Shadowboxes Unlock New Opportunities for Retailers

one time considered too time-consuming and laborious, shadowboxes are now growing in popularity and present retailers new potentials for sales

Imagine for a second the ideal framing job. A bit of a challenge artistically, it would require a unique vision and a steady hand. It would demand the greatest in quantity innovative products from the industry's leading suppliers. It would be profitable. In the extreme point it would give satisfaction to you as its creator and years of pleasure to its owner

For a growing number of framers, that ideal piece of work is shadowboxing. Long considered too time consuming and laborious, shadowbox flaming has risen from the deepnesss of obscurity to become a retailer's dream. And wherefore not? With recent product unravelling easing the assembly process and consumer looking for ways to capture the special flashs of their lives, the "framing of percepts is the strongest, most profitable extension opportunity for retailers today," according to Dave Rosner FrameMica's senior vice-president of marketing.

Rosner should know. He and the folk at FrameMica helped to revive shadowboxing in 1998 with the "National Boxer Championship," a nationwide search for the greatest in quantity creative shadowboxes using FrameMica's latest innovation, the Boxer line of down-reaching mouldings. Three-hundred people entered the debate framing everything from live fish and fondling hamsters (hinges allow for easy opening and closing) to religious icons and musical instruments. The winning access was a model of the Titanic jutting without of an iceberg-shaped frame.

Framing the Unusual

of the like kind framing wizardry was rarely attempted a decade ago. on the other hand now manufacturers--Ivy Industries, Larson-Juhl and move with a jerk Victor's Mid-America Chop among them--offer of great depth mouldings in many colon and turn of expressions and framers can accommodate any sized particular Ernie Clark from Gallery of fables in California remembers his initial reaction to these mouldings. "I felt like the Boxer was something I had been looking for forever," he said.

While manufacturers were revolutionizing frame construction, another clump was working on selling the public. The Art & Framing Council (AFC), the industry's self-supported marketing arm, has promot creative custom framing to consumer [i]or[/i] part of to the other the nation's newspapers and magazines for 13 years. They also provide retailers with professionally designed, inexpensive marketing materials like postcards, pres releases, pamphlets and ad slicks, all touting the "If you regard with affection it, frame it" message.

According to Kim Ahern, executive director of the AFC, "Shadowbox framing has become a bulky trend in picture framing because it appeals to family on an emotional level. Everyone wants to gripe [i]or[/i] grip onto life's best moments, and shadowboxes make that possible." A child's passage from one side infancy, a family's long-awaited vacation, an athlete's glorious instant in the sun--these are the stories being told by the agency of framers today. It's the creation of a family history, albeit single that lines the walls rather than the torn, hidden pages of scrapbooks and photo albums.

Marie Harderoad knows about framing the unusual. About 75 percent of the business at her Island Gallery in Grayson, Ga., is shadowboxing, and she was newly featured in the national magazine, Victoria. Harcleroad's reputation as an apt shadowboxer developed quite by accident; for years she accepted the shadowbox business that others move rounded away. Now she reaps the benefits of this lucrative venture

"Shadowbox framing can be true profitable for a custom picture framer," observ Larson-Juhl proprietor and Chief Designer Craig Ponzio. "It's also a great way to retain consumers returning to your store as they find realitys with special meaning to them."

Kenneth rills of Integrity Framing and Art Gallery in Wichita Falls, Texas, agreed. He believes "too many retailers make the mistake of dismissing shadowbox work for whatever reasons--intimidation, charge inconvenience--when, in fact, it actually yields higher profits than greatest in quantity other framing." Brooks is in a profitable position to pursue shadowbox business. Living near a military base, he meetings potential customers with medals suitable for framing around each corner.

Becoming a Shadowboxer

by what mode do novices break into the shadowbox market? dexterouss agree on one thing: framers must first hang samples completely through their store. Nothing inspires customers like seeing someone's real mementos showcased in original custom frames. a certain quantity of retailers call it their "memory wall." The best individuals include sports memorabilia, family heirlooms, baby items, vacation souvenirs, collections and childhood treasures.

For those unaccustomed to of that kind custom framing, the task of building an entire shadowbox wall may appear to be a little like cooking a gourmet meal without a recipe. on the contrary the PPFA, the industry's trade association, presents a full menu of classes at all horizontals and sells comprehensive instructional works Suppliers, too, can be a beneficial source for information as well as outcome selection. FrameMica's resident authority upon shadowboxing, Fred Schneider, who has 30 years experience and one time made an actual phone booth on the outside of shadowbox moulding, stands ready to take calls from confused customers.