Headlines
Picture Perfect!
19 August 2021
Despite always having a keen interest in photography, James Fraser started his career as a salesman in London where he spent 15 years. After deciding to pursue a more creative career, he began working as a freelance photographer and quickly identified framing as an opportunity. He bought a failing framing shop - and The Framed Picture Company was born!
The Framed Picture Company is located in Malton, North Yorkshire and specialises in printing and framing photographs using high quality materials. Photography tends to sell better online, so the business has been operating primarily online for the last five years, but James has seen a dramatic increase in online sales over the past year due to the pandemic.
“Lockdown brought about a change in consumer buying habits,” James said, “previously online products were seen as cheap and low quality, but we’re finding that increasingly customers are looking to order premium products from the comfort of their own homes.”
Looking to fill the gap in the market, James has turned his focus to building a new website, with the aim of showcasing the range and quality of products available for both online customers and those looking to visit the showroom. He has focused heavily on product photography, providing photos of the mouldings he offers at various angles to ensure that customers know exactly what they are getting, a factor that is incredibly important when selling online.
Another primary feature on the new website is an online framing configurator, which allows customers to upload their own photographs to the website, choose the size, frame and mount and see a to-scale visualisation of the full product together with a price, before purchasing.
4walls was pleased to hear that Larson-Juhl has been key to The Framed Picture Company, as having started with only a small range of mouldings James quickly realised that customers were prepared to be more adventurous online and began to offer a greater range of premium products.
James said: “I love using Larson-Juhl products because we are a business that prioritises quality, we know that with Larson-Juhl we are always providing a quality product that we can be proud of. Larson-Juhl also stocks a huge range of mouldings, allowing us to expand our offering too. Wherever possible, I like to use the Micro-tech Veneer mouldings, but Andover, Lincoln and Confetti are also very popular with customers.”
Larson-Juhl’s next day delivery service also enables The Framed Picture Company to operate on a four to five day delivery turnaround. James does not have the capacity to stock the entire range in-store, so effectively Larson-Juhl acts as an extension of their stock room - the weekend delivery service even allows customers to order at the weekend and still receive their products within five days!
James has lots planned for The Framed Picture Company, with further enhancements to the new website in the pipeline. He wants to create an online ‘gallery wall designer’ and provide the ability for customers to see their picture(s) in their own home room space using augmented reality (AR) functionality. Offline, he is keen to develop his trade business with interior decorators. To encourage more visitors, last year he built a showroom and exhibition space, to showcase the moulding range he offers and possible framing options.
James speaks to Richard, his Larson-Juhl area sales manager, on a regular basis. James likes to involve him in his project planning: “Richard has excellent product knowledge and understanding of the marketplace. We have worked together to develop the frame range we currently offer online, and we will continue to get his input as we continue build our online business and develop our offline trade business.”
If you’d like to see more of The Framed Picture Company, you can head over to their brand new website or follow them on social media for all the latest updates!
Projects…
James has a number of interesting projects going on at the moment. He is working with one of the participating photographers in the Great British Photography Challenge with Rankin, to provide the printing and framing for an upcoming exhibition. Separately, he is framing a collection of archive photographs dating back to the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He is also currently working on projects with several interior decorators.
Instagram @theframedpicturecompany
theframedpicturecompany.co.uk
The Framed Picture Company is located in Malton, North Yorkshire and specialises in printing and framing photographs using high quality materials. Photography tends to sell better online, so the business has been operating primarily online for the last five years, but James has seen a dramatic increase in online sales over the past year due to the pandemic.
“Lockdown brought about a change in consumer buying habits,” James said, “previously online products were seen as cheap and low quality, but we’re finding that increasingly customers are looking to order premium products from the comfort of their own homes.”
Looking to fill the gap in the market, James has turned his focus to building a new website, with the aim of showcasing the range and quality of products available for both online customers and those looking to visit the showroom. He has focused heavily on product photography, providing photos of the mouldings he offers at various angles to ensure that customers know exactly what they are getting, a factor that is incredibly important when selling online.
Another primary feature on the new website is an online framing configurator, which allows customers to upload their own photographs to the website, choose the size, frame and mount and see a to-scale visualisation of the full product together with a price, before purchasing.
4walls was pleased to hear that Larson-Juhl has been key to The Framed Picture Company, as having started with only a small range of mouldings James quickly realised that customers were prepared to be more adventurous online and began to offer a greater range of premium products.
James said: “I love using Larson-Juhl products because we are a business that prioritises quality, we know that with Larson-Juhl we are always providing a quality product that we can be proud of. Larson-Juhl also stocks a huge range of mouldings, allowing us to expand our offering too. Wherever possible, I like to use the Micro-tech Veneer mouldings, but Andover, Lincoln and Confetti are also very popular with customers.”
Larson-Juhl’s next day delivery service also enables The Framed Picture Company to operate on a four to five day delivery turnaround. James does not have the capacity to stock the entire range in-store, so effectively Larson-Juhl acts as an extension of their stock room - the weekend delivery service even allows customers to order at the weekend and still receive their products within five days!
James has lots planned for The Framed Picture Company, with further enhancements to the new website in the pipeline. He wants to create an online ‘gallery wall designer’ and provide the ability for customers to see their picture(s) in their own home room space using augmented reality (AR) functionality. Offline, he is keen to develop his trade business with interior decorators. To encourage more visitors, last year he built a showroom and exhibition space, to showcase the moulding range he offers and possible framing options.
James speaks to Richard, his Larson-Juhl area sales manager, on a regular basis. James likes to involve him in his project planning: “Richard has excellent product knowledge and understanding of the marketplace. We have worked together to develop the frame range we currently offer online, and we will continue to get his input as we continue build our online business and develop our offline trade business.”
If you’d like to see more of The Framed Picture Company, you can head over to their brand new website or follow them on social media for all the latest updates!
Projects…
James has a number of interesting projects going on at the moment. He is working with one of the participating photographers in the Great British Photography Challenge with Rankin, to provide the printing and framing for an upcoming exhibition. Separately, he is framing a collection of archive photographs dating back to the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He is also currently working on projects with several interior decorators.
Instagram @theframedpicturecompany
theframedpicturecompany.co.uk
