A good framer offers options for display solutions

They say you can’t have too many picture frames around your house.

They don’t know what I’m capable of.

My youngest has selected an emotional support frame, my middle has used them in four crafts to date, and my resident ghost rearranges them at 3:42 a.m.

For expert advice on quality frames, I spoke with Elana and Richie Boruhov of Amity Studio in Queens; Joe Asmael from NYC Frames on Manhattan’s Upper East Side; and Deidre of Michaels.

Here’s what they said about examining a frame for quality:

Frames can be made of solid wood, metal, or plywood (also called MDF). Of these options, plywood is least durable. All the other options can last many years.

Custom-made frame corners meet at a 45-degree angle. “When a frame has been properly joined, there should be no space in the seam,” Elana says.

High-quality frames are held together with nails. (They look like metal staples bent at 90-degrees.) According to Mr. Asmael, frames should have at least two nails per corner, except for very slim frames that can only fit one. Lower-quality frames are held together with just glue.

Oil and acrylic paintings don’t need a protective layer. Paper-based art like watercolor paintings and documents like diplomas must have one. Options for protective layers include sheets of glass or acrylic. Both of these are available in regular or ultraviolet (UV). The UV option protects against fading and glare. Fading protection is especially important for framed documents. This is the point where casual readers fall asleep or flip the page, and hence where I insert the secret message, if only I had one. Acrylic is lighter and more break-resistant than glass.

3D objects may be framed inside shadow boxes, which can go on walls or easels. Most framing stores can create custom-sized shadow boxes. Notable items that have been put into shadow boxes include a quill used to write a sefer Torah, wedding bouquets, family heirlooms like hand-crocheted baby clothing, and, uh, a vial of blood.

Hidden Safes

If you’re custom-ordering a bulky frame or shadowbox, you can request a false back and create a hidden safe. If you inherit or buy a bulky vintage frame, inspect it for hidden compartments. Ready-made picture frame safes are available from Amazon, Etsy, and other vendors.

(Picture frames are some of the most obvious places for hidden safes. For people with custom-built interiors, the hollow insides of stairs, fireplace surrounds, crown moldings, and other architectural details can be used to create larger and less detectable safe boxes.)

Matting Matter

Matting is a piece of paper or cloth that goes between the artwork and the frame. “All matting should be certified acid-free so that it doesn’t discolor the art,” Deidre says. Commonly available mats, listed from least to most expensive, include thick-stock paper, textured faux-suede, linen, or silk. In one case, Amity Studio created a custom mat from a client’s own fabric. “Matting can be layered for a more choshuv look,” Elana says.

Bringing Presence

An artwork can have several layered frames, including a thin metallic trim, called a fillet. These frames can touch each other, or matting can separate each layer. More layers create a grand, maximalist look. “This is a good way to give presence to a small artwork,” Deidre explains. It can also make a smaller document more noticeable.

Adjacent Services

Many framers offer adjacent services. For example, Amity Studio can restore old photographs, add realistic color to black-and-white photos, and print photos on canvas to look like a painting. NYC Frames offers archival services to store and display newspaper articles. Michaels can print photographs on metal plaques.

Layered Frames

A good framer offers options for display solutions. For example, when framing photographs, the photo can be pressed onto a piece of thick cardboard. This process, called dry mounting, will keep a photo from slipping inside the frame.

Dress It Up

For an artistically inspired costume, both children and adults can create wearable frame costumes.

The easier method involves painting a few lines or triangles on a face and wearing the frame as a necklace or suspended from a hat. This “artist look” is best accessorized with a beret and a horizontally striped T-shirt. Ta-da. You’re now Picasso.

The more detailed method involves printing or creating a background to match a historic portrait and cutting a face-opening for the wearer. This works best if someone already looks like Mona Lisa or some other famous portrait. Our community has lots of bearded gingers who can pass as Van Gogh — paint streaks at no extra cost. (I hope that no one looks like Munch’s The Scream. But there is such a thing as hoping too much.)

Of course, there is but one mishloach manos that can go with this costume

Zisi Naimark has over ten years of experience as an interior designer and space planner, and has done projects all over the United States and Israel.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 933)