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Picture Framing Magazine

Out of Touch?

Jim Miller MCPF GCF

Jim Miller MCPF GCF

Frequent Poster
 
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Messages
1,837
Loc
Central Ohio
Company
ARTFRAME, Inc.
Yesterday evening Gail and I went downtown for the Short North art district's monthly "Gallery Hop". Last month we noticed a new gallery/frame shop had popped up in a tiny lower-level retail space, which has attracted an endless parade of short-lived retail enterprises. So, yesterday we stopped in to check it out. The art on display consisted mostly of open edition prints neatly framed, but there were no especially creative designs or special features.

The owner said she is a 25-year veteran framer and knows all about conservation and the most advanced framing materials and methods. The "Head Conservator" was there, a 20-something lady whose card says she "...received her post Baccalaureate Certificate in Art Conservation from Studio Art Centers in Florence, Italy". This is their second location, for retail display only, and all of their framing is done in their German Village shop (an area about six miles away). I introduced myself only as a framer from Pickerington and neither of them asked my name. Curious, but not wishing to challenge, I asked if either of them are CPFs of MCPFs. "No". PPFA members? "No". AIC? "No". FATG? "What's that"? Subscribe to PFM? "No". Monitor the internet framing sites? "No, we don't have time for that nonsense." Attend the trade shows or any sort of classes? "No, Culver (our local distributor of framing supplies) keeps us up to date on new materials, but nothing really changes in framing."

With that, I wished them well in their new location and we departed. These people may be quite competent, but they seem to be so isolated that they couldn't possibly know what's going on in our industry. How many more of these out-of-touch framers are still hanging on?
 
Yes Jim,
This is a laughable, but also sad situation. All we can do is to educate the public on the difference between qualified framers and non qualified framers (similar to qualified and non qualified conservators or semi qualified)
Right now there are no regulations. People can set up a frameshop without any internationally recognized qualification or belong to a professional framers association.
 
Jim Miller said:
a 20-something lady whose card says she "...received her post Baccalaureate Certificate in Art Conservation from Studio Art Centers in Florence, Italy".
Click to expand...

Interesting.... that this "School" only has people in the area of murals and archeological items (does that mean stone items?) and does not have any staff in the areas of:

paper
textiles
wooden objects
testing - chemistry


I just came back from 2 days at the AIC Conference in Indianapolis, IN
 
As I think of the area My shop is in, of the dozen nearest shops I would say 3/4 would have a similar description. A few MUCH worse. I have two that I would describe has "they took a one week class ten years ago (20 in one case) and have never even asked anyone a question or read a book since then.

No wonder the public thinks our industry is overpriced.
 
I didn't mean to imply that these people are incompetent. They probably are good at what they do. It puzzles me that they do not seem to be interested in expanding their capabilities, learning more about their craft, associating with other framers, or just keeping up with trends in the industry.

For example, investing in multiple locations can be risky business for small independent framers because, too often, such decisions are made with hope of offsetting a decline in business. But the reality is that deficiencies existing in the established location are usually compounded by doubling-down with multiple locations, which only speeds the decline. Some of us have learned that hard lesson first-hand, in time to take corrective action. Informed framers among us learn what works and what does not from the experiences of others, thanks to the support provided by PPFA, PFM, and forums like Framers' Corner.

Unfortunately, many small independent framers choose to remain isolated and never realize what they are missing. They make mistakes that turn out to be damaging or sometimes fatal to the business. I suspect that is the scenario unfolding in this case. We have watched it happen repeatedly, as about half of the small independent framers have failed in the past decade. In 2000 there were about 19,000 of us. Some knowledgeable observers estimate that today we number fewer than 9,000.

On the other hand, perhaps these ladies know what they are doing. Maybe their established location is wildly successful and they are expanding on their successful business formula. In that case they would deserve congratulations and encouragement. We will see.
 
I don't think this is unique to our business. I see a lot of independent business people who don't know much about their trade associations and don't seek additional education. I think I might not be here without that liberal arts thirst for knowledge that followed me into this business.
 
In my life I have seen similar situations. Recently I went to the local business group who had a function. One attendee was a bit drunk and talking gibberish. It made me feel : hey, I'm okay.
In a way it is good to come across these people to boost our self esteem. If they do not want to be helped, then that is their problem, as long as they know, there is help out there available to improve their business.
 
Randy Parrish said:
I would say the majority of frame shops are like this, 75%. Which seems like a big number, but if there are 200 shops on a good day in our state open for business, 50 of the 200 are plugged in. 50 or 25% may even be too high.
Click to expand...

Randy, I agree.

Before I got back into framing about 6 - 7 years ago, I started looking at some of the local framers. My intent was to see if I could be retrained on the better / newer methods possibly, by doing an "free internship" type of arrangement with one of them. I found many were still doing things the way I did about 40 years ago, except they were using cheaper materials now.

I found one that was to the standards I felt I needed to be, but he ended up closing his framing operations before I could mentor under his guidance. So I relearned on my own, via classes from one of my local suppliers (by an instructor with his CPF), taking PPFA classes (locally and at the convention), the internet, etc. After I joined PPFA, I found some other local framers that were PPFA members that also had high standards.

Unfortunately, many frame shops believe they have learned it all via on-the-job training. Some would say they have 30 years of experience, and I would look at them / their work / their processes, and think "no, you have 1 year of experience, 30 times".
 
I would also add being a member of the PPFA is no guarantee the framer knows what they are doing, I see a lot of the new members are joining, starting a new business and have limited experience.
 
I hear a lot that the CPF designation doesn't make a difference to customers. Today, I got a large order from the manager of a local hotel that is opening this month in my town. Most of their art came from corporate, but they have 3 special pieces to go in a conference room. The manager told me that I was the only call they made because their instructions from the corporate office were to find the nearest CPF to do the job, no exceptions.

My profit on this job alone is equal to the exam fee and dues for a year. I really can't count the number of times that I have made back that exam fee. At least once a year. And if people in my small town in WV are noticing, they are noticing the credentials everywhere.
 
Gregory K. Norris said:
I hear a lot that the CPF designation doesn't make a difference to customers.
Click to expand...
Yes, that is generally true, but completely misses the point of certification. We often hear such comments from framers who misunderstand the purpose of the CPF and MCPF programs. The main purpose of PPFA certifications has always been to help framers improve their skills and expertise. Essentially, both programs are prescriptions for learning and continuing education.

PPFA has never promoted marketing as the main purpose of the programs, and the prescribed study involves absolutely nothing about marketing or advertising. That said, PPFA does provide consumer information, and some framers successfully market their credentials as evidence of superior expertise. Kudos to you for making the most of your credentials.

Our world revolves around a fairly small percentage of the population who appreciate art, design, and preservation of valuable things. But in my limited experience of 25 years as a frame shop owner/operator, most consumers believe that earning certification as a picture framer would be something like earning certification as a taxi driver. They consider framing to be a pedestrian, unimportant craft; often an advanced hobby, like building really nice birdhouses. They believe framing is easy work for anyone who cares to do it. Of course it isn't true, but that is the common perception among consumers. Most unfortunately, a lot of framers have a similar perception.
 
Randy Parrish said:
I would also add being a member of the PPFA is no guarantee the framer knows what they are doing, I see a lot of the new members are joining, starting a new business and have limited experience.
Click to expand...

No, not a guarantee but an encouraging sign. Just the fact that they care enough to join, attend meetings and so on means that they're dedicated enough to their business to learn and improve. We all started somewhere.
 
Jim, how PPFA has "marketed" or not marketed certification is pretty much irrelevant.

You have your beliefes about what is the point of certification and others have theirs.

I believe the marketing of your credentials is at least as valuable to your bottom line as the obvious advantage of study and learning.

Heck, I can study and learn without getting credentialed and I would. I get the credentials so I can MARKET that I studied and learned.

I think the point of certification IS marketing.
 
Greg said: "I hear a lot that the CPF designation doesn't make a difference to customers."

Cliff Wilson said:
Jim, how PPFA has "marketed" or not marketed certification is pretty much irrelevant.
Click to expand...
Correct. The subject is how framers market their credentials, not how PPFA markets certification.

Apparently you misunderstood my post. The point is that, when framers demean the PPFA certification programs because the credentials do not impress customers, that reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of earning the designations. The purpose of both certification programs is to improve framers' skills and expertise, not to impress customers.

I believe the marketing of your credentials is at least as valuable to your bottom line as the obvious advantage of study and learning.
Click to expand...
No argument there, Cliff. It makes sense to promote one's credentials, and some of us do so with good results. But the fact remains that "...the obvious advantage of study and learning" is the purpose of the CPF and MCPF programs. They are about technical education, not marketing, and they have no marketing components.

If you truly believe that "...the point of certification IS marketing", then perhaps you will want to suggest that the Certification Board include marketing of the credentials in the next revision. That way, those framers who demean certification might have a reason to earn the designations.
 
OK, I can see where I misunderstood your post, but then, I think you misunderstood mine.

"purpose" is an interesting word and interpretation plays a part here.

Let's take Framer's Credentials out of the mix.

A college degree ....

Some would say the "purpose" was to learn.
But, I think if you dig into the psych of the student you would clearly see that the "purpose" is to establish themselves in a career path.
Some would say "get a job" or "get a better job."

I think we're talking about means vs ends here.

The means of achieving your ends is to study and learn.
The end is to use the credential you earned by studying and learning to achieve an end.

To bring the CPF and MCPF back into the conversation, the end has to be to use the credential to improve your business. This can be a passive improvement through the use of increased knowledge, or an active improvement by strongly marketing the credentials.

Customers don't recognize our credentials in the general course of events, but if you tell them about it, it increases confidence, word-of-mouth, and revenue.

The "purpose" of the credential is to improve you business.
 
Cliff Wilson said:
The "purpose" of the credential is to improve you business.
Click to expand...
Yes, of course - to improve your business by improving your skills and expertise, your ability to provide what framing customers want to buy, and to hook up with continuing education. Legitimately, we promote our credentials as evidence of our improved capabilities. It is a real advantage.

But the framers who demean the certification programs because "...the CPF designation doesn't make a difference to customers", are not interested in learning, improving, becoming better framers. They perceive certification only as marketing tool, a way to attract customers; not necessarily to serve them better. And that distinction is what separates us from the framers who think self-promotion is the only value of certification.
 
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