Start a Picture Framing Making Business

(158). Start a Picture Framing Making Business

If you enjoy working with your hands and find satisfaction in making people’s memories last a lifetime, you should start a picture framing business. Picture frames are needed for everything from fine art and diplomas to posters and snapshots and can be made in any size. Operating a framing store that offers customers plenty of frame choices as well as excellent customer service can turn a hobby into a lucrative business idea. In order to have a large enough display area to properly show all your frame options, you will need to have a storefront. You should look for a location in a high traffic area, perhaps in a mall or outdoor shopping center. People love one-stop-shopping and if they can get a piece of art framed on the way to buy their child some shoes, they’re more likely to stop in. If you’re unsure how to start a picture framing business, you should look into purchasing a franchise. This will be a more costly investment but the benefits are huge. A franchise will come with training so you don’t need to have any prior experience in framing. You will also receive branding, marketing assistance, equipment and materials. Very few decisions need to be made when starting up a franchise which is great if you’re ready to get right down to business. However, if you’re interested in a more unique framing shop that perhaps caters to fine art, personally selecting each frame for your store would be important to your business model and a franchise wouldn’t be the best option. If you already operate an arts and crafts business, you could add framing to your services to bring in more customers. You can quickly learn this skill by reading a how-to book and practicing with a few pieces of your own before handling others’ art and photographs. Market your business by placing ads in the phone book and in magazines that cater to your market. If you specialize in framing large pieces, try to contract your services with a local art gallery so you can handle all of the framing for their business. They can also refer local artists to you for their framing needs. With excellent selection, skills and service, a framing business can be fun, exciting and quite lucrative.

Picture frames have traditionally been made of wood, which is still the most common material, although other materials are also used, including silver,bronze, aluminum, and plastics such as polystyrene, though these require specialized equipment in order to cut. A picture frame may be of any color or texture, but gilding is common, especially on older wooden frames. Some picture frames have elaborate mouldings which may relate to the subject matter. Complicated older frames are often made of moulded and gilded plaster over a plain wood base. Picture frames come in a variety of profiles, but generally the lengths of moulding feature a "lip" and rabbet, the function of which is to allow a space to hold in the materials in the frame. The lip extends usually about a quarter of an inch past the edge of the rabbet.

Those who know how to attractively frame photos and art may find that starting a framing business is the ideal venture and can be quite profitable and can be operated in several different ways.

Why picture framing?

Take a look around you. Chances are you're surrounded by walls. As the owner of a framing business, you'll find that every wall represents a prospective sale. In fact, an average 3-bedroom house typically has more than 40 interior walls. And a medium size office building has ... well, you get the picture. 

Picture frames are an almost universal used product. And since almost  everyone buys them, why shouldn't they buy them from you?

If you've thought about owning your own business, you'll want to consider custom picture framing for a number of reasons, especially if you value a business that's creative, flexible and fun. It won't cost a fortune to start either. This makes custom picture framing a popular choice that offers many advantages over most business startups.  And with markups of as much as 600%, a successful framing business can be quite profitable too.Picture framing lets you choose from working at home; opening a retail store or art gallery; offering wholesale framing services to artists and designers, manufacturing pre-framed art,  or even putting your business on wheels and bringing your frame shop to your customers. 

Instructions

2. 1. Train how to properly frame pictures and use picture framing equipment, if you don't already know how. You can take a home-study course from a company such as Picture Framing School, or you can read books and watch instructional videos on picture framing.
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4. 2. Pick a location to operate your business from. You can work from home and have clients come to you, open an Internet business and service clients around the world or open a brick-and-mortar picture-framing shop. A shop is the most expensive option, while selling online is the second most costly due to shipping costs. Working from home is the least expensive way to start a picture-framing business.
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6. 3. Find a space to make your frames and store your supplies, if you will not be opening a physical shop. A garage, storage shed or spare room dedicated to framing pictures is ideal. If you open a shop, you might consider using the front of your store as a frame display area and the back of your store as a workshop space.
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8. 4. Obtain the business permits needed in your area to start a retail business. You will likely need an employer identification number (EIN), a sales and use tax permit, and a state tax identification number or fictitious name certificate (DBA).
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10. 5. Buy picture-framing equipment such as 

• Mats, 
• Cutters and 
• hanging wire
• Wood
• Metal
• Plastic/Arcylic

1. 6. Promote your picture-framing business. Try launching a promotional blog or creating a website to market your venture. You can also consider working with complementary service providers and businesses such as photographers, photo studios, interior decorators and home-decor stores. Many start-up businesses also post on classified ad sites such as Craigslist.

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   The Basics of Picture Framing
   
   
   This section can be skipped by anyone who already knows how to create a basic picture frame. 
   
   
   The following then, are the logical steps to follow when framing anything: (I've used the word "piece" to describe whatever is being framed - print, embroidery etc.).
   Mount, backing board and glass
   
   
   1. Ascertain the outside measurements of the mount required to frame the piece, or the piece itself if no mount is required.
   
   2. Cut the mount - using a mountcutter (see the Mounting page for more on mountcutting). This involves determining the width of the mount, whether single or double and of course the colour that will compliment the artwork.
   
   3. Using the outside mount measurements, cut the MDF Backing board with a Stanley knife.
   
   4. Using the outside mount measurements, cut the glass with a glasscutter.
   
   
   Frame
   
   
   1. Using the outside mount measurements as a starting point, calculate the two sizes required (width and depth) to cut the four pieces of moulding required to assemble the frame.
   
   2. Cut the frame pieces on the guillotine (see the Mouldings page for more on cutting).
   
   3. Assemble the frame on the underpinner (see the Equipment page for more on underpinners).
   
   
   Finishing
   
   
   1. Attach the piece to the mount.
   
   2. Clean the glass.
   
   3. Fit the package (Glass, mounted piece and backing board) into the frame and secure with points (little flat "nails") using a point-gun (see the Equipment page for more on point guns).
   
   4. Tape up the back and attach cord.
   1. http://youtu.be/6P9pAeti57Y
      
      
      Process of Making Picture Frames
   2. 1. Determine the desired picture frame dimensions. Remember to use the mat, not the picture, as a guide to determine the finished dimensions.
   3. 2. Choose picture frame moulding, builder's moulding or lumber for your frame. Picture frame moulding can be obtained at framing stores, art stores and larger craft shops. Builder's moulding and lumber can be found at your local home improvement store.
   4. 3. Measure the width of your chosen framing material and multiply this number by 8. Add to this measurement the length of each side of your desired frame. Divide the total inches by 12 (most wood material is sold by the foot). Purchase this amount of framing material plus a few inches extra in case of a cutting error.
   5. 4. Use a handsaw to cut the moulding into four pieces, one for each side of the frame. Each piece should measure the desired length of the side plus twice the width of the wood. This extra amount is for the mitered corners.
   6. 5. Use a mitre box and a handsaw to cut the end of each piece to a 45-degree angle. The mitre box allows the piece of wood to be held firmly and will guide the saw so that it cuts at the correct angle.
   7. 6. Lay the cut frame pieces out onto a flat work surface and arrange them so that they form a frame.
   8. 7. Use wood glue and corner clamps to join the corner sections of the frame. Apply the wood glue along the cut edges, press the pieces together, and hold the pieces in place with a corner clamp. Glue and clamp all four corners.
   9. 8. Turn the frame over so that the back is facing up.
   10. 9.Apply two V nails along each glued corner seam with a hammer. Pace one nail toward the inside edge of the frame and the other toward the outer edge. The midpoint of the nail should rest on the seam and the open portion of the V should be pointed toward the inside edge of the frame.
   11. 10. Remove the clamps and allow the frame to dry overnight. Do any sanding or staining of the frame after the drying process is complete.
   12. 11. Attach the hanging mechanism to the frame.

   13. Shapes

       
       
       
       Picture frames are generally square or rectangular, though circular and oval frames are not uncommon. Frames in more unusual shapes^[5] (often appropriately coloured) are usually frames intended for photographs, such as heart-shaped frames to go around wedding pictures and the like, and there have been shaped shadowboxes made, though these have generally been used to roughly follow the outlines of sports jerseys and other memorabilia rather than pictures. There are also picture frames designed to go around corners. Another popular design for a picture frame is the scoop, an indent in the frame that adds depth.
       
       
       Styles
       
       
       

       
       "L"-style frames are a simple variety that are constructed with a single L-shaped border of wood, with the bottom part of the L, or rabbet, at the front of the frame to hold in the glass, object and backing, which are secured in from the back.
       A photo cube is a special type of picture frame, often used to show members of a family, a vacation, or a timeline of someone's life.
       Other styles are clip frames (not really a frame at all), box frames and shadow boxes. A digital photo frame is an example of the changing technology of the 21st century.
       Macaroni picture frames are a popular craft project for children. Uncooked pasta in various shapes are glued to a frame in a pattern. Sometimes the entire frame is painted.
   14. Picture Framing is a creative and growing business and also offers prestige and variety in a business where your creativity and professional opinion become valuable assets to your appreciative customers, whose homes and businesses you beautify, and whose keepsakes you preserve