Sue Davis
Participant
Beginnings-How did everyone start out in framing?
Like John Ranes said, lets' pretend it is 1976.....and I am working at a DIY frame shop in a western suburb of Minneapolis, and John Ranes comes in as a customer....so I knew him before he was a frameshop owner! I also purchased one or 2 photographs from John to give as gifts....so I helped him along in his photography business as well....and then there is Greg Perkins, who was an employee at another DIY shoop before opening his own shop before being whisked away by Larson Juhl....we learned a lot of the basics at the same time in the 70s....and I remember showing him about French mats, ruling pens and how to make decoraive mats....
Anyway, I began as a college grad that majored in art and German, didn't want to be a teacher but wanted to be around art. So, I got a job in a frameshop, in an industry I never even knew existed. I have never left, still feel challenged, motivated, and priviledged to see the caliber of art that I work with on a daily basis. From those first days at the DIY shop, I moved around to a few different places in the Twin Cities and lived in CA in the early 80s where I met Rob Markoff when he still had a full head of hair. How many years later and I still run into these guys at the shows. That's one of the things I love about the PPFA, some of us "old timers" are still around, learning new skills and teaching the newbies. For the last 25 years I have had my dream job at Master Framers. Unlike may of you, I have never been the owner of a frame shop, but a very happy employee who is respected by her employer and peers. Would I trade this career for another? Not likely.
Sue Davis, CPF,
Master Framers
St. Paul, MN
www.masterframers.com
www.facebook.com/MASTERFRAMERS
Like John Ranes said, lets' pretend it is 1976.....and I am working at a DIY frame shop in a western suburb of Minneapolis, and John Ranes comes in as a customer....so I knew him before he was a frameshop owner! I also purchased one or 2 photographs from John to give as gifts....so I helped him along in his photography business as well....and then there is Greg Perkins, who was an employee at another DIY shoop before opening his own shop before being whisked away by Larson Juhl....we learned a lot of the basics at the same time in the 70s....and I remember showing him about French mats, ruling pens and how to make decoraive mats....
Anyway, I began as a college grad that majored in art and German, didn't want to be a teacher but wanted to be around art. So, I got a job in a frameshop, in an industry I never even knew existed. I have never left, still feel challenged, motivated, and priviledged to see the caliber of art that I work with on a daily basis. From those first days at the DIY shop, I moved around to a few different places in the Twin Cities and lived in CA in the early 80s where I met Rob Markoff when he still had a full head of hair. How many years later and I still run into these guys at the shows. That's one of the things I love about the PPFA, some of us "old timers" are still around, learning new skills and teaching the newbies. For the last 25 years I have had my dream job at Master Framers. Unlike may of you, I have never been the owner of a frame shop, but a very happy employee who is respected by her employer and peers. Would I trade this career for another? Not likely.
Sue Davis, CPF,
Master Framers
St. Paul, MN
www.masterframers.com
www.facebook.com/MASTERFRAMERS