Jan Marion of H. Marion Framing shares a few tips with Roma Moulding about putting your best foot forward when approaching “how good design works.”
There is no one, indisputable way to decorate a frame shop or art galley in a way that gets customers’ attention and makes a unique statement about what the staff does. Different shops can decorate their spaces in entirely different ways and from entirely different design perspectives and still enjoy great success. There are a few key, important things to keep in mind, however, such as the importance of creating window displays that peak the interest of passersby and designing interior spaces that show off the best products and services a shop has to offer. Several retailers have found that applying sound principles of design and merchandising to their decorating schemes and including high-end frames such as those from Roma Moulding help to ensure that they are putting their best design foot forward.
Jan Marion, CPF, of H. Marion Framing Studio in Glenview, Ill., makes it a point to design his space in a way that flows well and isn’t overwhelming “Our space makes it clear that we know something about design,” Marion says. “Everything, from the way the mouldings are displayed to the ways in which the carpet and finishes interface with the art, is subtle and blends together. That’s how good design works.”
Marion also changes the studio’s window displays to reflect the moods of different seasons “Here in the Chicago area there are four distinct seasons with distinct, seasonal climates so I use that fact to my advantage to make the window display visually appealing,” Marion says. “I include boats and flower elements in the summer, a fireplace in the winter and so on. I also display and hang things in ways that create a layered look in the window.”
Marion says he incorporates Roma products in his decorating because of their unique designs and finishes. “The level of complexity in Roma’s finishes and the innovation in their designs put them at the cutting edge of design,” Marion says. “We utilize our framing services to act as an interior finish as well as a ‘picture frame’, cementing us more as designers than framers.”
