CONGRATULATIONS to LAUREN OWENS

of Frames Unlimited; Charleston, SC

Lauren’s winning entry is a personal labor of love and the perfect example of the magical transformative power of framing to take something old and give it a new life. This needlepoint, done be Lauren’s grandmother, hung in her childhood bedroom in a simple white frame. After freeing the piece from the 1980s frame job complete with masking tape and cardboard, Lauren set to work to give her family heirloom a happy modern makeover.

While as framers we make snap design decisions daily for our customers, it’s always so much harder to frame for ourselves. Lauren considered many options and deliberated for about three months. She wanted something truly special and had trouble settling on one look that really made the whole piece shine. Black was too heavy, white too light. In the end, her decision to patchwork a combination of Bella’s Luna and Raku frames together brilliantly echos the rainbows and color variations in the piece. Lauren says she had been itching to use the Luna frames since their launch and liked the way both lines complimented the colorful penguins.

It was definitely a big experiment to construct a frame like this, but one that we applaud for guts and originality. Joining the frame with wood glue and clamps, Lauren was able to map out a cohesive balance of color and shape and create a frame that is now a work of art in itself. There will be no other piece of art that fits this frame and no other frame will be more perfect for this art.

Huge congrats to Lauren for her ingenuity and innovation. Lauren says hanging this piece in her shop has been a great tool to sell more of these particular collections as well as highlighting her own creative talent and get her customers excited about custom framing.

Lauren is the final entry in the grand prize contest for a free trip to WCAF Vegas coming up in January 2019! Voting for the Grand Prize round is now open!! Be sure to vote today for your favorite!

Until then, happy framing and looking forward to seeing your smiling faces at the show in January!