picture framing services
Conservation and Archival Custom Framing
Conservation framing at Hang Steady means securing artwork and objects with as minimal impact as possible. No gross staining, mysterious adhesive goop, or extreme fading from light damage. We do this by only using conservation and archival materials, and working with time-tested mounting methods. Your art will never come into contact with damaging acidic mats and boards, or harmful pressure sensitive tapes or adhesives. We keep up to date with the latest industry accepted standards and practices, adhering to and consulting with published guidelines from the American Institute for Conservation, The Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, to name a few. In our experience, the most important component to conservation framing is spending the time to creative problem solve with presentation, safety and longevity in mind.
Art Mounting Solutions
Our mounting methods are removable/reversible and incorporate sink mounts, rare earth magnets, as well as traditional hinges with klucel g and other starch pastes. Each situation and piece of art is different, and we love problem solving to come up with the best solution for any given project.
custom mats
For full conservation framing, we use lignin free 100% museum rag mats, buffered or unbuffered depending on the application. With hundreds to choose from, you can be confident that you’ll find the right mat that will enhance and also help protect your art.
UV Glass and Acrylic Options
We stock Tru-Vue glass and acrylic products to provide the best clarity and protection for your artwork. Our most used and recommended options are Museum Glass and Optium Museum Acrylic, both of which are anti-reflective and filter 99% of the most harmful wavelengths of UV light. Optium Museum Acrylic is especially useful due to its shatter resistance, making it ideal for high value items, frames hung in high traffic areas, and any framing in a place with earthquake activity, like our very own Southern California.
featured custom framing projects
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achieving the Acrylic sandwich look without causing harm to the art
Acrylic sandwich frames are a cool look, but did you know that when artwork is smashed in between two pieces of acrylic it can lead to potential adhesion and moisture damage, as well as warping and cockling from changes in relative humidity and cycles of expansion and contraction? To get the fun floating look without causing damage to artworks, our solution is a 3 piece sandwich, where the middle piece of acrylic has a laser cut opening that serves as a little space for the art to live without being smashed from both sides. A design and preservation win!
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mounting an object with no adhesive
This keepsake ceramic mask was secured to a fabric backing utilizing formed rod mounts. This method involved appropriately gauged steel piano wire bent into shape to follow the contours of the mask. We then covered the wire in heat shrink tubing to protect the mask, and finished it in a color matched acrylic paint. This produced a custom mounting solution that was secure and blended in nearly seamlessly.
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Float Mounting artwork with conservation hinges
A float mount is one of our favorite ways to display art, especially for pieces with irregular and raw edges, like deckled paper. We think it’s great to embrace these kinds of imperfections and show them off, with the art “floating” on top of a mat backing. Our float mounting utilizes traditional paste hinges with the appropriate weight of paper and paste specially selected for each job.
