About the service
I build display boards and deep frames for collections of badges, pins and commemorative medals — the kind that spend decades in a family drawer and deserve to be looked at. Work starts with the pieces themselves. I lay the whole collection out flat, measure the footprint and the height of every item, and then group it: by theme, by years, by the person it belonged to, or simply by the story you want the wall to tell. Nothing is polished, drilled or altered along the way. You see photographs of the trial arrangement and approve the composition before I make a single cut.
Then every item gets its own milled recess in the backing panel, cut to the outline of that particular piece so it sits level, does not travel and does not touch its neighbour. The panel is covered in velvet, broadcloth or fine wool in the shade you pick — I usually offer two or three samples against the metal, because the same medal reads completely differently on deep blue and on warm grey. Ribbons are held by hidden folded pockets and gentle tension, never by a pin driven through the ribbon, and no adhesive ever touches metal or enamel. Frame depth is calculated from the tallest item, so domed badges and heavy struck medals sit under glass without any pressure on the relief. The glass goes into a rebate with a dust lip, and the back is sealed but openable, so the collection can be added to later without damage.
Under each item I set a small caption — name, year, a short line of description — engraved or printed in a typeface that matches the frame instead of competing with it. The finished piece comes with a hanging system rated well above its weight, or with a desk easel if it will stand on a cabinet or a shelf. I also rebuild tired old cases: the items are released carefully, the fabric and backing are replaced, and the arrangement is set out again to the same plan or to a better one.
What is included:
— layout of the whole collection and two or three composition options in photographs;
— milled recesses individually fitted to every badge and medal;
— backing covered in velvet, broadcloth or wool, your choice of shade;
— mounting with no pins through ribbon and no glue on metal;
— frame of the right depth, glass with a dust lip, sealed openable back;
— captions under the items, hanging hardware or a desk easel, packing for transport.
Then every item gets its own milled recess in the backing panel, cut to the outline of that particular piece so it sits level, does not travel and does not touch its neighbour. The panel is covered in velvet, broadcloth or fine wool in the shade you pick — I usually offer two or three samples against the metal, because the same medal reads completely differently on deep blue and on warm grey. Ribbons are held by hidden folded pockets and gentle tension, never by a pin driven through the ribbon, and no adhesive ever touches metal or enamel. Frame depth is calculated from the tallest item, so domed badges and heavy struck medals sit under glass without any pressure on the relief. The glass goes into a rebate with a dust lip, and the back is sealed but openable, so the collection can be added to later without damage.
Under each item I set a small caption — name, year, a short line of description — engraved or printed in a typeface that matches the frame instead of competing with it. The finished piece comes with a hanging system rated well above its weight, or with a desk easel if it will stand on a cabinet or a shelf. I also rebuild tired old cases: the items are released carefully, the fabric and backing are replaced, and the arrangement is set out again to the same plan or to a better one.
What is included:
— layout of the whole collection and two or three composition options in photographs;
— milled recesses individually fitted to every badge and medal;
— backing covered in velvet, broadcloth or wool, your choice of shade;
— mounting with no pins through ribbon and no glue on metal;
— frame of the right depth, glass with a dust lip, sealed openable back;
— captions under the items, hanging hardware or a desk easel, packing for transport.
