Framers we trust / like?

[bme]

Does anyone have any suggestions for good Melbourne framers?

Any help appreciated!

[gbh]

OK, went down to my framers today
great job/reasonable pricing

Art Essentials
www.artessentials.com.au
Robert Sommer
[e-mail]
0418484632

98 Queens rd, Five Dock

tell him judd sent you

[jonw]

Judd, how do these guys compare price and quality wise to GAM?

[gbh]

a lot cheaper
work is very good
tbh I have "left GAM" for them solely due to pricing

[jonw]

Picked up from GAM today... my 5 peices look stunning. The acrylic boxes are something to behold (pics when we get some better light in this town!). Ok, It wasnt cheap but these guys are very good. Im happy to try a few peices at AE and see how that works out as well.... hmm, what to choose.... one of my fave jobs...

[jonw]

Well we dropped down to Art Essentials this afternoon.... and what a dissapointment... Im glad you had good service gbh but wow we were stunned at what we saw, and not in a good way

Robert was dealing with a lady with some new and old prints. The new prints got stacked one ontop of the other (nothing inbetween) and then shoved aside. He then started measuring and calculating the other one. All the time he kept putting the ruler and the calc and the notepad on top of the new prints. When measuring he was resting the ruler on the print itself and not next to the work.... We also watched the lady who was also helping some customers. They had some large oil canvases which were unstretched and were I guess originally rolled. She was showing them various very chunky frame options. When they didnt like something she would swap the example frame corners and place (and not very gently) the unchosen ones on the middle of the canvas istelf!!! she was also leaning her hands on the work when talking to them. She eventually moved onto the next work which was under the first one. She rolled the top canvas and she managed to get one of those pointy creases that spike the work into it, quite how that didnt rip out a chunk I dont know...

I would expect the works didnt cost a lot or were very worth much in both cases, but its not really the point imho. Its a respect thing for the works themselves as well as the customers. Who knows how they treat our works when they take them round the back, and lets face it we never really knwo what framers do... but these guys were happy to do this when the customer was present. I was shocked and amazed to see them touching and leaning/resting their hands and heavy example frame corners on the actual works, thats all just unforgivable in my book .

So all very sad really... Im pleased you got stuff done ok there mate, but we were pretty glad we got to see this before either of them decided to do what they did on the works we had brought with us. So, we sure wouldnt go near the place again after what we saw today, we just felt that they really showed they dont care about the works we hold dear.

[holden]

Cheers Jon
Its always a worry and I think these sort of impressions on the counter are important, even if they do throw them around out back later!!! You just wouldnt want to be a fly on the wall would you!
One mans treasure and all that!
Been in before holding mine as I did my baby girl only wrapped up in 'acid free' cotton wool ;D

[gbh]

sorry to hear that Jon.
I have always been very direct with them in regards to value and way I want the work treated (I'm that same at all framers) and have had good results.

[jonw]

Holden, This is a superb line! "...only wrapped up in 'acid free' cotton wool "

gbh, Not your fault mate. no sweat
Yeah I hear that and I was sorry to see it going on. We had 4 things with us that we wanted done ranging from lowish value ($200) Jamie Reid prints on thick card to a reframing job on the very fragile Dface Fuck Lichtenstein poster, looks like we will try again somewhere else or just give in and go back to GAM and pay the price for their professionalism. Happy to hear other suggestions of course.