In the past decade, the art and framing industry has faced a number of significant challenges. It has experienced the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the crash of the housing market, and the proliferation of big-box craft stores.

All of these factors have affected the sales and profitability of small independent frame shops and galleries. Yet, through ingenuity and perseverance, they’ve managed to survive, and art and framing sales are now experiencing a resurgence in sales. This situation is especially true for independent framers, who are starting to gain market share as more and more consumers recognize that 70 percent off a grossly inflated price is not such a great deal for a frame design showing a lack of professional design skills.

Just as handing someone a paint set doesn’t make them an artist, giving someone a title and showing them how to use a cash register doesn’t suddenly endow them with the skills they need to be a professional frame designer. It’s taken years, but consumers have finally begun to recognize that the real value of custom framing is in the enduring beauty of the results, not in the inexpensive frames they see in newspaper ads. The industry today is smarter, bolder, and more profitable than it has been at any other time in the past decade. However, despite this increase in prosperity, framers have yet to overcome one obstacle: the widespread, misguided, and illogical placement of flat-screen televisions on walls, instead of in entertainment centers or on furniture. This trend in consumer behavior has caused the framing market to shrink, robbed it of millions of sales opportunities, and generated a tremendous amount of human pain and suffering.

Despite its widespread and devastating consequences to art and framing merchants and to consumers, the problem has gone mostly unnoticed and almost completely ignored, and it has grown to pandemic proportions. And it’s got me hoppin’ mad.

Flat screens have taken over valuable vertical real estate that was once the domain of artists, photographers, and framers. Paintings, prints, photographs, needlework, and lots of frames—your frames and my frames—belong on walls. What does not belong on walls are rectangular black holes of nothingness.

And it’s all the Jetsons’ fault—George, Jane, Judy, and even little Elroy. They started it. They were the first perpetrators of this mess. They’re the ones who made us yearn for the advent of wall-mounted TVs. And now we’ve got ’em. But the Jetsons were wrong.

TVs do not belong on walls. They surely don’t belong in the corner near a ceiling. And they have absolutely no business being mounted above a fireplace. Just because your customers can mount their Samsungs and Vizios on their walls doesn’t mean they should. In fact, mounting a TV on a wall isn’t just a bad idea from the perspective of a custom framer, it’s also a bad idea for your health.

Historically, as you may recall, people placed TVs at eye level. Because most people watch television from a seated position, TVs were once much closer to the floor. This placement provided a viewing experience similar to what one enjoys when sitting in the center of a movie theater.

Earlier generations of TVs were in their own cabinets or consoles; placed on stands; or tucked into entertainment centers, which have doors to hide the rectangular black hole when it is not in use. Today’s TVs are much lighter and flatter than those of yesteryear. They rarely exceed a thickness of more than 5 to 6 inches, making wall mounting possible.

But almost every wall-mounted TV is positioned much higher on the wall than is optimal for comfortable viewing from a sofa or an easy chair. These viewing angles can produce stiff necks, sore shoulders, and aching backs. If you don’t believe it, ask a chiropractor. Most will tell you that wallmounted TVs are great for their business.

Any adult who has ever had the unfortunate experience of sitting in the first few rows of a movie theater should know better than to mount a TV so high up on a wall. Sure, it was cool to sit in the front row of the theater when you were 10 years old, but no adult ever willingly sits that close to the screen. Long before the movie is over, your neck is certain to feel like a PEZ dispenser locked in the tilted-back position.

Wall-mounted TVs rob custom framers of potential sales, and they need to do something about it. They need to take back what belongs to them.

Unfortunately, this trend is not likely to go away anytime soon, and there’s little framers can do about it. However, you might consider educating your customers by providing literature about the potential health problems—and letting them know why they don’t want to emulate the Jetsons.

The post Why I Hate George Jetson | The Guerrilla Framer appeared first on Art Business News.

The world of decor is all about reinvention, and that’s why we’re launching an all-new DECOR magazine! Our Creative Team is busy putting the finishing touches on our new look—a paperless, online Ezine—and we can’t wait to share it with you. Join us for the launch at DECOR Expo, alongside Artexpo New York and [SOLO] in NYC’s Pier 94 next April.

New Owners
DECOR magazine is now owned by Redwood Media Group—purveyors of fine art exhibitions, events, education and editorial with a decades-long history of serving the global fine art community. At Redwood, we know the fine art industry inside and out, and we own and produce fine art fairs including Artexpo New York, SPECTRUM New York, SPECTRUM Miami, [SOLO] and DECOR Expo. We also own and publish Art Business News magazine, and we’re thrilled to add the soon-to-be-launched DECOR Ezine to our offerings.

New Editorial Board
We’re pleased to introduce our new editors to you!

Editor in Chief: Michael Pacitti

Michael Pacitti, IDEC, CPF, has worked in the fine art, design and framing industry for more than 25 years.

He is currently associated with the Color Marketing Group, and the Color Association of the United States (C.A.U.S) where he has been teaching seminars on color and design to interior designers and decorators throughout North America, Europe, and China for 25 years.

He has also written numerous articles on color and design and is a professional certified educator with IDEC Interior Design Educators Council, resulting in his accessible style of conducting informative and interactive workshops.

Managing Editor: Meg Glasgow

An artist, European-trained picture framer and entrepreneur, Meg owns her own interior design firm: Meg Glasgow Designs. She has 20+ years experience in the art business as a CEO, art consultant, author and public speaker. Recently, she has joined her husband, Steve, and Glasgow Group Realty as a real estate client concierge, where her focus is on customer care in assisting in home staging, sales, marketing and property previews. She currently serves on the Meridian Arts Commission, Business Promotions committee for the Meridian Chamber of Commerce and President of Finer Frames.

We also have an exciting new team of writers, editors and designers on board, including Craig Kausen, Linda Mariano, Litsa Spanos and yours truly, Christine Schrum.

New Content & Design

The all-new DECOR Ezine will deliver cutting-edge news on all things design and decor—from interior decorating and fine art collecting to the latest trends in architecture, furnishings, textiles and tapestries, framing, and much more. We’re also rolling out a fresh new look for the magazine.

Stay tuned for our April 2014 launch at DECOR Expo. Visit the DECOR Expo site for more information on the show. Hope to see you at Pier 94 next spring!

The post All-New DECOR Ezine Launch at DECOR Expo in April 2014 appeared first on Art Business News.