Custom framed art, photos, and memorabilia are wonderful gifts for the holidays. Whether stunning, funny, or touching, your piece will be unique and lasting.
Custom framing is also a great alternative for those who are hard to shop for since the pieces are easily personalized.
Unfortunately, we see many customers come to us at the last minute during the holidays because they’ve been disappointed by someone else…the piece was not done when or how it was designed, no guarantee was made that it would be ready for the holiday, and, in some cases, the piece was just lost.
Here are a few simple questions that will help prevent this from happening to you-most stores will be more than happy to answer them too!
Tip 1
Before you even start to design your piece, tell them when you need it.You may even want to call them first to make sure they can meet your due date. Don’t waste your time if they cannot meet your deadline in the first place.
Tip 2
Make sure that they ‘guarantee’ it by that date. If they look uncomfortable, move on.
Tip 3
Ask them if the framing is done on site. In many cases frames are built, mats cut, etc, off site and the piece is simply ‘fitted’ on site. With some of the larger operations this work is often times done in another city altogether.
If the work is done somewhere else, any problems (wrong mat color, size, frame) will be difficult to get resolved in time for you to give your gift.
Again, good frame stores will have no problem answering these questions for you and they should go a long way in preventing some of the common disappointments we see during the holidays.
