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Velasquez by Larson-Juhl actuallyshows four different trends

emerging in today’s market. It’s atransitional style that works with

both contemporary and traditionalart; it is an elegant moulding with

a distressed finish; and it featuresa wide black moulding in a small

frame size.

Issue Date: ABN - January 08, Posted On: 1/21/2008

By Greg Perkins, ABN Contributing Editor

Although framing in the world of fine art takes on a different role than that of the custom frameshop, similar basic principlesapply that can help any gallery owner or artist present fine art in a way that will enhance the perceived value of the piece andbring about yet another attractive selling point that will help close the sale. With this concept in mind—and an eye for high-endmoulding and design trends—Art Business News and Greg Perkins, manager of merchandising and education forLarson-Juhl, are proud to bring readers the third column of The Fine Art of Framing: High-End Techniques for Galleries andArtists.

For many retailers, the first days of the New Year are a time to rethink, refresh and reorganize their businesses. When itcomes time to make changes, it always pays to understand the current trends. Knowing what’s hot and what’s not will helpyou eliminate outdated items and avoid bringing in inventory that is declining in popularity.

There are general trends in retail, technology, etc., that you should keep tabs on.However, for the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on trends specific to thefine-art and framing industry. Always pay attention to what’s going on in yourparticular market, and implement the changes that make sense for your situation.When you catch trends early in their life cycles, you can ride the wave longer andbenefit more from them.

If you work in the fine-art world, it pays to know current direct trends for both sidesof your industry—fine art and framing. If you work in an art gallery or are anindependent artist and you don’t actually offer any framing, you might still be askedfor advice on how to frame the art you’re selling. If so, it’s best if you are able toprovide a good answer. For those artists and galleries who frame their works, youmost likely deal with many types of art on a regular basis, so it’s smart to know asmuch as you can about it.

Indirect trends that are pertinent to art businesses include color, home building andhome decor. When retailers keep up with current trends and continually makesmall changes to their businesses, they tend to look successful instead of lookingstagnant. When consumers think or believe a business is successful, it canactually help the business become more successful. It’s sort of like the olddress-for-success principle.

Before looking at current trends for 2008, keep in mind that the 2007 trends don’tjust go away on Dec. 31. The same trends you’ve been seeing for the past fewmonths will still be there. Some of them will grow stronger while others might benearing the end of their popularity cycle. It is a continuous process in which trendsare coming and going. The important thing is to keep your business fresh andexciting by bringing in new products and ideas on a regular basis.

Today, there seem to be a lot more mini-trends instead of the huge trends ofyesteryear. There will probably never be another trend like Avocado Green back in the ‘70s, which was everywhere. Avocadoshowed up on walls, floors, appliances, bathroom fixtures, upholstery and painted furniture, not to mention cars, clothes andjust about every other product. People couldn’t get enough of it. It’s probably because of fallout after such an overindulgencethat we have more diverse tastes and therefore broader, less distinct trends today.

Now it is quite common for people to choose things that suit their personal styles rather than trying to be like everyone else.Obviously, there are still products that stand out as being more popular than others, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult topinpoint specific trends. Nonetheless, I’ve compiled a list of 2008 trends based on my observations in the industry. They areas follows.

2008 TrendsLet me preface my trend report by saying that the items listed here are my view of the trends. Sometimes we hear about thelatest trends, but they never seem to appear in the real world. The trends I am mentioning here are what I am seeing day-inand day-out in stores, in catalogs and in people’s homes.

Moulding

The Fine Art of Framing: Trend Watch 2008

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The Alphabet Series” by RodneyWhite, courtesy of Artaissance, is

an example of the popular retrostyle. Groupings continue to enjoya resurgence in popularity as well.

Gramercy by Larson-Juhl shows the popular silver finish and a

narrow profile. In addition, it applies the black-and-white color

scheme that is fashionable.

■ Transitional Style The dictionary defines transitional as moving from one concept to another. You might have noticed traditional finishes on simpler contemporary profiles or crisper contemporary finishes on slightly more traditional profiles. There are two logical reasons for this. Today, more people are purchasing pieces of art they love, not just what matches their decor. Transitional mouldings can help bridge th e difference between the art and the room decor. Also, with more people decorating in an eclectic style, transitional-style mouldings can work with contemporary or traditional art and furnishings.

■ Distressed ElegancePeople are making their homes more casual and livable. They might still want alook that is sophisticated and elegant but not stuffy and formal. One way this isachieved with frame mouldings is to distress the finishes or antique them so theyaren’t so fresh and perfect looking. You also see earthier finishes on burlmouldings. Instead of polished furniture finishes, we’re seeing more texture,ragged edges, etc.

■ Black FinishesBlack is a very hot color in the framing arena. Looking back, there was a time whenblack frames were predominantly at the lower end of the price and quality scale,but that has changed. Today, there are a lot of well-designed and higher qualitymouldings with black finishes. In many of the home-decorating magazines andshow homes, we see a movement to bolder, high-contrast frame designs. It usedto be that most people only chose black mouldings when they had black-and-whiteimages, inexpensive posters, diplomas or some other type of multi-colored art withblack in it. Lately, I’ve seen more black mouldings used on art with little or no blackin it. I’ve also seen black mouldings placed in rooms without any other black decor.One cautionary note: Black can be overpowering if it isn’t used appropriately.When framing, always remember that the goal is to enhance the art. It’s up to youto educate consumers to make smart choices.

■ Silver FinishesSilver is still popular. Many new or remodeled homes have nickel-finisheddoorknobs, drawer pulls, faucets and light fixtures, so it’s a natural choice forframing. Silver looks wonderful around art with cool color schemes or in rooms with cool colors. Historically, many of thepieces of art that have both warm and cool colors in them were framed in gold. Today, you might achieve a fresher lookchoosing a silver moulding.

■ Moulding Width: Wide & NarrowWider mouldings are still popular to coordinate with large homes and thelarge-scale furnishings in them. Wide mouldings surrounding smaller pieces of artalso remain popular. It’s a great look to call attention to small pieces that mayotherwise go unnoticed.

However, there are also a lot of people requesting narrow mouldings today. Itdoesn’t appear to be a price-driven choice as much as a design choice. It probablyrelates to the movement towards simple, Zen-like spaces. When customersrequest this look, be sensitive to their needs, but also help them understand whenwider mouldings are a better choice (for example, to balance with large art,furnishings or rooms).

Art

■ Subjects Top-selling images run the gamut from abstract to traditional. As with moulding, itappears there are more transitional art images that work with either contemporaryor traditional home decor. Retro is still going strong. This trend is expressed with avariety of images ranging from pop art, the look of vintage signs and patternsreminiscent of vintage fabrics or wallpapers. (For a full story on retro art, see thismonth’s feature, “When Past Meets Present.”)

■ SizeOversized images remain popular, but art in all sizes is selling. One thing iscertain: People are getting into the “I-want-it-my-way” mentality. Companiesoffering variable-sized printing are selling a wide variety of sizes of their popularimages.

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This canvas giclée printrepresents the oversized look that is especially popular to coordinate with large rooms and/or oversized

furniture.

This artwork, titled “Farfaletta” byAlpha Workshops, shows the

popular look of patterns as art.(Available through Artaissance)

■ ColorWhen you look at a lot of the popular art available today, there seem to be two color stories going on. One features bold colors, such as red, yellow and blue. The other is an earthier palette. The color schemes are crossing over where you might not expect to see them. For example, vivid red can appear as the predominant color in a landscape, and muted earth tones can be the focal colors for abstract art.

■ SubstrateThe two most common substrates that art is painted or printed on are paper and canvas. At all price points, canvas seems to be growing strong. Once reserved for expensive paintings, canvas is now used extensively for giclée prints, photo portraitsand canvas transfers.

Home FurnishingsBecause much of the art and framing being purchased is placed in homeenvironments, it is also helpful to know the major trends occurring in thehome-furnishings industry. Be aware, however, that your area of the country mighthave its own trends that differ from these. You can get a greater sense of what’shappening in your market area by visiting local furniture stores, model homes andreading local home decorating magazines.

■ GreenGreen, in this case meaning eco-friendly products that may or may not be green in color, is a strong trend. Bamboo flooring and tables have been popular for a few years, but are you aware that even fabrics are now being derived from bamboo?

■ High-Gloss LacquersIn addition to solid-color lacquers, glossy finishes are being used over natural wood grains.

■ Black & WhiteBlack-and-white furniture and upholstery in a range of textures and patterns is popping up everywhere.

■ Natural CuriositiesA strong example of this trend has been the shells, coral, bugs, birds and other natural elements now incorporated into home decor.

■ RetroMany pieces of furniture have the look of prior decades. Some pieces are nearly direct representations of what we saw years ago, but other pieces have a more up-to-date look influenced by the original style.

■ Glitz and GlamourWood furniture with highlights of mother-of-pearl or mirror drawer-fronts are common examples of this growing trend.

Product Picks

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Max moulding presents the SAVOY II Veneer Collection inspired by exotic poplar veneer and classic design. The intricate patterns formed by its natural veneers create a stunning, yet subtle, effect. The collection is available in seven profiles with widths ranging from 1 to 3 5/16 inches in such finishes as Walnut Poplar Burl Veneer, Dark Walnut Poplar Burl Veneer, Honey Poplar Burl Veneer, Shaded Walnut Poplar Burl Veneer and Shaded Charcoal Poplar Burl Veneer. For more information, call 800-282-9966; e-mail info@maxmoulding.com; visit www.maxmoulding.com.

Roma Home Decor unveils a cutting-edge collection of wall decor with more than 200 newdesigns in five new categories:

Classic-Traditional, Global-Contemporary, Urbane-Metro, Casual-Chic and GenXY². The decor features the never-before-seen art series “TRANSLUCIDO,” anavant-garde collection of global images by acclaimed photographer Tony Koukos.The collection fuses contemporary art with the translucent energy of light. Visitwww.romamoulding.com to find out when Roma will be exhibiting the new 2008collections of moulding, wall decor, mirrors and photo frames in a city near you.

Universal framing products introduces the new Olive Wood Veneer Collection, which is handmade from real European olive wood with unique grain patterns, color tones and a rich finish. The collection comes in five rich wood tones, including natural, mahogany, walnut, espresso and gray in 1 1/2- and 3 3/4-inch sizes. For more details, call 800-668-3627; visit www.universalframing.com.