ADVICE:Customer wants ACEOS on Canvas w/Frame

[alley-art]

I have a customer who is interested in 2 of our ACEOS but she says she also wants them on a "stretched canvas with a frame" and she is asking me for the price on these..she says she can't wait to see them on her wall...I've been trying to figure this out, to either recreate them from scratch onto a canvas (she's not specific about size) and buy a frame (any frame I guess) or have them printed on a canvas somewhere that will also provide a frame..(but where??!)...what is a reasonable method and price to satisfy this customer do you think? -- ~ Suzi * alley-art * “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” - Leonardo da Vinc

[artistjillian]

Hi Suzi, I'll have to answer this tonight. iprintfromhome.com will print on canvas I think - it you sign up there, put 'champagneharley' down as referral. You would do several per page and allow for wrap - stretching them will be the difficult bit. I'm not sure where you'd get that size stretchers from. Anyway - check ipfh, and I'll get back with you in about 6 hours. -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[alley-art]

OK thanks for the link to ipfh, I have joined and I put "champagneharley" as the referral...still trying to sort out an appropriate size for the canvas prints with a frame, and wondering if we should recreate it instead... -- ~ Suzi * alley-art * “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” - Leonardo da Vinc

[artistjillian]

Oh Suzi, I forgot to check on this last night for you. I'll go ahead and try to remember tonight. Brief lunch break at the moment. -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[artistjillian]

OK. Sorry about that. I have such a brief lunch break. Here's some blank stretched canvases on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160568137096&hlp=false&rvr_id=223493184157&crlp=1... -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[artistjillian]

Strangely enough you can get some inexpensive frames ACEO sized from Wal-Mart. Try also Michaels and Aaron's. -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[artistjillian]

Here are ACEO stretched canvases on Dick Blick's site: http://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-studio-mini-canvas/ You don't get discounts unless buying 40 or more. :( -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[artistjillian]

Well heck ... this is a MUCH better price... http://www.artsupplywarehouse.com/prodDetail.php?id=39254 -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[artistjillian]

As far as getting frames - check out member Jonathon - If you need help, let me know. He should be able to help you. -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[artistjillian]

Here's Jonathon ... jonathan8301 http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=aceo+frame He's got some good frames. But needing to frame stretched canvases is different, because of the depth. You can get your work printed onto canvas, then use the wood to stretch it onto, as long as you leave room. Staples make framing fairly easy. Always put a sealer on this work. Hope that helps, or do you need more? -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[artistjillian]

You might also try Hobby Lobby for frames. -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[artistjillian]

These people usually have ACEO frames, too ... http://www.etsy.com/shop/cmdreese4 -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[artistjillian]

I love the ornate frames like this one ... http://getsomeframes.com/readymades/aceo-2-5-x-3-5/aceo-gold/2-1-2-x-3-1-2.html -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!

[alley-art]

We really appreciate all the awesome leads! Thank you. We will definitely be using most of them. After much deliberation and tossing & turning about this opportunity we decided to recreate the ACEO images on 8x10 canvasses freehand for the customer. We sent her pictures of them and she loved them. The framing bit was the hardest part. We ended up finding a fine art framer near us (Hartford Fine Art & Framing) and got a radical (from our perception) quote of $44 per frame. Even the Framer said there are better deals at Michaels. But thats hard work, and we rather focus on creating rather than shop for frames all day. Anyway, the customer just wanted the invoice so she could hang the paintings on her wall ASAP. So we sent it. We had no idea what to charge for the 8x10 paintings. I sought & sought & sought advice, and finally arrived at quantifying the Time it took to create (I googled the hourly rate for artists), the size compared with an ACEO, and the cost of materials. Also, we weren't sure if she wanted the original ACEOS as well but we added them to the invoice anyway with a note saying that we would be happy to make any adjustments she needs to feel good about it all. She then wanted to know what the difference was between the ACEOS & the 8x10s and she said the invoice was a little more than she expected to pay. Luckily, we made sure to take a picture of the frame samples with the paintings, and she wanted to see them first before buying. So we sent that along with the Frame quote and the explanation about the difference. What a learning experience! In the end, however, she paid the original amount of the invoice we sent! And both 8x10 paintings sold for $100 each! Yay!!! -- ~ Suzi * alley-art * “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” - Leonardo da Vinc

[artistjillian]

How excellent Suzi. This is a unique situation, so am glad to find out how all worked out. Great!!!! -- ~Jillian artist, Jillian Crider ... google me!