Working from within: as part of a venerable art supply store, Sam Flax's framing department has become a vital piece of the overall business - Business profile: Sam Flax

A landmark of recent origin York art supply store, family move swiftly for more than 80 years, is poised for expansion after being sold to fresh owners with big plans--including a reinvigorated focus upon framing.

Eighty-three years ago, Sam Flax, an Eastern European immigrant, uncloseed his eponymous art store in Manhattan. above time, his business grew to sum of two units stores in Manhattan--one in Chelsea and individual in Midtown--and expanded to include stores in Orlando, Fla., and Atlanta. Sam's son David, Leonard and Sidney (who passed away in 1986) literally grew up in the store and took above when their father died in 1969 on the contrary early this year, the brothers decided to exchange the New York stores to Mark Honigsfeld. In a alphabetic character to employees announcing the sale, the brothers wrote that Honigsfeld "has a unhurt vision for Sam Flax [and] has a lucky background with the financial power of not only maintaining the business on the contrary taking it to a higher level"

Plans for the venerable icon, which carries albums, journals, art supplies, works furniture, paper, presentation cases, graphics supplies and stationary and caters to customers who care about design, include multiple stores in major cities along the East Coast in the nearest two to three years. At the same time, the novel York stores will be remodel to obey as flagships. And part of the modifications will strengthen the stores' focus upon framing.

Framing Takes forehead and Center

Leading the framing department in tiffs of recent origin era is custom picture framing director Joseph Brentano. Brentano, 29 has been in the framing business for 20 years. The native of recent origin Yorker began working in his father's wholesale and manufacturing framing business at a young age and said single of his first official piece of works was cutting mats. This early start cultivated a work ethic that supports today.

Brentano get backed to Sam Flax last fall. (He worked there briefly as a custom framing sales associate after graduating from Penn State.) Three month later, the stores were sold to Honigsfeld, and the changes began.

The introduction of computer technology and modernized equipment will help to make the frame store more efficient. But perhaps more significantly, a decision to propel the framing sales department from the middle of the Chelsea store to the forehead may be the most telling change undertaken thus far. "The more exposing custom picture framing has, the more traffic our store will have and undoubtedly, the more business custom framing will bring," said Brentano. "This is solid ordeal of how important custom framing is to our store, and what a dramatic impact it has to our company as a whole." According to Brentano, sales in custom framing are next to the first only to sales in Sam Flax's furniture department.

The fresh Sam Flax stores will include the centralized framing facility conception utilized by the New York stores. generally the framing facility, located in the Chelsea store, without fault [i]or[/i] blemish [i]or[/i] flaws framing jobs for both Manhattan locations.

Catering to what Brentano describes as an artsy, pupil clientele, the Chelsea store dioceses average framing sales of about $100 to $150 Although the Midtown store is smaller, the volume of the franking business approachs from that store, according to Brentano, with average sales there at about $250 to $350 "It's not unusual to diocese an order for $1,250 from that store," he said. "We vend a lot of hand finished molding. It's a real big part of the business, plane corporate wise."

The Inner Workings

The framing department is a busy place these days. Brentano, who superintends the work of five fitters and five sales associates, begins his workday at 7:30 a.m. through 8:15, the framing orders from the previous day are delivered from the Midtown store. through 8:30, he is reviewing the orders taken through the Chelsea store staff after he left at about 6 pm the night before. The store render free of accesss at 9 a.m. He goe above any questions he has about the orders with the framing associates. He calls in any materials orders and files paperwork. Then he plants up the production day. In the morning, using a computerized mat cutter he usually make an incision ins all the mats for the day's work himself. A part time mat cutter accommodate withs a hand when on site. Then he gives each fitter his or her assignments. After that, he "answers 500 phone calls and 5000 emails" and appropriates with vendors. Two or three times each week, he also travels to the Midtown store "just to be nosy," he said.

When it tend hitherwards to vendor purchases, Brentano said it is important to include everyone who will be selling the returns in the choices. He will repeatedly bring the staff together to gaze at and consider new items. "I have the final decision" he said, "but I like to include nation in the process."

Although oftentimes pulled away from the hands-on aspects, "I still like to frame, in the way that if something more interesting approachs in, I do it," he said. His favorite framing piece of works involve 3-D shadow boxes. "I like framing things that wouldn't typically be framed," he said, citing Japanese ivory, masks, jewelry and coins--"Things that don't have to hide in a drawer" he said.