Perfect Ed. Been thinking about that Bast myself.
Brilliant colourful print but worth less than it would cost to frame.
Simple and excellent result.

i did feel a sweat coming on parting with £13 for the shep frame, but it was a charity shop so it wasnt too bad!!! but thanks for the homebase tip, another doorstep to darken!! nice framage btw

I have the monkey Dolk in the same Ikea frame ;D

the range have a big selection of plain looking frames around the 12 quid mark i think.

Habitat always comes trumps for me, especially in their sales - 50x70cm frames for around £15. I always make sure the prints are in tight, with some hard backing, so they don't ripple. I have found that they preserve well being flat up against the glass, but wouldn't recommend with more expensive prints

You might be able to find something here

www.fastframes.co.uk/

I used www.picturelizard.co.uk for a completely custom frame.

This picture isn't quite square, but the mount and frame are all in proportion. I seem to remember this (the frame and mounts) cost about £60:



first attempt I managed to remove the mount from the order.

When I spoke to them they made it up and sent it to me, but it got damaged in transit, so they sent me another.

Very happy with their customer service and the product.

I'd recommend them.

Warbs

Great thread, I made a frame for a friend for the red shat-at out of old scaffold boards that I ripped in half, mitred, rebated then stained walnut. I cannot find a picutre though and it is at my mate's place so won't be able to post one until I go there in August or make one for my own piece......

I have used

www.frame-express.net

really good

wandered into framing mecca the other day on Hackney Road, this place has got so many ready-made frames and frames they will make to your order, with BY FAR the cheapest prices I have seen anywhere, and you can see I'm on a crusade!!!! ;D ;D


1 unit £20

1 unit £12.50

they seem to sell anything frame related...

its DJ Simons and Son
122/150 Hackney Road


Enjoy!! ;D

For odd shaped prints (i.e. elongated ones like the L.E.T. print Edge Art has just released) you could also go to Ikea and buy one of their mirrors for £50 odd quid and just take the mirror out of it. Was looking at a few of them yesterday (only went in there for a load of them dead tasty biccies they have) and there are loads of them with gilt or silver coloured frames which would be perfect for the job. Loads of other independent furniture shops seem to have really cheap mirrors in large fancy frames too, just have to hav a look around and see things slightly differently.

Flatten it first for a week mate in a porfoilo or if you havent got one then cover it in acid free tissue and just put loads heavy books on it and it will be fine

i think we're seeing more art here than the "get your art out for the lads" section :P
interesting thread tho, will check out DJ Simons and Son thanks

Due to me being a poor artist (ha!).. Well, I mount and frame my own pictures, I couldn't really compare them to stuff done professionaly, but either way I don't think I do a bad job... I invested in a Logan mount/bevel cutter, which comes with a 24" rule... Wasn't too expsensive (around £30 or 40 I think)... Cost of mount board is £3 a sheet, so judging on that I know I've saved hundreds of pounds... Cutting mounts isn't too challenging, just involves a bit of labour and patience working out measurements etc.. All that being said, I'm now doing larger pieces, and have just recieved some A0 mount board, and ordered a 40" ruler for the Logan mount cutter, I don't think anything will go too wrong!

So that's the mounts sorted, not too much hassle to D.I.Y plus the costs you save are increddible...
As for frames, well, I now regulary go to carboot sales, charity shops, etc... Lots of cheap frames and occasionaly you'll come across a very nice one, for a fraction of the price it would cost if it were bespoke... So yeah, I do pieces purposely to fit frames I have already bought! A slight problem one might occur, is the fact the colour of the frame is awful... I'm in a 'phase' so to speak where all my inner mounts are silver, outter mounts are black, and the frame is silver....So, I spray the frame silver with spray paint, but in my opinion it looks far too 'fake' looking, just not very nice... I personally love old, worn looking type frames, frames with character... So to 'age' them up, I use transparent black Belton paint, spray it on in small sections, and rub off with a cloth- all the transparent paint is then left in little grooves and ridges etc... How much you want to do that is up to you, if it all.. Here's a few examples of some D.I.Y stuff:


£10 for the pair of frames - then repainted
£12 for 4 sheets of mount board







£10 for the frame, slightly damaged (late 19th century!) - then repainted and damaged parts filled and shaped with filler
£6 for 2 sheets of mount board
£5 for sheet of glass - cut to size by myself


£5 for frame (was very large!). My father is an antiques dealer/picture dealer/painting restorer, and luckily for me I have a mytering cutter to chop frames, so this frame was cut to fit.
The glass was also cut down to fit the new size of the frame.
£6 for 2 sheets of mount board...


I hope this helps a few people, or gives a few ideas for more cost cutting... There still has been occasions with old loose works I couldn't source frames for, and had to resort to getting them done properly... Really does hurt the pocket!