Framing Solutions — Attraction in Edina

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to counsel a soon-to-be high school graduate who had an important decision to make. At issue was his choice to accept of one of several scholarship offers to play NCAA Division 1 football or to accept a nomination to West Point. After many hours of deliberation, he chose the military academy. He is now an Army officer on his third deployment. A couple months ago, I received a package from the young Captain. It contained a "challenge coin" from his military unit and a note handwritten on half a piece of notebook paper. The note expressed his appreciation for the time we spent together discussing the relative benefits of the choice he was to make. Needless to say, the Captain's note stands among the greatest gifts I have ever received. I immediately began pondering the manner in which I would protect and preserve the coin and note. That led me to Susan at Framing Solutions.

My wife and I spent about 90-minutes discussing options with Susan. As a result, we selected frame materials and I settled upon a very basic design of a frame for the coin and note. Susan's marching orders were simple: 1) Encase the coin in the frame to keep fingers off of it. 2) The encased coin was to rotate within the frame to enable viewers to see both sides of it. 3) Preserve the note and its character in raw form; that is, don't iron out the creases where it was folded and, don't cover any of the edges, particularly the torn edge. 4) Use her artistic ingenuity and, finally, 5) Don't screw it up.

Several weeks later, Susan called me and reported that the frame was complete. The final product was stunning. Its general appearance was befitting the treasures it held. Susan exercised her artistic license and engineering skill as she designed and hand crafted the piece. The encased coin is prominently displayed and spins freely within the top portion of the frame. The note appears in its original form immediately below the coin. It is an uncluttered, strong and dignified design, free of distraction or frills. It's perfect!

I tend to be hard to please. That said, I can't endorse Susan strongly enough, other than to say that we have a couple more projects for her. Susan...

WOW! If you need a family heirloom restored and framed, Susan at Framing Solutions is the place to go! We brought a framed woven wreath from 1870's to Susan. The original wool thread had started to rot and disintegrate and some of the flowers showed signs of molding. The wiring used as the basis of the wreath was also rusting. Susan researched the art used to construct the wreath, found a textile artist who learned the techniques and reconstructed the wreath using rust-proof wire. The frame was taken apart, had display quality backing and glass installed, and refinished the original framing. She also put in a plate with Grandma's photo and history of the wreath. We now have a 150-year-old heirloom restored and ready for another 150 years of treasured memories to display. I would trust Susan with any family heirloom restoration...

So thrilled with my framing experience! Susan is awesome with explaining her process, paying attention to details, and creating a visual masterpiece that will be treasured forever.

It was a pleasure to have her work on framing my mother's self-published book. This literary work was something deeply personal to our family, yet it was Susan's passion for the framing project that gave the finished product eternal life.

Thanks so much Susan - you have a special talent for walking your customers through the process and helping them visualize what you see and are so naturally gifted at.

I appreciate you making the framing experience so much fun and I can't wait to deliver a Christmas present this year that will be so...