So, I know I've posted about his tool before, but I just can't help myself because it's so cool. Larson-Juhl has created a web based virtual framing tool that lets you design your very own custom frame job AND, place it on a background that closely mimics your wall color.

Here are some of the neato functions:

With the Interactive Frame Design tool, you're able to create designs with up to three layers of mats and fillets! Be sure to check out the tool's zoom feature so you can get an up close look at all of the details you incorporate into your design.

Also:

In addition to utilizing multiple mats and fillets in your digital design, you can also create stacked frame combinations with up to three mouldings! When your design is complete, you can choose a paint color, from our vast selection, for the background. This fun option allows you and your clients to see what the finished piece will look like against a specific wall color.

This is pretty cool, but remember if you like talking with real people, there's no place like Hampton House as a resource for your frame design needs.

Wendy Luann Barber – Doll Maker

Sara L. Wilson
A doll is more than a plaything for doll maker, Wendy Luann Barber.
“All of my dolls right now are collectors items,” she says. “When I first started making them I made play dolls, but not anymore. I guess I got tired of it because I couldn’t get the detail that I wanted.”
Wendy has been making cloth dolls for more than twenty years, but recently she’s been exploring a new medium: needle felting.
“It’s been around awhile, but it’s just now finding its groove,” she says of the process, which involves repeatedly poking an old steel-mill needle up and down into a pile of wool to compact and create shape.
Wendy, who started making dolls around the age of eight, can turn out a doll in about two days flat. From the bodice to the clothing to the painted-on face, her creations are influenced partly by her costuming and design degree, and partly by her imagination.
“I’ve always had a very good imagination; I love fantasy and SciFi,” she says. But what she loves most about making dolls?: “The artistic part of it; being creative; taking a flat piece of fabric and making something [people] recognize,” Wendy says. “When people ask me what I do, they automatically think ‘play dolls,’ but when I whip out a picture they say ‘that’s not a doll, that’s art.’”
Wendy’s dolls are decked out for Halloween at Hampton House Art and Framing this month. Stop by for the artist’s reception on October 6, 5:30–7:30 pm.

Just a quick post of an article from the Wall Street Journal concerning the Taubman Museum in Roanoke, VA. This article confirms my belief that the common Joe might be intimidated by so-called "High Art", or in this instance contemporary architecture. My self being a common Joe however is very interested in the low-brow work of Mark Cline. What do you think, King-Kong standing on top of the frame shop?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903703604576584583050203682.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Jackie Pittman, Hampton House:

We had just stepped on the Virginia Creeper Trail when I noticed the lone swallowtail perched on a leaf by the path. We both knew the relationship was ending and had gone for a hike that day to clear our heads. He was up ahead about 20 feet. "Look" I said, pointing. And then, I held my breath as about one hundred butterflies started circling me...around and around. I stood there, perfectly still, with my arms held up knowing how wonderfully special this was.

That year for my birthday, he gave me a framed print of four swallowtails. The final breakup came just before Christmas, but he gave me another print of two swallowtails on a butterfly bush. This one was unframed and because of the heartache, I stuck it in a drawer. The event of that day on the trail was too closely related to him and I didn't want the reminder.

Some months later I started working here at Hampton House. On my first day I was admiring the work of Susanna Pantas. We have several of Susanna's pieces and it was her style that I found fascinating. Whether the painting is of a tortoise shell, sand dollars, a conch shell, a moth or a bird's nest, they are all realistic, close up, and with minimal background and framing. And then I saw it, her painting of a swallowtail - but not just any swallowtail, but one whose wings are torn and tattered. Pantas has titled the piece, "Remembering the Wind". This butterfly has come out on the other side of his storm, very much worse for the wear, but even still, a thing of beauty. I then saw Susanna's theme; an empty tortoise shell, an empty bird's nest. The sand dollars are bleached from the sun, not the gray of live ones from the ocean floor. All of these things were once a home...had given refuge and warmth. Even the remains of the tattered butterfly had once sheltered a soul on the wing.

I realized then that what happened on the trail that day was mine. It was my time when the universe had asked me to be still, to calm my heart and mind and just watch. I may be a little worse for the wear - a little torn and tattered but I've learned to look for those moments that are mine. I took the print out of the drawer and brought it in to be framed. It hangs in my house and every time I look at it, I can still feel that faint breeze of butterfly wings.

This is my first blog. Susanna is our featured artist this month and I wanted to share with you the reason I have a particular work of art hanging in my home. I hope you'll share with us your stories of why you chose a certain piece for your own home - the ones that touched your heart, that spoke to you and you knew it was meant for just you.

Amy C. Miller, Interior Designer, Hampton House:

Everyone likes nature, right? Well, most people. I get asked all the time by curious clients why there is such a push in interior design towards all things natural.... I don't think it is as simple as some people just liking nature. I think it is a desire that all of us humans have to stay connected to the natural world, & that this desire has been enhanced by our knowledge of the environment & how to preserve it. As a designer, I have a responsibility to my clients to present them with products, finishes & accessories that are safe for the environment, as well as being green whenever possible.

Amy C. Miller, Interior Designer, Hampton House:

Right now as I type, I am sitting in a tiny garden courtyard. I have a nice breeze, a laptop, & an obscenely delicious strawberry smoothie.
I am taking this moment to write this important post because being outside is my perfect way of clearing my head, & that's the first step to finding inspiration.
Inspiration is the most important part of Interior Design, & it is essential in turning out an absolutely perfect room. Inspiration allows me to feel the character of the room & what potential the room has. A room is not just a space of a certain shape & size. It should be an experience that is created from the function it serves, & the people who inhabit it.
I most easily find inspiration in the smallest fragments of time, that if you're not careful, you can miss. Staying inspired is easy if you notice these moments & let them soak in. A garden, a door, a color, a fabric pattern, the crackled facade of a building, a collection of stones, ...I want to take something that excites or intrigues me when I see it, & make that feeling into a room. How can a room go wrong when it starts with that?