Carter Avenue Frame Shop

Art My Style - The easy way to get the art you want the way you want it

carteravenueframeshop — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:59:06 +0000

We are excited to announce our new art website www.cafs.artmystyle.com. Art My Style is an online art reproduction gallery that allows you to customize artwork to fit your décor needs. It offers an exclusive collection of images from 90 artists encompassing over 2000 works of art you won’t find anywhere else. The best part is that you can customize the size of the art to fit your needs. The pieces are available from 5″ X 5″ to 54″ X 102″, in other words, from tiny to huge. All the prints are giclees, which are high quality digital prints, available on either paper or canvas.

The selection of art ranges from traditional landscapes to hip, contemporary abstracts. You can select art by artist, art genre, art orientation, color, or room setting. The art and artists are selected as some of the best in the art world. You can even order small samples of the art for $6, with that cost being applied to your purchase. The website is easy to use – just select the art you like, customize the size, choose paper or canvas, and place your order online. The art is shipped directly to Carter Ave. Frame Shop at no charge or to you directly for a small shipping charge. You come in to pick out framing at your convenience.

Art My Style makes shopping for art easy. You can shop from the convenience of your home or office. Art My Style’s curator has selected only the best artists and images. The flexibility of customized sizing and material makes it easy for you to get exactly what you want. Stop in the store to see some examples of art on both paper and canvas. We would be happy to help you navigate the website if you would like help. Otherwise check out the site yourself – www.cafs.artmystyle.com.

It’s Not Easy Being Green

carteravenueframeshop — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:56:39 +0000

It’s hip to be green right now. You have seen just about every type of business claiming to be environmentally sensitive. We have been green (environmentally aware) even before it became popular. We always try to be good neighbors and citizens, and being green is just one part of that for us. Here are a few of the ways we strive to protect the environment:

When we remodeled our building we insulated and installed energy efficient elements – set-back thermostat, energy-efficient fluorescent lighting, and energy-efficient heating and cooling.
We recently installed an on-demand water heater.
We use our space very efficiently so we don’t have to heat and cool extra space.
We recycle everything we can.
We recycle our hazardous wastes (mostly fluorescent tubes and out-dated computer equipment) responsibly
We strive to use materials efficiently to produce the least waste possible. We even give scrap mats to schools and other non-profits for art projects.
Our garden absorbs greenhouse gases and beautifies the neighborhood.

Carter Ave. Frame Shop Angie’s List “Super Service Award” Recipient for 2007

carteravenueframeshop — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:21:27 +0000

We’re proud to have been named an Angie’s List Super Service Award recipient for 2007, given annually to companies that achieved and maintained a superior service rating on the list (www.angieslist.com) throughout the year. This is the second year in a row that Carter Ave. has earned this honor. More than 283,000 companies have been put on the list by consumers, and fewer than 5% are eligible for the recognition. Carter Ave. is the only Twin Cities Frame Shop to receive this recognition for 2006 and 2007.

Angie’s List is where consumers share their ratings and reviews on the local companies they hire. Members of Angie’s List also check the list for highly rated companies before they hire. Company ratings are based strictly on feedback from members of Angie’s List. Companies cannot pay to be on the list, nor can they put themselves on the list. We’re proud of our service and of this recognition!

Picture Hanging Tips

carteravenueframeshop — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:20:12 +0000

Use good picture hooks. The ones we give you have hardened steel pins that do very little damage to your wall, but hold a lot of weight. Never use just a nail. It is easy for the wire to slip off causing the picture to fall.

Generally, pictures should be hung at eye level. In rooms where people are mostly seated, hang pictures lower.

Think about traffic flow when you place your art. Places that can be seen while passing through a space are great places for art. Entryways, the ends of halls, and the wall facing a door are just a few good places for art placement.

Put your best art in the places that give you the most visual impact. In the entry, above the sofa, and above the fireplace are usually great places for art.

When hanging art above furniture, be sure to hang the art low enough so that it relates to the furniture. Think about the table, lamp, and art as a grouping. Sometimes having the art somewhat off-center can be more interesting than centered, especially when balanced by a lamp or other object.

Be sure your art is scaled appropriately for its location. Nothing is worse than a small picture above a big sofa or bed. Single large pieces of art are needed to balance large furniture or heavy fireplaces. Save your groupings of smaller pieces for more intimate spots like hallways.

Mistakes to avoid:

Art that is too small for its location
Too many groupings of small pictures – looks cluttered
Hanging art you don’t care about
Hanging art too high
Not placing art in connection with furniture and accessories

Special Services Offered

carteravenueframeshop — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:19:39 +0000

Even some of our long-time customers are surprised to learn of all the special services we offer. So here is a reminder of some of our offerings:

In-home and in-office art and framing consultations
Picture hanging services
Paper conservation
Oil painting cleaning and restoration
Photograph restoration
Pickup and delivery
Original art from local to national artists
Special ordering of posters
Commercial framing and installation
Engraved plates
Framing visualization system
Rush order accommodation
Specialty mat cutting
Shadow boxes

John August Swanson’s Latest Greatest Serigraph “The Procession”

carteravenueframeshop — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:09:32 +0000

Fans of John August Swanson, please come to Carter Ave. Frame Shop as soon as possible! You will want to see John’s latest serigraph The Procession, the most spectacular of all of John’s work. It is a reworking of his 1980 painting, now in the collection of the Vatican Museum’s Collection of Modern Religious Art. The image is a mosaic of images melded together in a procession inspired by the great churches and cathedrals of the world. John’s technical skill was put to the test. The image required 89 drawings – one for each of the 89 colors. His use of glazes, electric colors, and amazing detail makes this piece his masterwork. Here is what John has to say about The Procession:

The great procession is a celebration of life and faith where the rich and poor march in unison; the strong carry the weak, and the weak humble the proud; those who know the dance teach those who are just learning; and a child lifts high the banner for all to follow in joy, in peace, in love. This is the reality, the spirit I want to make real in this work.

Framing Project at Work? No Problem!

carteravenueframeshop — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 22:57:55 +0000

You might not realize it from the humble confines of Carter Avenue Frame Shop, but a significant portion of our business comes from commercial framing. Whether it’s framing a few award certificates or picking out and installing artwork for the new board room, our commercial framing division can help your business or organization. We have framed thousands of certificates and we have years of experience framing art for public areas and offices. Bring your project to the shop or call Tim for a consultation at your office (651) 645-7862. We specialize in solving your problems, making the process easy for you, and making you look good!

Carter Ave. Frame Shop Named a Top 100 Shop for Fourth Year in a Row

carteravenueframeshop — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 17:52:44 +0000

In September 2007, Carter Ave. Frame Shop was named one of the nation’s Top 100 Art & Framing Retailers for the fifth year in a row by Decor Magazine. We’re proud to be part of this elite group of the “best and brightest” in the framing industry. We’re especially proud to be one of only six frame shops named all five years this honor has been granted. We pledge to keep working hard to earn your trust.

Can you get me a poster I found on the internet?

carteravenueframeshop — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 02:07:35 +0000

Yes, we can often order posters that you find on the Internet. We do not have access to absolutely everything that you can find online, but we do have access to thousands of images. The advantage to having us order your poster is that you don’t have to pay any postage or deal with any problems. In addition, you are always able to borrow images from our inventory to take home on approval before you buy them. Also, if you look at a printed image in our catalogs, the colors from our printed image are more similar to the poster colors than the image on your computer screen. If you want us to search for an image, get all the information that you can including the artist’s name, the title of the image, the size and the publisher and we will be able to tell you whether we can get that poster or not.

Internet art websites can be quite useful in finding the exact poster that you want. Because we have only a handful of the catalogs that are published, art websites such as art.com, liebermans.net, and barewalls.com can be helpful as online catalogs to make sure that you are ordering the exact Monet waterlilies painting (of the many different Monet waterlilies paintings) that you want. They can also give you a good sense of whether an image that you saw on a calendar is also available in larger poster form or not. Remember, just because you see an image in a book or on a calendar doesn’t mean that it is available in poster form, even if it’s an image by a well-known artist.

The very nature of the Internet dictates that there is always going to be more available online than there is in any single shop. And there is something to the convenience of point and click shopping. We would be interested in hearing about your experiences with various art websites.

How wide should my mat be?

carteravenueframeshop — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 02:06:45 +0000

Mat width is usually determined by a number of factors such as the size of the piece, the scale of the room where the piece will be hung, the graphic strength of the work, the mat colors, and the look desired. Standard mat width is getting wider generally. Exaggerating the mat dimensions is sometimes done for a gallery or fine art look. The mat serves as a buffer between the frame and the work of art. It is essentially a place for the work of art to be. It should relate to the work of art and enhance the work rather than distract from it. Generally, wider is better than narrower, within limits.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in framing is to have a mat that is too small. The picture can look insignificant, crowded, or chopped off. We are glad to help you determine the width of the mat, with your input, of course.