25 years of framing

4walls spoke to Lawrence Robinson GCF (Adv) from Pictor Gallery Custom Framing about his beginnings in the framing industry, and how framing has evolved over the 25 years he has been in business.
Lawrence was always interested in art as a child, but began his career travelling the world as a land surveyor. After spending three years working in Libya, he decided to leave the surveying industry, with the intention of reconnecting with his passion for art. From there, he bought some second-hand framing equipment and began doing framing courses with the Fine Art Trade Guild.

After realising his love for framing, Lawrence made the brave decision to sell his house to start his own framing business in the front room of a rental house in Manchester. The decision obviously paid off, as Pictor Gallery Custom Framing has now been in business for 25 years and is still in the same location!

Lawrence said: “When I spoke to the landlord of the property, he thought I was daft trying to sell art and framing, but when we opened in 1995 the work came flooding in. We were lucky enough to have space for both a framing workshop and a gallery.”


Due to lockdown restrictions, he hasn’t yet been able to celebrate his 25 years in the business. But Lawrence continues to look to the future and develop his business by taking part in the Fine Art Trade Guild Continuous Development Programme to further his knowledge, and strives to use the latest techniques, materials and tools in his work.
We asked Lawrence how the framing industry has changed over the last 25 years, and he said: “The internet has changed the industry dramatically, as it makes it easy to stay updated on current news and events. But it also sparked a price war between galleries, with each offering the same image at a lower price to win over customers. I’ve even had customers bring in mounted editions to be framed, which I was selling in my shop.”

Despite this, Pictor Gallery has embraced technology from the start, and in 2001 the gallery was awarded funding for a new website by winning a competition funded by the Council. Since then, Lawrence has redesigned the website and is beginning to get to grips with using social media to promote the business.



“I know that social media is incredibly important for developing the art side of our website, and I’d like to build up a presence on social platforms. But I work alone and one thing I don’t have enough of is time! In the future, I may consider converting the art gallery into another workshop and employing some help. This would give me more time to focus on both my family and running the business.”

Lawrence is a long-standing customer, having first encountered Larson-Juhl at a framing fair at the start of his career. Lawrence said: “I arrived at the fair with my handmade business cards, and it really opened my eyes to the industry. Larson-Juhl had an impressive stand, with lots of artwork framed up in their mouldings – I was so overwhelmed, but I placed a pro-forma order despite having no idea what that meant! Since then, I have always worked closely with both Larson-Juhl and Seb, my area sales manager. It’s great to have someone to talk framing with and keep me up to date with current trends!”
We were, of course, pleased to hear that Larson-Juhl has been with Lawrence since the beginning and were interested to know which of Larson-Juhl’s products Lawrence enjoys using the most.




Lawrence said: “It’s hard to decide, but I recently used the Larson-Juhl Eiffel range to frame a wedding photo with Confetti ‘floating’ inside. It turned out beautifully and is definitely one of my favourites!”

Framing treasured keepsakes and memories is at the heart of Pictor Gallery and Custom Framing, and Lawrence loves creating meaningful pieces for his customers. In fact, he often asks customers to bring as many items as they can to the gallery, and they work together to decide which would work best as a framed piece.
 
Find out more at www.pictorframing.com