framing services •


• preserving memories | protecting treasures 

Saoirse focusses heavily on the craft of framing: we believe in taking our time when we work with you to create frames for your home or your workplace that will both enhance and protect your art, your memories, and your treasures.

Be it an original artwork, baby's first booties, or your wedding portrait, from bargain posters and prints to precious, irreplaceable family heirlooms, everything we frame for you is valuable to us!

Meticulous attention is paid to every detail of your frames, and we make every effort to ensure that you are delighted with the results.

Art Restoration - Picture Cleaned & Reframed

Quality checks are imposed at each stage of a frame's construction, but our work is not done until we achieve the most important stamp of approval: seeing you smile each and every time you collect an order!

• personal service

In contrast to the blur of modern life, we pride ourselves on our good old-fashioned, professional, friendly, and courteous service. We take time to ensure that we understand what you want, and do our level best to turn your ideas into reality. If you are not sure what you require, it will be our pleasure to provide you with all the professional advice you'll need to make informed choices for all your framing projects; and we positively welcome any questions you may have about the materials and techniques that we use. In essence, we want you to enjoy doing business with us!

• meticulous attention

Custom framing is both an art and a craft. As with all bespoke work, it's not cheap, but quality framing is a worthwhile and lasting investment. At Saoirse, we believe that if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well. Any genuinely good custom framer will use quality materials with the correct archival (protective) properties, and will charge you a fair and realistic price for the work that has gone into creating unique artefacts that will enrich your surroundings, and that will also stand the test of time. If you have chosen your framer well, you can expect the end product to be flawless. We care for your framing projects every step of the way. From design through to completion, scrupulous attention to detail is paid at each stage of your work's creation. We will care for your work as well as you would care for it yourself, if not better!

• quality finish

The keynote of our entire business approach is quality - be it in our services, the products we sell, or our customer care. But it applies most of all to the frames that we create for you. Anything that you have chosen to frame is automatically precious, and it demands all the care and expertise that traditional craftsmanship can provide.

In a world where there is almost constant pressure to sell cheaper, something has to give, and sadly it is quality that tends to suffer most. Not so at Saoirse! All of your frames will be handmade in our onsite workshop, using traditional techniques and modern materials that meet or exceed internationally-recognised professional framing standards. (For those familiar with Fine Art Trade Guild standards, all of our custom frames are made to Commended Level or higher: we do not offer 'Minimum' or 'Budget' level framing.) At each stage of production, rigorous quality checks are applied to ensure that every time you entrust an item to us for framing, you will be presented with a beautifully designed and flawlessly-executed work that you will enjoy for years to come.

• spoilt for choice!

A broad range of mouldings are available from stock, but if none of our stock lines suit your tastes, we have access to thousands of other styles that you can choose from. For a truly unique frame, why not opt for a hand-finished moulding!

We also carry an extensive range of mounts (mats), enabling you to choose colours that perfectly compliment your artwork. Mounts can also be hand-finished, and for those extra-special pieces, we will be introducing fabric-wrapped mounts later this year. Our minimun grade board is classed 'acid-free' but wherever possible we use 'conservation' grade board as our first choice. Cotton-based 'museum' grade boards are used for higher value items. We have just introduced the Bainbridge ArtCare range. ArtCare is unique in that it provides ongoing, active protection for your work. (More about ArtCare products soon!)

When it comes to glazing options, you can select from standard (float) picture glass, premium grade anti-UV or non-reflective glass, and optically transparent 'museum' glass. Engineered for maximum light transmission, museum glass has to be "not seen" to be believed!

• artwork and frame restoration

Some artpieces need a little extra care and attention prior to framing. In partnership with our carefully selected team of professional conservators, we can cater for all your picture cleaning and art restoration requirements. The painting shown earlier on this page had lain undiscovered for years in an outbuilding. It arrived in to us the worse for water damage and the 'dust of ages', but after professional cleaning and revarnishing, we gave it an elegant new triple-stack frame, and the original beauty of the piece has been revealed. It will now give many more years of enjoyment to its owners.

We can also rejuvenate and restore old or damaged frames. (We respectfully request that you check for signs of woodworm infestitation prior to bringing frames for repair, restoration, or replacement, as we cannot, for obvious reasons, allow infested items into the workshop. Should you need to treat the frame, suitable products should be readily available at your local hardware store.)

free advice and quotations

Call in to us at An Stiúideo with your items for framing, and take advantage of our free consultation and completely obligation-free quotation service. This will allow us to properly assess your items, and will enable us to advise you about the best materials and treatments for each individual project. Taking this approach helps us to ensure that you will be happy with everything that we frame for you! Our location details can be found here.

We strive to offer you excellence in framing design and construction. In order to create truly stylish, eye-catching frames for you, and to price each frame accurately, it is vital to view the items you wish us to frame. Therefore, understandably, we do not offer telephone or email quotations.

• typical projects

• regular

• specialist

General - Family, artistic, and commercial photographs (dry mounting, laminating and heatsealing available); posters and prints; canvas wraps (standard, gallery, or museum style); news articles; commercial posters, internal signs. Canvas transfers soon.

Objects & Memorabilia - a real speciality! Music, sport, family heirlooms, stamps, coins, medals, badges, books and catalogues, flags, wedding bouquets, sugarcraft, teddy bears, trophies, sporting equipment - a virtually endless list! Your items, our imagination!

Original Artworks - Oils & Acrylics (stretching, varnishing), mixed media, watercolours, pencil, pastels, charcoal.

 

Needlepoint - tapestries, cross-stitch, embroidery. Full lacing service offered (and recommended).

Fine Art Limited Editions - prints, giclée, canvas. Archival reversible dry mounting available.     

Garments - sports shirts, t-shirts, baby's first shoes, christening robes, haute couture collectibles.