Framing for exhibition, need help

<p>How would you frame your work(s) for an exhibition? I have a few coming up, one big one at a museum next Christmas. These pieces will be for sale. But I guess the question is what would you do? The last thing I want to do is spend $200 on a custom frame job for every piece I have, I just don't have that kinda of money. I certainly don't want to go to Hobby Lobby for some pre-made frame or even custom from there. Is there anything that looks really good, but won't break the bank? Is it an option to just hang the piece matted? Then again doesn't a large piece of mat still cost like $100 (20x30 ish).</p>

<p>If you are selling a classy product to an up-scale clientele......then you do <strong>everything </strong> totally professionally. The people who do not buy at your exhibition, <strong>will</strong> remember the quality of your presentation. Or the perceived lack of it. Regards and best of luck, Robert</p>

<p>That wasn't particularly helpful.</p>

<p>It's not too hard to do "museum frames," sometimes sold under the brand name Nielsen. They assemble simply, anyone can put them together. Mat board can be bought custom cut fairly inexpensively along with backing board. The tougher part is glass. Most frame shops will sell you a box of high quality glass. Cutting it takes a little practice, but it's not difficult. You can also use quality acrylic instead of glass, you just have to be more careful with it. I've used it when I had to ship framed pieces for a show because it's light and less fragile. Generally speaking, I prefer it to glass.</p>

<p>For framing supplies, try <a href="http://www.americanframe.com/">American Frame</a> . Right now they have a deal where you get free cut mat board with every frame, and their frame prices aren't bad. Then you just need backing board and glass. If you don't order while they still have that deal, you can get high quality mat from <a href="http://www.matshop.com/">Matshop.com</a> . I've dealt with both these companies and had fine experiences. </p>

<p>With the current promotion at American Frame, you can get all the supplies for a 20x30 including a cut mat for $46.50. It takes a few tries to get the hang of mounting the print correctly in a window mat, but once you get that done, frame assembly is under five minutes. A frame shop will charge at least $100 for this.</p>

<p>I'm fearing spending $2000 on frames and selling like 1 piece. </p>

<p>The good thing about the Nielsen frames is that they are easy to disassemble and re-use with other pieces. That means that you can use them for a show with completely different prints.<br>

<br /> However, another consideration is unique presentation without frames. For example, you can get your prints mounted on board if you get them through mpix, White House, or similar printing companies. You can hang the mounted prints from the ceiling or from a mounting bar. This can be a lot less expensive and look more interesting than traditional framing.</p>

<p>Especially in this economy, it's tough to sell photography at a good price without an existing client base, and there's an economic risk you have to take to get your work out there. You might consider splitting the show with someone who has complementary work.</p>

<p>Hi Kevin, It's an all in deal I suppose. Jeff has some strategies I would suggest, especially the Nielsen Bainbridge frames, but I haven't seen them that large in the shops I go to. Here are a couple more ideas:<br>

a) I bought a Logan Framers Edge from Jerrys Artarama (.com) for about $200 (yeah, it's about a $500-700 machine from everyone else I looked at).<br>

b) I also look for deals on their black metal frames and glass/plexi (everything I do MUST be archival).<br>

c) I buy acid free/archival mat for about $10/sheet (30x40"). I buy the foam backing for a little less.<br>

d) I don't dry mount my work. I use a Japanese Z frame (archival tape the top edge of the print to the back of the front mat, then tape the top of the back of the mat to the front of the back board.</p>

 

<p>Jeff: My intention was to be helpful.<br>

Kevin is talking about a <em>"big show at a museum"</em> where he will hang <em>20x30's</em> .<br>

And the pieces are <em>for sale</em> .</p>

<p>So. How cheap can you go, and have it work out the way you want it to? And I gave an opinion on that question.</p>

<p>What helps is giving strategies, not pointing out what he already knows.</p>

<p>I got a good deal from Framefit 1 year ago. Similar to Jeff's deal. In fact i got the better deal from Framefit although I previouly used American frame. At Framefit I got free mattboards with each frame cut to my specs, the specs have to be identicle. Last year was the first time I used acrylic instead of glass because of distance to gallery. One more suggestion is that whether using glass or acrylic go the extra mile and get non- glare glass or acrylic. Congrats on the show and have fun framing. Remember when framing, as you get tired and as your back starts to ache and you cut your fingers with the glass that in a short time your work will be hanging in a gallery recieving much deserved attention. Do a good job on framing.</p>

<p>I'm also a big fan of Nielsen frames. I'm aiming to buy several for our local arts centre so that we can mount work for circulating exhibitions.</p>

<p>We had a show about 18 months ago. With the exception of a handfull of large prints, most were 11x14 B&W from our darkrrom, matted to 16x20 and shown i a simple black frame from Nielsson Bainbridge.</p>