Found the motherload of vintage prints this weekend.

This homeowner must have been in the art business or I can’t imagine what he had in mind with all these prints. I’m talking hundreds of them, uncut in poster fashion. So imagine six 9×12 prints or eight 5×8 prints all together on one large poster. There were stacks and stacks of these 1960s prints on beautiful heavy-weight poster paper. Great vintage vibe with lovely subject matter, just waiting for someone to cut and frame them, hence, this tutorial, Framing Prints 101.

When I arrived home with 10 posters (I used restraint and now regret not getting more), Mr. F&F asked why I just didn’t buy framed art, ready to go. That would be too easy and I love to do all this work, I said cheerfully (this did not happen). Yeah, welcome to my world. The only way to make a profit on art is to buy inexpensively and hopefully frame it equally cheap and still pass on savings to my customers.   

I love to use vintage frames when possible, but in this case, I was framing sets of prints – a set of three prints, four sets of four, a set of eight, one set of ten, a set of twelve. That’s forty nine frames, if you’re keeping track!  It’s almost impossible to find that many matching vintage frames, so I did the next best thing. After searching the aisles of craft stores, I found a lovely line by Timeless Frames based in upstate New York.

The frames are all wood, unlike many cheaper frames made of plastics or resins, and best of all, MADE IN THE USA.   

In the world of frames it is next to impossible to find a frame that doesn’t bear “made in china” on the back, so this company is truly amazing at what they are accomplishing and still very competitive price-wise. They have grown way beyond their original seven team members and produce a quality product. 

Here’s some of the lovelies I found this past weekend, all framed and ready to go now, Mr. F&F…well, of course you already know that since you helped carry them out to the studio….