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Greetings Friends,
Now more than ever is the time to move forward. Differentiate your work to ensure value for your clients. It is time to invest, you can only make so many cutbacks. Go against the grain. Go forward.
We are here to help. Here are a few things we are investing in for you:
1. Hiring some of the finest sales reprensentatives in the industry. Del Marcus, Tim Crawford and Bryan Galeazzo have been instrumental in setting up many studios to maximize returns while minimizing investment of funds and efforts. Read below to meet the new team members or come see them in person at their respective meetings.
2. Introduction of new product line which includes printing, mounting and backing. The line is called Impressions Fine Art Collection (the Iris is pictured above). It was designed by professional photographers to simplify the process of creating emotional fine art for your clients. Once you take their memories and turn them into these truly unique, emotional fine art pieces they will commit to increasing their investment with your studio.
 My wife and I own Hand Crafted Framing (portrait frame supplier since 2004) and The Portrait Gallery (children's photography studio open since 1991). Our family is pictured here.
You are working with a family owned business that does 100 percent of our cut/join, assembly and finishing work in the USA.
Thank you for your time,
Serse & Brad Salmons
Hand Crafted Framing
706-210-0730
new toll free number (suggestion from Del)
866-676-4366
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 Personnel Updates!
Del Marcus
 Del Marcus (formerly of Kendall Hartcraft) is one of our new sales representatives. He has been in the industry for over 25 years. Pictured here with his family. Del is responsible for Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Dakota. Read more...
Tim Crawford
Tim Crawford (formerly of Kendall Hartcraft) brings high energy and strong industry background to your studios. He works from Forest City, North Carolina. Tim is pictured here with his family. He is covering North and South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Maryland. Read more...
Bryan Galeazzo
 Bryan brings his 10+ years of experience in the photography industry to Hand Crafted Framing. Bryan is based in Conyers, GA and he covers Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Read more...
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Take It Easy 
In today's global and technologically influenced times we have a great advantage over many businesses. More money is being spent on the services business segment than at any other time in history. Our studios' competition is not just the photographer next door. We have two other greater competitive hurdles:
- Other industries competing for the same dollars (theme parks, family vacations, summer camps, entertainment, etc...)
- Lack of customer knowledge about the value of professional photography (requires time and money to educate customers)
The first hurdle of other industries can be overcome quite simply by creating emotional products that move your part of that budget to the top of that list. When you take their precious moments and turn them into a finished, flat out emotional art piece they will spend more with you. Our Impressions Line was created to assist you in taking your work to a place where previously only a few select studios could attain. Read more about Impressions (take your work to the next level, not your workload)
The second hurdle needs to be approached at the root of the problem - TIME. Almost everyone today has a hyperpace to their lives that is dizzying. People like to come to a place they don't feel is a whirlwind or confusing. If they have an enjoyable, simple, and fulfilling experience, then they are more likely to spend more with your studio. Think of ways to increase convenience and simplify decisions for your clients at your studio.
A few suggestions for quick education are to make some simple handouts or pages on your website to prep them for their experience with you. Also put completed displays on your walls and on your website to set expectations for your clients from the start. Show them what is possible with their memories and your abilities and products.
A simple photographic and sales experience is a must to allow your clients time to learn about why you are valuable. Many of our studios simplify their pricelists by including framing with panel pricing and portrait pricing. If you think this would benefit your studio and you need some help getting started please see your corresponding sales representative, call us or use the contact us form online. Also if you need raw frame images to insert your images for your website or printed literature just let us know. (The Patriot shown above is from the Impressions Fine Art Line - The images are from Whitelake Studio)
(The Fab Five shown above is from the Impressions Fine Art Line - The images are from Photographic Concepts)
(The Buttercup shown above is from the Impressions Fine Art Line - Forget Me Not -The images are from The Portrait Gallery)
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Framing Education Content is now being posted on our website. The initial posting includes basic framing terminology definitions. Check it out.
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There are a few ways to approach designing frames for your images. In this issue we will cover design for panels (frames for small prints with matting and glass) as pictured here.
We suggest working from the image out. Choose matting options that compliment the print style. Whether images are high key, low key, black and white, etc..We have created a mat combination suggestion sheet for different print styles. Within each mat group there are several options. Here is where you can have some flexibility based on wall colors or moulding used.
When choosing mouldings for panels a few questions need to be asked: Does your client like oversized mouldings? What are the primary colors or theme in the room where panel will be hung?
On smaller panels a popular trend is to use really chunky oversize mouldings. It is really a personal choice here not a hard fast rule for moulding width. Most designers use smaller mouldings on smaller panels and go up as the panels get larger.
Moulding color is a balance between the matting and other decor in the room. Each wall doesn't require identical mouldings, complimentary combinations create much more interest. Even pulling a color or design from an opposing wall is a good technique.
Our panels are predesigned to help with print quantities, appropriate spacing and scale. Choosing which panel to use is a combination of budget, quantity and size of prints you wish to promote.
Would you like to learn more about the sales and presentation techniques some of our studios use to take you from designing to selling? Be sure to read the next issue of the Square Times
WANT MORE?
Contact us for wholesale and retail pricelists. The retail pricelist in Microsoft Excel has a markups tab. Set your markup and hit print and you have an instant retail pricelist for our complete product offering. Zap or call if you have any questions. We are here for you!
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Quick Links |
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A Look Ahead
- How to Go from Frame Design to Frame Sales
- How to Frame
- ProSelect Moulding Templates
- New Mouldings
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| Thank you to all those who attended the Georgia Annual Convention. Here is an image of our booth:
We are proud to announce a new partnership with Bryan and Blayne White from Whitelake Studio, Scott and Sally Simon from Photographic Concepts, and Darrell and Angela Emory from Picture This. These award winning photographers along with my wife Serse from The Portrait Gallery have helped design and produce the Impressions Fine Art Line.
 Here was a fun custom stacker panel we made for Mossy Creek Photography. We welcome images of your completed projects!
We need some help designing a program to save the foam packaging we use to protect our shipped products. We need to come up with a practical way to get the foam back to us for reusing again...If you have some ideas we are all ears! | |
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