Artful Framers Of Olney

Note that the artist had not centered the image on the paper. It was off center by an inch or more. This should NOT have been a problem to an experienced framer! Before going to this shop, I had gone to the chain AC Moore, found a frame that I liked and gotten a written estimate for ALMOST the identical job for $150 (AC Moore very frequently has framing sales). The SOLE difference was the thickness of the mat (same frame, same museum glass, etc.). AC Moore would have used a 6 ply mat while Artful Framers was going to use an 8 ply mat; a slightly thicker and slightly more expensive material. I took this into consideration when negotiating the final price of the job. Initially, Artful Framers of Olney quoted the job at something like $230 but came down to $180 when I showed them the AC Moore worksheet. I was willing to pay the extra $30 for the convenience of a local store and to give the work to a local business. The first time I picked up the framed watercolor, it had ripples under the edges of the mat. I was told that the person who had framed it "did not have experience handling watercolors." The second time I went to pick up the framed watercolor, I saw that the image was not properly centered in the opening of the mat. NOTE: from my own experience in mounting, matting and framing, I KNOW that this has nothing to do with the fact that the image is not centered on the paper. It simply means that the person mounting the watercolor to the mat did not pay attention. Admittedly, it is a time consuming process to make sure the artwork is centered, but that is why I was paying them! The person who reluctantly took the artwork back from me for fixing defensively told me that the employees (co-owners?) of the shop had some large number of hours of experience. Not helpful information when someone did it INCORRECTLY. Furthermore, I know people with many hours of experience at something who STILL cannot get whatever it is right! The third time I picked up the framed watercolor, it was CLOSE to correct, so I accepted it planning NEVER to return to this shop! I say "almost" because the artwork does NOT lie flat under the mat. It is somewhat "puffed" out. This MAY be the nature of watercolor paper. Perhaps it is not incorrect. PERHAPS.