CHRIS BAILEY

Maker of handmade creations with timeless elegance.

Welcome to 21st century handcrafted frame making!

Throughout time framing has been a decorative part of our living spaces. It begins with the spaces we live in and the walls we move around. It frames the windows in those walls, and ultimately it frames the mirrors and fine art on those walls. Today, it even frames those super thin TVs that at times will display art on the screen when not in use.

The use of frames for art and mirrors goes back centuries and, in many cases, would reflect regional and social influences of those times. Particularly, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when a social movement emerged which opposed the mass production and poor quality that was associated with the industrial revolution. It was called the Arts and Craft movement, a time when people sought to improve the quality of life by promoting beautiful handmade objects for everyday use. This included the picture framing industry as well, and during this time skilled craftsmen hand carved exquisite designs into wood profiles and then embellished those surfaces with genuine gold leaf by way of water gilding. Thus, creating finished picture frames that could stand alone as works of art. Today we have gone back to those mass-produced industrial ways, however handcrafted frame making does still exist with only a handful of talented makers.