I’ve always felt that one of the best ways to really personalize your space is through artwork. Whether it’s a painting, photograph, print, poster, or even a personal momento, putting some art on your walls is essential to making your space a “home”. Because artwork is important, it only makes sense to give it the respect it deserves. Granted, not all art needs to be placed in a frame, but there’s something extra special about having a good custom framed piece.
However, getting something framed can be a different story. I’ve always been intimidated by going to a professional framer, let alone trying to find one that will actually do a good job. In the past, I’ve generally just tried to use ready made inexpensive frames like the ones you can find at IKEA or Target. While that can work on some things, it doesn’t work for everything. Often the shape doesn’t quite fit the proportions, or they don’t have the right size, especially if you have something unique, like a scarf or textile.
Well, that’s where Simply Framed comes in. They reached out to me a few weeks ago to introduce me to their site. Simply Framed is an online framing site that offers custom framing in an easy and affordable way. I was intrigued. Let me show you how the site works:
You start by either choosing the type of artwork you have, or by the frame style you’re looking for (by clicking on the “styles” tab).
They offer a bunch of options, including metallic gold and silver finishes.
After that, you enter the approximate dimensions of the piece you’re wanting to get framed and then they’ll give you an estimate.
After that they ask you a few questions, where you can leave specific details about the piece you’re framing.
Finally, Simply Framed pays for the shipping and you can either have them send you a mailing tube, or generate a prepaid mailing label if your piece is already in a mail-safe package. They can also offer a flat mailer if the piece is small enough.
Basically that’s it. Once you receive the proper mailing labels/packaging, you pack up your piece and send to them. Depending on how fast you send the piece back to them, it generally takes a few days for them to custom frame it. Then they ship it ground back, which generally takes no more than a week to get to most locations. And Voila! Custom framed piece!
So, that’s how it works, but how did it work in reality? Well- I put Simply Framed to the test. From their blog, I found out they recently started offering scarf framing!! Several years back, I purchased a Murakami/Louis Vuitton scarf and have had it tucked away, always with the intention of having it framed, yet never really getting around to it. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to have it done right. For textiles, Simply Framed offers a shadowbox and they mount (sew) it to a white linen backing.
To start, I emailed Simply Framed with the dimensions of my scarf, and what color frame I wanted (the shadow boxes they offer come in black or white). They then emailed back a quote. In this case, because my scarf unfolded was pretty large (at about 27″ x 27″) it would be $330, which I felt was totally reasonable (The last thing I had custom framed was about that much and it was smaller and didn’t require as much care as this scarf!) Since my scarf could be folded down to a pretty small size, I asked for a flat mailer. A few days later I received the packaging materials.
It was pretty simple, everything I needed was included, such as tape to seal it, additional cardboard reinforcements, and even a clear plastic bag to protect the scarf.
A few days later, I received an email with a snapshot of my scarf to show it arrived safely. Then a few days later I got notification my order was complete and shipped.
Shortly after that I received a gi-normous box and tadaa! My Murakami is finally masterfully framed and mounted. It was interesting to see how they lightly tacked the scarf to a linen backing.
They also included a little card with my name on it (which I thought added a nice personal touch) and mounting hardware and instructions as well.
I ended up placing it in my downstairs guest bedroom, and I’m so pleased how it turned out!
Anyway, if you’re looking to get something custom framed, I highly recommend checking out Simply Framed. It was super easy and not scary at all. Their customer service was really great at getting back to me and answering my questions. You can even talk to someone on the phone too! Get started here.
(Full disclosure: This post is in collaboration with Simply Framed. All opinions are my own.)