At Baldwin Hill Art & Framing we practice conservation framing. The idea behind conservation framing is to preserve the value and integrity of the items being framed. As a Certified Picture Framer, proprietor Jim Paradis has studied and been certified in conservation framing techniques by the Professional Picture Framers of America.

As in medicine, the guiding principle behind conservation framing is to do no harm. We want to make sure that whatever we do makes no permanent, irreversible changes to the artwork. Here are some of the things we do to make sure your art lasts for years to come:

• We use only conservation-grade acid-free mats and backer boards. If non-acid-free materials are used then over time they can cause “acid burn”, discoloring the artwork and shortening its life.
• We use minimally-invasive, reversible mounting methods. Most of the time this involves hinge-mounting the artwork to the backer board with acid-free paper tape and a water-soluble adhesive. In other cases mechanical supports are used (such as mylar photo corners) that do not adhere to the artwork at all.
• For especially delicate or valuable paper art, we may employ Mylar encapsulation, where a sheet of archival-grade Mylar is laid over the image and secured on all four sides. Only the Mylar touches the actual artwork. The material we use is approved by the Library of Congress for direct contact with the work.
• We ensure that artwork never comes in direct contact with glass. Condensation can form on the inside of the glass surface, and artwork in contact with this can be damaged. In extreme cases the artwork can actually stick to the glass, making un-framing all but impossible. In some cases direct contact with acrylic glazing is acceptable, but we do this only in rare cases.
• Needlework is either laced around or stitched to a backer board with compatible thread and a ball-end needle. This ensures that no fibers are severed and the stitching can be removed at a later date with no damage to the item.

This etching shows acid burn caused by a non-archival mat

When you bring your valuable artwork to Baldwin Hill Art & Framing you can be assured that it will receive the best possible treatment and that it will last for many years to come!

We’ve all seen it happen: you want to paint a room in your house, so you go down to the paint store and pick out a bunch of color chips. Then you get home, hold the chips up to the wall, and settle on a color. Later, when the paint job is done, sometimes you realize that the effect of a whole wall of a particular color is quite different than that of a small color chip!

A similar thing can happen in custom framing. The traditional frame design process involves selecting corner samples of mats and mouldings, placing them against the artwork, and trying to imagine what the finished result might look like. Most of the time this works fairly well, but sometimes the effect of a whole frame of a given pattern is different than you may have imagined from the corner sample.

Another thing that can happen is to be undecided between two or more design options: “Will this look better with the black frame or the gold frame?”. Again, it can be challenging to imagine the different options and come to a decision.

Baldwin Hill Art & Framing has a solution for the 21st century: Frame Design Visualization. Using modern computer technology we can now simulate what a complete frame design is going to look like before the frame is built!

Here’s how it works: a camera mounted over the design counter takes a picture of your artwork, along with mat and moulding samples under consideration. With a few clicks of the mouse, we pick out the mats and moulding we want to use.

The software then displays an image of the finished frame design. Changing mats, mouldings, mat borders, even opening shapes takes just a few clicks of the mouse. We can even show up to four designs side-by-side for you to choose from!

Our experience has been that customers are absolutely amazed by visualization technology! The ability to preview a design before placing an order reduces decision time (”How is this mat going to look? How about that one?”) and boosts confidence in the final design chosen (”That’s it!!”).

One other use for visualization technology is to design frames for a busy or faraway customer who is not able to come to the shop. We use the visualization system to mock up multiple candidate designs and email them to the customer for approval. The customer then either chooses the design they like or propose changes. Eventually we arrive at a design that we and the customer know they’re going to love!

Why not check it out for yourself? Come visit our shop during store hours for a free demonstration!

Welcome to the new website for Baldwin Hill Art & Framing! We have chosen to relaunch or website as a blog so as to provide timely updates and informative articles. In the coming weeks we will be posting articles on subjects including frame design, conservation framing, digital imaging, local art happenings, and much more!

If you would like to stay informed of new content on this site, you can use the subscription box to the left to enter your email address. You can also follow us via RSS feed: scroll down to Entries RSS below to add us to your favorite RSS aggregator.

For those who would like to shop for art, our ecommerce site is still available here