Trend? Frameshops with no actual shop? Full-service distributors?

[Andrew Lenz Jr.]

This topic has come up in conversation lately with a couple of supplier reps. Back when we started business, chops were fairly rare, everyone stocked length moulding. Over 40 years later, it's the reverse. Chops seem to be the norm, and length the exception. (Chops are still the exception for us.)

Frames cut and fully assembled was the next step. I'm told some shops during the Christmas season simply have their distributor deliver all their frames assembled so they can just cut the contents and do the the fitting.

Now, a number of distributors are offering mat cutting too. And cut acrylic. Maybe even cut glass. Aside from some services (mounting, stretching, hinging, etc.), an order can be delivered ready for fitting.

The question arises, what are the future expectations for distributors?

Is artwork going to be picked up one week by a distributor and then delivered the next ready to hang? Are CMC sales, mount press sales, underpinner sales, any equipment sales, going to drop since "framers" are going to stop doing their own work and won't need them?

Is a "frameshop" going to be a designer and a counter in a 200 sq. ft. retail space with no true shop? Is that going to be the future for many shops? Maybe just a kiosk in mall?

I don't believe a true frameshop will go away. Or certainly not any time soon. I think there will be room for shops like us who can cut mats on the spot for customers, complete an "emergency" frame job in 24 hours (or same day) without sacrificing selection, mount posters within a day or two, control the quality of the project* to a 'T'. Regardless, if ten "nook" shops open up within a short drive, that will certainly affect business.

Do you think distributors will offer full framing? And if so, when? How do you think it affect the industry?

- Andrew

*Recently, we had to order a chop frame from a company we dropped due to quality issues on their length moulding. I placed the order myself: "It's a rush order that we need to deliver in 48 hours. We need it shipped later today or tomorrow. It must be perfect. We don't have time to redo it if it has flaws." Their customer service person typed in my instructions.
The frame arrived with visual finger-joins under the finish and a speck in the paint on another leg. I can't help but be concerned that a distributor would not provide the highest-quality product if asked to provide services that a shop can provide. We regularly reject 4-5 cut sheets of Tru-Vue UV glass for bubbles and defects to get one good piece, would they? I doubt it.

 

[Kai Vanuffelen]

Hello Andrew,
I tend to order chops on moldings that have a gesso or clay finish or aluminums since I only have a Morso chopper.
The supplier can cut these better with a top of the line double miter saw than I can.
The price of chop has gone up compared to ordering in length, so in general it makes more sense to order in length.

 

[David Waldmann]

I am aware of some shops (specifically, in NYC) that do not have a "shop", i.e. they only buy joined frames. OTOH, I am also aware of a company that had a show/design room in NYC with their shop in Queens, and they have consolidated everything into Queens. I guess what it comes down to is that what works for one doesn't work for another. What do you want to do, and how do you want to do it?

As for whether distributors will offer full framing, no doubt. I believe there are some that do already. As to the effect on the industry, it depends a lot on who they will target. For instance, 20-30 years ago there were bunches of places that you could drop off your film and get it back in 1, 2 or 3 days. Most of them had absolutely nothing to do with photography (drug store, video rental store, book store, etc). How did that change the face of photo developing? With the internet, a customer could pick out the frame and mat online and all one would need is a place to store incoming artwork and completed framing. At most, a visualization setup onsite to help a customer design it. Could be a convenience store, laundromat, bank, what-have-you. That would change the industry.

If the distributors stick with selling to "frame shops", while there might well be a lot going the pickup/drop off route, they would remain primarily single purpose shops along with the "expertise" required to run such a business. I believe it would have much less impact, although there would still be those that complain that the "fitters" are taking away business from the "craftsmen", a la the current groaning about BBs (apart from the always-on-sale issue).

The fact is that even though something has "always been done" (at least, in our lifetime...) a certain way does not mean it's the only, best or even right way to do it. There was a thread on The Grumble recently about changing the face of custom framing. My take, and I believe the consensus, was that you're a whole lot more likely to be successful if you can figure out what people want and give it to them, rather than try and convince them that your way is the right way. Reminds me of the old phrase "It's not me - the rest of the world is crazy". If you're not willing to change you may very well die.

This is not to say that the "traditional" custom framer is going away. I believe there will always be a place for what, 30 years ago, was the typical custom framer - buys length, chops and joins their own frames, may occasionally finish some raw moulding or modify an existing finish, etc. There will also always be a place for those that go a step further back, and make their own moulding per the job requirements or at least designing and having someone else make it. They just will become more and more in the minority.

 

[Jim Miller MCPF GCF]

Do you think distributors will offer full framing? And if so, when? How do you think it affect the industry?

It is happening now. All of the three distributors serving my market will cut mats, glass, fillets, liners, cut & join, stack mouldings, and build complete frames.

Soon after International Moulding purchased our local supplier, I called President Richard Thompson to suggest that Culver should stop selling to its customer's customers, because that is why their business declined. Mr. Thompson's response was memorable: He said Culver would continue offering its "fulfillment services", just as most other distributors do, as the framing industry continues to evolve in that direction. He has no interest in preserving my little business and, truth be told, there is no reason that he should.

As our suppliers continue to take more and more of our business, the future looks bleak for small independent framers who expect to sell ordinary framing designs. That business will be lost to mass marketers and production framers. My theory is that there will always be a good market for framers who sell what others can not or do not wish to produce. In my shop, that translates to unique shadowbox designs, and preservation techniques that go well beyond the avoidance of certain materials.

Contrary to the common mindset, the woes of small-shop framers are not actually about prices, since we certainly can compete. No, the problem for small-shop framers is in marketing, including consumer perceptions. For example, the photographer across the street will buy from my supplier 30 miles away, expecting to save money. He assumes my prices would be higher, and he would be wrong, but the result is the same.