By Paul Dunwell, writing for EasyFrame
© Copyright EasyFrame 2021
What this article is about
Easyframe's workforce always has its nose to the grindstone, not least because the COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged houseproud folk to have work framed or reframed for the homes they've been largely confined to for the last year.
But all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and owners Rob and Nick Zanna will always embrace a chance to do something different. That is how they got involved in the 'GetFramous' competition a while back. They have been submitting entries for a few months and have repeatedly made the podium. That was never going to be good enough for them, and now their perseverance has paid off. They won. Yay!
GetFramous innovators Larson Juhl UK know a thing or two themselves about framing.
Warren Buffett's finger in the picture-framing pie
'GetFramous' is the brainchild of the picture-framing supplier and wholesaler Larson Juhl UK, which is part of Warren Buffett's sprawling Berkshire Hathaway. So the businessman, investor and philanthropist, currently worth close to 100 billion US dollars, is the man to thank.
In fairness to Kempston-based Larson Juhl UK, itself part of a massive international business, Nick and Rob want to acknowledge the directors of one of their key suppliers for coming up with the idea and making it a fun, inspiring, educational and social event. They single out Ronnie Huxford for particular thanks.
Part of a bigger initiative
The campaign is part of a wider initiative by Larson Juhl UK, begun in June 2019, to encourage its business customers to experiment with marketing techniques that are in everyone's interest.
It covers 12 areas, including engagement on social channels and increasing website traffic, with toolkits, encouragement and prizes on offer. Easyframe is an old hand at much of this. The traffic to www.easyframe.co.uk reflects the investment the business makes in good content and in making sure the public finds it. But there is always something to learn.
A chance to learn from other professional framers
Rob and Nick have particularly enjoyed seeing what others in the industry are doing. The competition has drawn very capable entries from the likes of Horsham Framing Centre, John's Framing, Bespoke Framing and Ann the Framer. No slouches, any of them!
The winning announcement
Announcing the result, Larson Juhl UK wrote:
'We are so pleased to announce that the winner of our latest #GetFramous competition is @easyframe_uk ! Congratulations to you, we thought your 'Those Damn Crows' piece rocked! We would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who entered the last round... stay tuned for future competitions'.
Privately the organisers wrote to Nick and Rob: 'We thought your 'Those Damn Crows' piece was wonderful and combined strong social engagement rates with creativity and high standards of framing. The judging was done in consultation with Master of the Guild Jo Palmer GCF (APF), who was also very impressed with your framing expertise'.
Easyframe's expertise with custom apertures
Easyframe has standard designs that suit most orders. As the winning entry shows, with its Those Damn Crows drumsticks and more, it can also build a custom solution for any special order, with flawless apertures and mounts to suit. That approach is ideal for irregular pieces of memorabilia.
There is a huge selection of frames, and Easyframe can usually do whatever its clients wish. If you're unsure about frame or mount colours, a colour wheel (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_wheel) will help you find colours that work with your memorabilia.
Nick Zanna's take on the win
Nick says: “We were really pleased to win the prize. £250 is always handy and appreciated. To be honest we could earn more given the time involved. And Easyframe is so good these days that it’s tempting to feel like for us to turn up and compete is like Seb Coe pitching up to run in an egg-and-spoon event at his grandchildren’s sports day. But, actually, our rivals put in some very polished entries and it wasn’t a foregone conclusion we’d win. This is a great reminder for us that we can and ought to keep improving. So much of that comes down to buying state-of-the-art machinery and investing in good people as well as their training. But there is an element here that’s pure imagination, something that’s only sparked if you love what you do and if you’re inspired by the challenge. In this case we love Those Damn Crows. So we’re always going to think outside the box and raise our game”.
Had he any regrets?
“Not really. It would have been nice if Warren Buffet had turned up. Maybe with Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg in tow. Perhaps next time.”
Conclusion
EasyFrame won this time, deservedly. But there will always be challengers, and competition sharpens everyone up, which is good for the customer.
To see more of what Easyframe does with memorabilia that needs multi-aperture framing, visit www.easyframe.co.uk/multi-aperture-designs and www.easyframe.co.uk/NewsArticle/framing-records.
To talk to Rob or Nick about framing music memorabilia or anything else, call 01234 856 501 or email nick@easyframe.co.uk. They enjoy a chat and charge nothing for advice.