There is something that makes Steven F. Greenwald Design unique - it is
"The SFGD Touch." It starts with perfectionism as the way we do business - but we take that for granted as the only way it should ever be done at all.
"The SFGD Touch" represents something more - our desire to listen to, advise, and work with our clients from the beginnings of a project to well past its end.
There are five basic aspects to "The SFGD Touch"
We provide full service art consultation services as well as expert fine-framing design consultation to both designers and the public, for both corporate and residential environments. We can assist you in both selecting artwork and selecting matting and framing.
The first step is always design. We will not force-feed you a particular style because it may be popular or profitable. We start by asking you questions - usually easy to answer but more than simply asking what colors you like (which is important, too). We perceive each project's final result not simply by aesthetics, but its overall coordination with its environment.
We have a wonderful and vast collection of materials to design the look and feel of the framing for your artwork. Whether you bring in your child's first painting or you need to select an individualized and coordinated collection of imagery to adorn the walls of a new office complex, we have the resources to provide you with personalized attention.
Our 7,000+ square foot facility houses a fine art gallery, production area, woodshop, warehouse, and administrative offices. We have the ability to work on projects as small as framing a collector's postage stamp to oversized projects so large that they require heavy machinery to install on site.
But as proud as we are of the physical resources we have put together, it is our professionally trained production staff that really shines. It would be hard to conceive of a tool not available in our woodshop, yet we choose to do many things by hand simply to ensure quality.
Once a piece has been produced, it may be picked up from our location, and in certain cases, professionally installed at your location. A professional installation is not simply "bangin' a nail in the wall" and hooking it under a wire behind the piece. Instead of a wire system, we use a more intelligent two-hook system that ensures a perfectly level hung piece every time - and it will stay that way.
We strive to earn your trust as your framer and art consultant. The best way we know how to earn your business for years to come is to provide an excellence in customer service. It may begin with a friendly follow-up phone call, it may result in a long, fulfilling relationship.
When you own a work of art, a photograph or an item that you want framed, you have several options as to how to go about getting it done. Our professional picture framers have been formally educated to know how to preserve, protect, and beautify works of art, regardless of their known value.
Although a good artistic eye is something that can't be taught, there are certain rules of custom framing (which lead to good design) that can. When followed, these guidelines, well known to our custom framers, produce a beautiful, well-balanced framing presentation that enhances the work of art without overpowering it.
For example, did you know that the width of the mat border should never match the width of the frame because it tends to draw the eye away from the art it surrounds? Or that poorly placed decorative elements can detract from the beauty of the finished piece? Good design based on commonly accepted framing principles is one of the many reasons to custom frame.
The professional designers and framers at SFGD have the design skills as well as the training and technical abilities required to present your treasured items in a way that will not only enhance their appearance, but protect them for your enjoyment for generations to come.
As consumers, we bring our valuables in to be framed for a number of different reasons. Sometimes we frame an item to create an attractive decoration for our home. On the other hand, sometimes we frame the very things that we value most - whether that be commercial or sentimental value - in order to protect it from damage.
Matting is the border that surrounds your art within the frame. It is more than just a pretty color - the purpose of matting is both cosmetic and protective. Certainly one of the reasons we use mat boards to encase art is to bring out the colors in an image while drawing in the eye. There are many creative and elegant techniques that can be used which can add distinction to your framed piece. The addition of matting can mean the difference between an insignificant piece that gets lost on a wall and a dramatic one that serves as a perfect accent for a room.
Mat board, as a graphic element, can serve to highlight a color, accent a shape, or increase the overall size of the framed piece.
Color obviously plays an important role in this transformation process. For example, using a black mat board has the effect of "lightening"and "enlarging" the artwork, while using white mat board serves to "darken" and "shrink" the image.
Careful selection of the mat boards can result in a perfect complement to the picture within the frame. Visually, the mat boards provide "breathing room" from any distractions on the surrounding wall. Providing your SFGD Framer with enough information about the environment in which you plan to hang the framed piece will allow us to select the perfect mat board that will tie the artwork into your overall room setting or color scheme.
Your SFGD framer is equipped with a number of creative techniques that employ color, including double and triple matting, v groves, and French matting. A French Mat is a water colored band, not a drawn line, that can be of varying widths. It is surrounded with contrasting lines, which help to repeated the contrasts and line work shown in the picture. The colors used in the French mat are proportionate to their appearance in the picture. Therefore, a picture that is predominantly green is going to look best with a French Mat that has a light green watercolor band. French Matting is an embellishment to a work of art. It can increase the value of the artwork and compensate for the time used in creating it. The end result of French Matting is an object of art seen through a decorative, delicate and complementary window; a showcase for whatever one wishes to display.
We take a very personal approach to the work we do at SFGD. Experienced consultants are available to visit your office and learn about your business, corporate culture and needs.
Having worked within a wide range of budgets and requirements - creating a design what would be most fitting to your project is assured. When projects are out of town, consultants can visit your location, or you can e-mail us your drawings, photographs, sample boards and other items of reference. During subsequent conversations, we can evaluate what your needs are. You will then be offered a comprehensive package for your office that matches the look, style and character of your business and your budget.
See our Featured Online Page for a more in depth view of some of our favorite projects.
Here are some examples of our finished work::
You can trust the design professionals from SFGD for the ultimate in design and service. Our consultants come to your residence and work to understand what you want your home to reflect. From traditional, contemporary or casual elegance, we will work to understand what is best for your lifestyle.
We bring collections of art to your home to further help us evaluate your tastes and style. By reflecting your personal style, taste and flair, we can create an environment unique as you are.
At Steven F. Greenwald Design your satisfaction is our goal.
See our Featured Online Page for a more in depth view of some of our favorite projects.
Here are some examples of our residential clients:
Sometimes there is no substitute for experience. We can be the solution when you want to be sure that the art chosen for you is of the appropriate nature and style to the project, to help keep a consistency and balance throughout the project, and when you want someone to oversee all the details of production, shipping, handling, and installation so that all phases are coordinated with your needs and schedule.
Art consulting services are available on an hourly fee basis, either on-site or via telephone and e-mail. Web based services can include review by staff, ranking of choices, artist submission/review, etc.
We can consult, design, and negotiate the best purchase of, or have commissioned, art for your project. We can also handle the purchase of art directly for you.
Contact us today!
Whether you are a corporate client with 40 pieces to have installed or a residential client with a single piece, we can professionally install your new artwork.
Be sure to ask about our unique two-hook hanging system - once you learn about it you will never settle for wire-hanging ever again. The two-hook system utilizes a hook on each side of the piece, and when properly measured and installed, the artwork will be perfectly level on the wall - and it will stay that way! Our professional production staff will always note on the back of the piece all the measurements you will need to hang your artwork perfectly on the first shot. See the hanging worksheet that we developed.
Steven F. Greenwald Design (SFGD) provides numerous design services beyond the realm of framing art. These other services include web design, logo and identity design, high-quality large format output, as well as digital photography and digital imaging services. Please contact us for more information.
You would be hard pressed to find an art gallery as versatile as Steven F. Greenwald Design, Inc. In addition to our usual art consulting and custom framing services, we are proud to offer photographic services as well. Our clients have relied on our photography for many reasons. Some like the personal touch of displaying photographs of their own business operations on their office walls. Others have us photograph their projects in progress and after completion. Still others have us photograph their business operations for use as décor and for reference material used to create artworks for their projects. Sometimes our clients need photographs of their staff on-site or in a studio setup. How can our photographic services serve you?
