A client recently brought me a frame to refurbish. The piece was an antique print and, although the frame itself was a bit chipped in places and not of the same vintage, it had some sentimental value for her family so they wanted to keep it. The print inside had come loose and initially she brought it in simply to have it remounted, but it quickly became obvious the mat would need to be replaced as well. Like those in most frames from this era, the core of the mat was made fr

The role played by the mat in a picture frame, and its importance, may not be immediately apparent. In fact, clients who have not had a piece custom framed before often do not know what a mat is, so before I go any further I should take a moment to define the term. The mat (sometimes called the mount) is the material which creates the border between the artwork and moulding of the frame itself. Many people assume they are purely decorative, and indeed they do perform an impor

If a piece of art is worth framing, it is worth framing well. Good framing is not just about aesthetics - a quality frame should protect the work inside for a lifetime and beyond. This is known as conservation framing, a phrase you might be familiar with. In this post I will describe what exactly constitutes conservation framing, what distinguishes it from other standards of framing, and why it is important. The Picture Framers Guild of Australia recognises a hierarchy of fiv

I was recently asked to reframe an original piece of art which had spent the last couple of years inside a cheap, store-bought frame. When I removed the mat, this is what I found underneath: At first I thought the difference in colour between the matted area and the rest of the paper was caused by the mat itself as non-archival mat boards contain acids and other pollutants which can react with the paper. However, when I turned the paper over, I realised it was in fact the un-