One of my other hats....

One of my other hats is working in the frame shop part of our gallery. My wife and I have built a good quiet business that keeps us busy but not overburdened. Our goal was to sell art work out of our gallery and as things evolved the customers wanted us to frame also. We stretch and frame crochets, cross stitch, large maps, whatever that walks in the door.
This particular frame job was one we just finished and it took a lot of time. I went slow with it so that I would not make a mistake. The shadow box is to commemorate a woman who was a war bride. During WW2 she was an citizen of England and worked for the Women's Land Army for her country. She eventually met an American soldier, married him and has lived in Iowa ever since. Her daughter succeeded in getting a certificate and a medal for her duties from her home country and the parts became a whole in a shadowbox. Gordon Brown didn't sign it very nicely, but he did dutifully signed the certificate. Sadly the woman passed away before they medal and certificate arrived here in the states.
Because we are a small business we tend to get a lot of special types of framing. Once we framed a husband's letter sweater and his wife's physical ed. outfit from the 1900's for their 50 year old kids. It was a challenge to get it to all lay down under glass in one whole framed piece. Also we give very personalize service and sometimes counseling too. People love to frame things that tell stories and or encourage good memories. I was going to quit framing after I retired for working at the school but it seems too hard to turn them away. Thanks for reading...