - learned a ton from both sessions. Met John John E Ranes II and thanked him for the informative video he made for Fletcher Terry when my Nico Valiani (Valiani) Pneumatic Mat Cutter (Mat Pro i150) was marketed through FT. Jared Davis welcomed me to the Down Under networking dinner after the LJ art show at Paris Hotel Buffett. Again, met so many amazing framers with a deep love of this craft. Met the editor of PFM and got to thank Sheila Pursglove and Maureen Robertson who helped me figure out the website when registering for classes and various networking events. In the classes, felt like I was drinking from a fire hose but realized it will take many hundreds / thousands of hours to get good at this craft (advertising experience is north or 38 years so I can produce branded promotional merchandise in my sleep but framing will be a lot more challenging as I'll be using my two hands verses working as a broker - but this is what I want. The trade show was really manageable for me - the promotional shows are at Mandalay Bay and take about 2 days to cover. Met my Crescent rep Barry Wooldridge who's helped me a lot from the very start by answering all my emails and questions. Met a lot of fellow framers from Minnesota and others I'd met on Framers Corner. Now that I'm back home, spent about an hour this morning reading through Russ's material on mounting techniques - heading downstairs to my shop to install mirrored wardrobe doors and open the box to my new Bostitch air driven stapler I purchased yesterday. The classes were well done and I purchased books at the bookstore that my instructors wrote. Walking the show was similar to walking through an art museum - amazing works of art - the supplier booths were top shelf! My take on the show. I have an interesting story and if anyone wants to visit my evolving website, it's www.bestpictureframing.biz. You'll see in "About Us" that my mom Estelle is an accomplished water color artist and my late father was a respected glazier and was called to install mirrors in the late Cary Grants Beverly Hills residence above the BH hotel. My take!
 
It was great to meet you, Ken. It sounds like you really got the most out of the show, and picked some of the best classes!
 
It was great to meet you, Ken, after being 'email buddies' for a few weeks before the show! I'm glad you had a great time at the PPFA Convention and WCAF/National Conference. Framers are incredibly friendly, welcoming people and willing to share their expertise and experiences!
 
Ha, rest?? It's going to take me a week to get things settled now that I've got back. I always dread the week after.

And Carol, Not to bury it, (I suspect Sheila or someone will start a thread), but CONGRATULATIONS on your award!

Cliff, Thank you for the Congrats. And you are absolutely right about the volume of work that piles up while you are away!
 
Back
Top