The moment

 

When Eagles’ fan David Masiello was ready to display one of the most treasured pieces of his collection of memorabilia, he turned to Anne DeSantis Handy of Winthrop Handy Studios. The 32”x40” frame design she came up with used a signed copy of the band’s On The Border album as its focal point and incorporated images of the band’s album covers released during its richest creative period of the 1970s and the early 1980s. The result was a piece that tells the story of a Tru Frameable Moment™ for one passionate music fan.

 

 

The design

 

Anne used the orange, blue, and teal colors that are so prominent on the album cover to influence the layered design, featuring a total of five mats. The perimeter around the album images and band photo toward the bottom of the piece build from black to blue to teal. To create the orange perimeter, she cut a groove into the teal mat and layered the orange mat under it.

 

While Anne doesn’t believe framed artwork needs to match the existing decor of a room, she does like to know where the piece will be displayed. Light in the room, proximity to other major elements of decor, and traffic, among other details, all contribute to choices in design and materials. In the case of this piece, she chose a black Larson-Juhl frame knowing that it would hang near David’s black baby grand piano. The finish on the frame has a hint of orange.

 

“I love design, and I love color,” said Anne. “When I am framing and looking at a piece that my customer absolutely loves, I always look at what colors are in there. I don’t use a lot of white. Color brings out the image more.”

 

The signed album included the vinyl disk itself and required a shadowbox treatment. One of the major challenges of putting the piece together was keeping the album cover in place given the weight of the vinyl. After experimenting with transparent corners, Anne used archival tape to hold it. As a policy, she uses only conservation grade materials in all of her framing projects. The piece is glazed with Museum Glass^®, her primary choice for customer projects.

 

 

The designer

 

Anne and her husband Winthrop have been in the industry more than four decades. Their studio in West Boylston, MA, includes portrait photography, an art gallery, custom framing, and digital printing. Having this broad range of offerings was intentional from the beginning of their business.

 

“We decided to do it all a long time ago,” said Anne. “If you love what you’re doing in art, you can offer something to people that they would never expect. It’s all about our customers, whether we photograph them or frame a piece of art for them.”

 

Her customer was so happy with his Eagles frame that he has asked her to work on a piece that celebrates one of his other passions, the Boston Bruins.

 

For other pieces inspired by Tru Frameable Moments, check out the posts below.