Do you have a pile of photographs or prints gathering dust, rolled up or packed away in a drawer waiting to be framed and hung on the wall? You do? Then you're not alone. Most people's homes have items lying dusty and forgotten which, when framed and hung on a wall can be an interesting talking point or a daily reminder of an important object or moment. We're talking family snaps, school photographs, art gallery posters, letters, invitations, post cards, menus, crests, certificates as well as stamps, coins, dried flowers or scraps of fabric or embroidery.
Framing something important can make it an enduring memento, and a print or poster can add immediate colour and life to a room at very little cost. Personal and family photographs have moved from the merely loving or sentimental to the artistic. More and more people are framing photographs singly then grouping them together in a stylish focus, or clustering a selection in one frame, or assembling a collage which gives a particular life to family snaps.
"One of the best compliments you can get is when a customer returns to collect what they left in to be framed and doesn't recognise it," says John Melia of Framework in D·n Laoghaire. "Framing something can offer a real transformation."
A visit to a small gallery such as Framework illustrates how very different looks can be achieved through colour, style and size of mounts and frames. John Melia has been asked to frame many things in his time, from a walking stick to a 20-ft long Chinese kite.
The well-established We Frame It in Dublin 2 has been equally challenged. "We can frame almost anything," says Lolita Walsh. "I framed two babygros the other day. We framed a suit of Ronan Keating's, we frame football jerseys, Communion dresses and christening robes. Prices start at £30 (€38) for a small 8 by 10 inch picture up to £250 (€317) for a 2ft by 3ft frame and mount.
Layfayette, Ireland's oldest photographic firm established in 1853, will also frame just about anything, according to its framing manager, Paul Balfe. "We get people coming home from holidays with a painting they brought in a street market. We're getting batiks, Aboriginal art painted on bark or cloth, Egyptian papyrus, Cuban oil paintings. You can pay from £5 (€6.35) for a small, wooden, good-quality frame up to the sky's the limit."
With DIY and chain stores selling frames of all shapes and sizes, isn't it easier to do the framing oneself?
"Fine," says Paul Balfe. "You can frame up anything yourself, of course, but unless you do it correctly, gravity will take its toll. Posters, for example, which have been framed without being dry mounted will start to drop and wrinkle - no maybe about it, it will happen. Some ready-made frames come with board which people can use wrongly so that the picture is crooked or falls, or wrinkles. Basically, if you've something of no great value, you can stick it into a frame yourself. But if it's something you really care about, you will probably want it to last. It's like everything else, paying the professionals to do it properly is often worthwhile."
Baldoyle-based Regency Frames makes ready-made frames and frames to order and managing director Martin Foreman says there are two factors which point people in one direction or another. "Ready-made frames are in standard sizes to match the canvas or panels that people paint on. 90 per cent of our standard frames are wooden - pine, mahogany and cherry wood are the most popular. Sizes range from 20 inches by 16 inches which will cost £30-£36 (€38 to €46) down to a six inch by four inch for approximately £12 (€15).
"The bespoke market is geared to something that is not a standard size - for instance, American prints don't conform to our sizes - or something that may be very important to you.
"We get medals, sadly we had the handprint of a baby who died, we get people bringing in completed jigsaws and asking us to frame them. Using different mounts and moulds creates very different illusions. We can often spend an hour or more with a customer until they feel they have what they want. It's a very individualistic thing, which means that the price can vary from £12 up to £400 (€15 to €508) depending on size and moulding chosen.
Delgany artist Brenda Harris, who advises clients on picture framing and hanging, talks about space. "People often think they need a big room and special lighting for something big, and that an ordinary sittingroom may be too small. But sometimes a large canvas with just a narrow surround of wall to support it can make a really dramatic spectacle and impact, and a lamp alongside lighting the picture from below can be very effective.
"Don't put something small in the middle of a large area. Choose a smaller area, or hang it slightly to the left or the right. A dramatic piece will often do best in a plain frame, and blonde and cherrywood frames are currently in vogue. A wooden frame can accent an interior and complement the existing wooden furniture in the room. Black and white photographs are also very in, they are striking, and work well with the current popular coffee and cream colour scheme."
Habitat's Gallery Department sells framed prints from £13.19 (€16.75) for a 40 by 50cm size, up to £32.68 (€42) for 70 by 100 cm. "We sell mainly to first-time buyers who cannot afford original art," remarks marketing manager Yvette Martinez. "Prints are seasonal, most popular at the moment are Marc Rosco and Richard Caldicott, both modern Impressionists who suit a modern home really well." Habitat doesn't make frames to order, but sells a wide variety of ready-made frames from simple clip frames to solid birch.
