Framer’s Gallery • Georgetown

Framer’s Gallery • Georgetown

By Suzanne Haberman Friday, 12 June 2009

Whether hand selecting and cutting mat and molding for family photos, local artists’ works or sentimental treasures, Fred Bolgen considers framing an art form.

“Framing should be a completion of the artist’s intent,” Bolgen said.

Framer’s Gallery has been open just off the Square in Georgetown since 2005 when Bolgen came out of retirement to pursue a two-part business venue. Framer’s Gallery offers custom framing and restoration services and also displays art.

The dual purpose of Framer’s Gallery is evident from the front door. On the wall behind the front desk of the shop and gallery hangs Bolgen’s 2,400 frame choices. Bolgen also exhibits more than 100 photos, paintings and framed works on the gallery’s 4,100 sq. ft. of wall space through a collaboration with the Williamson County Art Guild and the Central Texas Pastel Society.

The association connects him to local artists whose work he rotates through the gallery monthly. Exhibits have drawn 200 to 300 visitors on First Fridays, a monthly event with live music and activities during which businesses on the Square stay open until 8 p.m.

The gallery section of Framer’s Gallery is eye catching, but framing generates Bolgen’s income. Compared to his competition, Bolgen said he offers more choices at lower prices. What makes his store unique is his full-service and custom approach of offsetting art with frames so that the piece is “more special than the border around the image,” he said.

Sonia Mathis has worked at Framer’s Gallery for four and a half years. She said she likes the freedom Bolgen gives her.

“We can follow ... what the designer is looking for,” she said.

Creativity and custom service are evident throughout the gallery. In the shop window facing Main Street, Bolgen displays his childhood fork and spoon set with a photograph of himself and his mother. On a column near the service desk, Bolgen exhibits a few of his most innovative works, including a hodge-podge design he called the “Frankenstein line,” which developed around a customer’s special request.

A man walked into the store and pulled from his wallet a 1 cent check that his grandmother made out to him for Christmas as a joke, Bolgen recalled. The catch: the customer didn’t want to spend any more on framing than the check was worth. The man only joked, but Framer’s Gallery accepted the challenge.

Mathis headed to a heap of discarded matting, chose four colors that complemented the frayed check and tore the pieces by hand to create a backdrop. Bolgen followed suit for the frame and pieced four unmatched, discarded corners into a square.

Bolgen entered the framed check in a national framing competition and won the judges’ award for best first-time entry in the open division.

“The judges loved it because we did everything right, but we did it outside of the box,” Bolgen said.

Since then, Framer’s Gallery has entered more pieces into the show and won recognition on the state and national levels.

Framer’s Gallery, 610 Main St., 863-2214