Carter Avenue Frame Shop - custom picture framing in Minneapolis St. Paul MN

Installation at Emily Program’s Parkdale Offices

Tim — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:24 +0000

We recently helped the Emily Program find great art for their new offices in St. Louis Park. We framed it, delivered it, and installed it. It is the kind of project we love. And it looks great! Click the title above to see the photos.

Carter Ave. Frame Shop Earns Coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award

Tim — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:22:30 +0000

For Immediate Release:

Award reflects businesses’ consistently high level of customer service

Carter Ave. Frame Shop has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Angie’s List Super Service Award, an honor bestowed annually on approximately 5 percent of all the businesses rated on the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews on local service and health providers.

“It is always an honor to be recognized by our customers for our service,” said owner Tim Smith.

“Only a fraction of the businesses rated on Angie’s List can claim the sterling service record of being a Super Service Award winner because we set a high bar,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “The fact that Carter Ave. Frame Shop can claim Super Service Award status speaks volumes about its dedication to consumers.”

Angie’s List Super Service Award winners have met strict eligibility requirements including earning a minimum number of reports, an exemplary rating from their clients and abiding by Angie’s List operational guidelines.

Ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List, but members can find the 2011 Super Service Award logo next to business names in search results on AngiesList.com.

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Angie’s List collects consumer reviews on local contractors and doctors in more than 500 service categories. Currently, more than 2 million consumers across the U.S. rely on Angie’s List to help them make the best hiring decisions. Members get unlimited access to local ratings via Internet or phone, exclusive discounts, the Angie’s List magazine and help from the Angie’s List complaint resolution service. Take a quick tour of Angie’s List and view the latest Angie’s List news.

All Art 15-75% Off!

Tim — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:30:26 +0000

Winter is a great time to enhance your living environment. Stop in and check out our great selection of art in all genres and media.

Island International Art Trunk Show

Tim — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:38:57 +0000

On Wednesday, September 21, a few of our customers attended our first art trunk show with art from one of our best art reps, Bruce, from Island International. Island International is known for their printmaking studio where they host artists for intense printmaking sessions. They also distribute original paintings and giclees. We enjoyed looking at Bruce’s impressive art selection and partook of some refreshments. I bought a nice selection for the store’s inventory and some of the other participants found art they couldn’t live without, as well. If art trunk shows are something that interest you, please let us know so we can add your name to our list for future shows. These are just a few of the pieces we acquired. Stop in to see the real thing!

The Importance of Good Design

Tim — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:13:51 +0000

I love beautiful things, and my guess is you do, too. You name it – furniture, jewelry, clothes, art, flatware, tableware, pottery, and buildings. It is hard not to admire beautiful objects wherever you find them. I’m a bit of a student of design. When my wife and I travel, we often end up in museums where some of the most beautiful things have been collected. We also love to visit historic buildings and buildings designed by important architects. We love visiting antique stores where you can see some of the best design from different time periods.

Whenever I see something I think is particularly beautiful, I try to analyze what it is that the designer did right to make the thing beautiful. Of course, beauty is somewhat subjective, but not completely so. There are clearly some design principles that apply to the vast majority of items in any class. It is also amazing how often designers get things wrong. As you can tell from the Arts & Crafts furniture in the store, I am a big fan of that style. When you look at Arts & Crafts furniture, you see the whole gamut of quality. Some of the furniture is well proportioned with beautiful wood beautifully finished. The good pieces also fulfill their intended purposes well. On the other hand, it is not difficult to find ill-proportioned badly-constructed pieces that are just plain clunky and ugly. Good designers know how to use things like color, contrast, finish, texture, proportion, and scale to make beautiful and functional things that we love to look at, touch, and use. Bad design makes stuff ugly, useless, distracting, and irritating.

Picture framing is not rocket science, but it is amazing how much badly-designed framing is out there. Even if the materials are good quality, picking the wrong color combination or making the mat too narrow can mess up a framing treatment and distract from the art. Using the right amount of contrast highlights the internal contrasts in the art. Using appropriate frames and good proportions provides a beautiful space for the art to inhabit and draws the viewer’s eye to the art, not away from it. The right period frame can help put the art in historic context or help it blend in a period interior.

We are very proud of our framing designs and our designers. At Carter Ave. Frame Shop our designers are all seasoned professionals with many years of experience. That experience has taught us what works in framing design, what doesn’t, and how to put the pieces together to set off your art to best effect. We also keep in mind conservation of your art, your budget, your desires, and your décor. Let us help you select the perfect design for your art for the lasting enjoyment you deserve.

Mucha's gorgeous Art Nouveau design framed in a coordinating Art Nouveau watergilded frame and fillet with a linen mat

We’re a Keystone Business Partner!

Tim — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:53:17 +0000

We’re proud to announce that we are substantially increasing our support for the great work of Keystone Community Services by becoming a Keystone Business Partner. Keystone provides direct care to clients in need in St. Paul and Roseville. Three foodshelves, Meals on Wheels, and Active Seniors are some of their programs. They do case management for seniors, disabled adults, and families and provide services to Hmong youth and families.

Carter Ave. Frame Shop has supported Keystone for years, but we thought that the current funding stress on Keystone while the needs of their clients are so great required a greater commitment. Please consider donating your money and time to this important work. To learn more, check out their website: www.keystonecommunity services.org.

New Rustic Frames Available

Tim — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:03:22 +0000

In my thirty years of picture framing, I’ve seen many styles of frames come and go and come and go again. Rustic frames, like the so-called “barnwood” frames were hot when I started framing in 1981. Of course, we used them a lot on wildlife prints, which were all the rage back then. Most of those old barnwood frames were flat, splintery styles that tended to not age very well. Recently, several lines of surprisingly beautiful rustic frames have been introduced. They tend to have more style, more color range, and more durability. I have to say that I am amazed how good they look on a range of types of art. They are much more refined and subtle than the old barnwood frames.

Just some of our new rustic mouldings

Larson Juhl Mouldings Made in America

Tim — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:23:03 +0000

Larson Juhl is arguably the world leader in the manufacture and distribution of picture framing mouldings and supplies. Larson Juhl’s people have made a big difference in our business with their quality products, service, and support.

Moulding is the stuff of which picture frames are made. Moulding, like many products, is often imported from Asian countries, Eastern European countries, Italy, and Canada. However, Larson Juhl maintains a strong presence in American-made moulding with its Ashland, Wisconsin, manufacturing facility. They specialize in making beautiful moulding from American hardwoods like cherry, walnut, maple, oak, and poplar. There are surprisingly few American moulding manufacturers, and Larson Juhl is a leader with their state-of-the-art factory in Ashland. We also like that is made by our good neighbor, Wisconsin. Take a look at this video of moulding being manufactured by Larson Juhl.

Great Example of Using Art in the Home

Tim — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 22:02:21 +0000

I recently installed a couple of pieces of new art in the home of a long-time customer who has a knack for using art to beautiful effect in her home. She graciously allowed me to photograph some of the art she has purchased and framed with us. Notice in the following photos how her art is almost always part of a vignette, interacting beautifully with what is around it. The art is hung at eye level, or sometimes below that, in order to relate to the furniture. We are very proud of this work. Take a look and see how beautiful great art and framing can be in your home.

Canadian artist Eric Waugh in the kitchen

Small woodblock in hall

Leslie Gerstman irises watercolor above mantel

Peter Kitchell triptych above stairway

Cadillac Jones abstract in dining area

Abstract floral still-life off living room

Entry hall table with abstract

Heather Judge floral in living room

Lourenco street scene in bedroom

Lisl Gaal Twin Cities landscape in sewing area

landscape in bedroom

Penny Feder floral in lower level

McGinnis abstract in office

Mary's first purchase at CAFS 25 years ago - still looks great!

New Art from New York

Tim — Thu, 12 May 2011 21:31:10 +0000

One of the perks of my work is that I get to enjoy lots of great art and call it work. My duties recently took me to New York for my annual pilgrimage to ArtExpo. I managed to squeeze in some time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (great hand-made guitar exhibit and concert) and the Museum of Modern Art . I heard some great jazz and had dinner with two New York friends at Opia Lounge. Turns out the singer, Vanessa Trouble, has roots in Minnesota.

Anyway, I need to tell you about all the beautiful and interesting art I purchased for your perusal. I found some dynamite oil on canvas landscapes by Van Matino, a Korean artist. One of my favorite pieces is a mixed media long, skinny abstract landscape with multiple layers of resin in which the artist P. T. Tiesky has layered paint, metal leaf, and art papers to create a multi-dimensional work. We have it framed at the store in a gorgeous gold floater frame. I got a great little selection of inexpensive, fun Karen Hoepting giclees of birds and animals. There is a Milan landscape, a couple of Raya acrylic abstracts in beautiful bright colors, an unusual Eric Waugh abstract, some new funky Judge florals with lots of texture, a Romanovsky bright floral encaustic, and a classic Tania Siberian irises still-life. I was bowled over by the Japanese Canadian artist David Thai’s art glass vessels (pardon the pun), hand-blown glass with silver leaf, and bought four pieces for the shop. And the best part is that I was successful in my never-ending quest to find affordable originals for you. Please stop in to see these great new works and other recent acquisitions. Did I mention our new collection of large-scale vintage European advertising posters! Must see.

Heather Judge orange flowers

Eric Waugh Soni Rax #6