You’ll forgive us, Red Sox Nation, if we use an example that features the New York Yankees. Rivalry aside, all of you sports fans should remember that any sports stuff you get custom framed is 40% off this month!
It’s a common assumption that framers use a mat just for the look of it. And while mats do enhance any image, the real reason to use ‘em is for the function they serve. A mat protects your art by acting as the barrier between your art and the glass. It prevents the glass from sitting directly on your art. It’s also the way that framers hide all the little ways that we safely secure the art inside the frame.
Take a look at this mat design. Two, or three, is often better than one. The off-white mat on its own would’ve been too stark and empty looking. So those little edges of the second and third mats give it enough of an accent to keep things interesting.
There are lots of other reasons that mats are important – we’ll talk more about them in the future.
Which mat design on your own walls stands out as a favorite?
We interrupt our regularly scheduled post to bring you this exciting announcement: Thru the month of February, get 40% off custom framing for all of your sports items.
- Display your signed sports jersey
- Show off those kids sports awards
- Frame your favorite sports memorobilia
- Marathon medals, bibs, and photos look great in a frame
Empty out those boxes, drawers, and closets and let our desingers work with you to make your collectibles and keepsakes a work of art.
In case you didn’t already think we had it all in New England, try this: the Museum of Russian Icons houses the largest collection of its kind in North America and it’s right here in Clinton, MA. Right now, they’re featuring a major exhibition of 37 paintings and artifacts from Moscow’s Andrey Rublev Museum. Most have never shown before in the U.S and the museum is the only venue for this show.
Brother, can ya spare, uh… 3 bills that are not a legal tender but certainly are eye-catching in that frame? 
Whether this money is of more financial value or sentimental value, it’ll be preserved and beautiful to display. There’re three special design elements going on here.
- One, the multiple opening, silk mat is a handy way to showcase more than one item in a single frame. It’s also the method by which we’re able to hide the way they’re attached inside and make it presentable from the back.
- Two, we used a copper bevel accent in each opening. That’s the detail that sits just below the edge of each mat opening. It adds an accent of color as well as some depth.
- Oh, yeah – and we made it double-sided.
You say “fill-it,” I say “fill-ay.” Either way (and they’re both correct, fyi), we’re talking about fillets. Y’know, those things that look like teeny-tiny frames but no one knows what they’re good for. Well, we’ll tell ya what they’re good for: making “The Lady of Shalott” look awesome. This Arthurian beauty was rendered in oil by John William Waterhouse not once or twice, but thrice. Our example is the 1888 version, and a painting like this needs a frame that isn’t shy.
Obviously the frame itself and the suede mat aren’t messin’ around. But the added detail of a fillet between the mat and image make an inexpensive poster look more like a priceless work of art. And what’s better than one fillet? Two fillets! We chose to put the fillets on the inside edge of the mat, but when you’re considering this element on your own design, don’t forget that fillets can also fit on the inside edge of a frame. 
Has the winter weather got ya climbing the walls?
We don’t recommend doing this with any of our frames. But the Illoiha Omotesando fitness club in Tokyo decided that rocks were a little boring. You can find out more at Freshome, a blog that follows interior design and architecture.
Have you ever discovered a new band and found that even tho’ you’ve never heard the music before, it feels as familiar as an old pair of shoes? We’ve been humming a tune by the David Wax Museum while we work and can’t get enough of their sound – it’s unique, but at the same time it resonates deep down. They’re a local band that everyone should see live at least once. The CD release party for the new album, Everything is Saved, is February 3 at the Oberon in Cambridge and tickets are still available.
This video for the first track oughtta get your feet tappin’.
“Born With A Broken Heart” from Anthem Multimedia on Vimeo.
Stick around, and you’ll learn that we frame a lot more articles of clothing than one might expect. Today’s example certainly stands out for a few reasons.
It’s not a sports jersey, which is what we often put in shadow boxes. A shadow box is neccessary so that the glass won’t touch the fabric. But it also had to compliment its feminine nature and design. So we built a shadow box out of two frames – one for the front, and one turned on its side to make the sides of the box. The dress was sewn to the mat in the back of the box, and the mat at the front enhances the overall look as well as adding support to the glass.
What favorite piece of clothing would you like to frame?
Often we hear the concern that a frame will detract from the art going in it. The truth is that if you discount a piece of art by putting it in a frame that is too plain or thin – a frame that isn’t worthy of how great the art is – then it’s really going to draw attention away from your picture. A frame should compliment the size and look of the art, not fall short of it.
This Greta Garbo movie poster is a good example. No plain, black frames here. It needed something deserving of the graphic style and size. In fact, one frame alone wasn’t cutting it. So we stacked 2 frames together – a look that is truly custom. We were able to avoid using a mat because it was framed with non-glare plexiglass. Plexi behaves differently than glass, so the poster isn’t in danger of sticking to it.
Now that’s it been framed properly, this classic still looks like a classic.
We found a great design blog, Desire to Inspire, that’s got some hip and fun home decor ideas. But what really left us panting was the Pets on Furniture feature. It’s not polite to pick favorites, but we have to say that Lyman and Oscar kinda stole our hearts.
There are lots of other reasons that mats are important – we’ll talk more about them in the future. 
