A few weeks ago, I blogged about creating a gallery wall to update your spaces. Gallery walls can be made up entirely of artwork or a combo of artwork, photos and/or framed treasures. While the current situation means we have to shop online for new prints, frames, mattes, etc., we typically turn to large chain online shops. But, did you know many local businesses are online too? I love supporting local as much as I can but love to support those businesses that create, manufacture and sell their products in my home country too. In fact, one of the absolute pleasures of my decor and design biz is meeting those artisans, learning about the inspiration behind their products as well as the material sourcing and production process and of course recommending and including their products in your designs.

As a follow on from my gallery wall blog post and in keeping with buying online from small businesses, this week I am thrilled to welcome Colin Morris of Kingston Frameworks as a guest on the blog. Colin bought Kingston Frameworks in 2018 and has some exciting new options available to not only select frames for your artwork but also the purchase of artwork.

So Colin, tell us about your plans for Kingston Frameworks?

First of all, thanks so much for having me Janet. This transition has really forced us to get creative with how we design frames and other jobs! We started using Video Design Consultations to help our clients make their framing, mounting and printing decisions without stepping foot in the door. To tell you the truth, this has helped people really take the time to choose their designs in a relaxed way. The results have been some inspiring designs, and customers are loving it!

Going forward, we intend to continue offering these video design consultations, which will create greater flexibility for our clients. We will also be investing in some video hardware and lighting because so far I’ve been doing them all on my phone!

How do your Video Design Consultations work?

Well, at first we tried using Zoom meeting, which was actually quite awkward - trying to hold and change frame and mat samples with my phone in one hand and someone waiting on the line. I quickly found that if I simply make a video, upload it to Youtube, and send a private link to the client, it shaves off a ton of time and makes the whole process easier for all. First, I get an idea of what they might be looking for, then I create the video with framing options, and we work to finalize the details together. People are loving this. I’m blown away by the amazing things I’ve heard about this way of working. It’s like, why didn’t we do this sooner?

How about e-commerce, is this something you are getting into more?

It will be ready soon, as we have just poured some resources into updating our website kingstonframeworks.ca. I’m very excited to reveal our online frame designer for you to design and order a simple frame and print from our website. We will also be turning our ENTIRE digital art catalogue into an online shopping experience. This means prints by classic artists like Sally Chupick, Pat Shea, and Bob Blenderman, as well as brand new artists’ work is available on our website.

Is there anything else planned with respect to products?

We are working more closely than ever with some of our key suppliers, as we are actually one of the larger framing shops for them, believe it or not. I’ve had some amazing discussions about bringing on new lines of natural wood mouldings that are going to be a huge hit, not only because of the style, but also the price point!

Thank you so much Colin! I know that 50% of homeowners (Source: Houzz Magazine) have continued to make updates to their homes during this current period. Artwork is an integral part of a space refresh so being able to virtually select artwork as well as matts and frames to fit the style and ambience of renewed spaces means clients can still get the perfect pieces to complete their updates. We look forward to future developments at Kingston Frameworks!

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