About the service
I start with a measurement, not with a frame. The image field, the plate mark of an etching, the deckle edge of handmade paper, the signature and the edition number — all of it is recorded before anything is cut. The sheet itself is never trimmed. Trimming destroys half the history of an object and most of its value, and it cannot be undone by anyone, ever. The work is not pasted down across its back either: a full-surface mount is irreversible, it stops the paper from moving with the seasons, and within a few years the sheet cockles into permanent waves under the glass.
The window is laid out from the sheet, not from a standard board size. I keep the bottom border wider than the top by roughly an eighth to a tenth of its height: hung at eye level, equal borders read as bottom-heavy and the paper appears to slide downwards. The board is acid-free museum stock, buffered or unbuffered depending on the medium, and I choose its tone from the warmth of the paper itself rather than from the loudest colour in the picture. The window is cut at forty-five degrees so that the pale core of the board shows as a fine line — that bevel has to stay clean and even along its whole length, because a ragged edge is the first thing a visitor's eye finds. A double mat adds depth and lifts the glazing further away from the surface; where the design asks for a floating sheet, a hidden spacer does the same work invisibly.
The sheet hangs from hinges of thin Japanese tissue with wheat starch paste — two at the top, a third only when the paper is heavy. Nothing else touches it, and the hinges release with a little moisture, leaving no trace. Behind the mat goes an acid-free backing board, the package is sealed against dust and insects with a breathable tape, and the glazing is chosen for the work: UV-filtering for anything that fades, anti-reflective where the piece hangs opposite a window. Larger sheets get acrylic glazing instead of glass for weight, and the hanging hardware is sized for the finished package rather than for the picture.
— Measurement and design: sheet and image measured, borders proposed in two or three variants, board tone matched to the paper in daylight;
— Mat cutting: single or double acid-free mat, forty-five-degree bevel, clean core edge, optional spacer for a float mount;
— Mounting: reversible hinges of Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste only. No pressure-sensitive tape, no PVA or office glue, no dry mounting on old or brittle paper — these are refused outright, whatever the deadline;
— Glazing and closing: UV-filtering and anti-reflective options, the sheet held clear of the glass by mat or spacer, acid-free back, dust seal, hardware chosen by weight;
— Light: watercolour, ink, colour photographs and modern prints fade. Direct sun is avoided even behind protective glass — UV glazing slows the damage, it does not prevent it;
— Condition first: a brittle, torn or flaking sheet goes to a paper conservator before framing, and I say so honestly instead of hiding the damage under a mat;
— Storage: works that are not hung go into an acid-free folder between interleaving sheets, listed and labelled;
— Documentation: a written inventory of every item received with its measurements and condition notes, returned with the finished work.
Usual turnaround is one to two weeks depending on the number of items and whether glass has to be cut to size.
The window is laid out from the sheet, not from a standard board size. I keep the bottom border wider than the top by roughly an eighth to a tenth of its height: hung at eye level, equal borders read as bottom-heavy and the paper appears to slide downwards. The board is acid-free museum stock, buffered or unbuffered depending on the medium, and I choose its tone from the warmth of the paper itself rather than from the loudest colour in the picture. The window is cut at forty-five degrees so that the pale core of the board shows as a fine line — that bevel has to stay clean and even along its whole length, because a ragged edge is the first thing a visitor's eye finds. A double mat adds depth and lifts the glazing further away from the surface; where the design asks for a floating sheet, a hidden spacer does the same work invisibly.
The sheet hangs from hinges of thin Japanese tissue with wheat starch paste — two at the top, a third only when the paper is heavy. Nothing else touches it, and the hinges release with a little moisture, leaving no trace. Behind the mat goes an acid-free backing board, the package is sealed against dust and insects with a breathable tape, and the glazing is chosen for the work: UV-filtering for anything that fades, anti-reflective where the piece hangs opposite a window. Larger sheets get acrylic glazing instead of glass for weight, and the hanging hardware is sized for the finished package rather than for the picture.
— Measurement and design: sheet and image measured, borders proposed in two or three variants, board tone matched to the paper in daylight;
— Mat cutting: single or double acid-free mat, forty-five-degree bevel, clean core edge, optional spacer for a float mount;
— Mounting: reversible hinges of Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste only. No pressure-sensitive tape, no PVA or office glue, no dry mounting on old or brittle paper — these are refused outright, whatever the deadline;
— Glazing and closing: UV-filtering and anti-reflective options, the sheet held clear of the glass by mat or spacer, acid-free back, dust seal, hardware chosen by weight;
— Light: watercolour, ink, colour photographs and modern prints fade. Direct sun is avoided even behind protective glass — UV glazing slows the damage, it does not prevent it;
— Condition first: a brittle, torn or flaking sheet goes to a paper conservator before framing, and I say so honestly instead of hiding the damage under a mat;
— Storage: works that are not hung go into an acid-free folder between interleaving sheets, listed and labelled;
— Documentation: a written inventory of every item received with its measurements and condition notes, returned with the finished work.
Usual turnaround is one to two weeks depending on the number of items and whether glass has to be cut to size.
