Frame Express

Have you ever had anything professionally framed? I hadn’t until stopping by here one day. True, that was the whole point I went but… Lemme just tell you the story.
A few years back some co-​workers gave me art. Not realizing that the only things that hang on my walls are the occasional calendar and not much else. But I moved into a new place and decided maybe the grown up thing to do would be to put stuff on walls.
Being somewhat naïve, I just headed over to one of the few framing places I know (and is conveniently located). I walked up and said, «I’d like to get these two pieces of art framed.»
And so began a conversation on borders and mattes and second mattes and … really, I had zero clue. I honestly imagined the scenario as being me walking in, saying «I’d like to get these two pieces of art framed,» the guy taking them and telling me to pick them up later that day or tomorrow. I didn’t realize there would be so many decisions to make.
They also seemed to think I knew what I was talking about (Damn you, confident stride!). After a few minutes, he started tallying up the order (on an actual paper slip!). Which is when my heart rate started to fluctuate wildly. I was reading it upside down (because I was on the opposite side of the table) but it sure looked like having my first piece framed was going to be over $ 200. And it was. About $ 220.
Undeterred (and in a slight state of shock), we moved onto the smaller piece. A much more «reasonable» rate of $ 80. So, $ 300 to have two pieces of art (which are lovely and original works) professionally framed. Or, as my friend put it, that’s «1÷3 the price of an iPad!»
So, it’ll be ready in a day or two, right? No. A few weeks. Uh. Okay then.
Two weeks go by and I get the phone call. Swing by and they look stunning. Far better than I’d imagined. Tons of nice little touches like little pads on the bottom corners to prevent damage between wall and frame.
So am I happy with the frames? Heck, yeah! Would I get more stuff framed? Probably not.