This was one of those projects that keep coming up, and keep me excited about picture framing. There is a fantastic collaboration that goes on during the design process. The result is an attractive piece that was cooperatively envisioned by the designer and the customer, and sometimes as in this case, with the original artist as well.This customer was turned away from other frame shops, due to the complexity of her needs. She had a print to frame, and with it, the artist had also given instructions on how the piece should be framed. The instructions, on one page, were well written, with rough diagrams of a bear claw emblem and design to be cut directly into the mat. It’s a daunting piece to consider cutting by hand on a manual cutter. I would be able to do it, but it would take a few trials and several days to pull this off using my own dexterity.
However, I have a better solution. My robot assistant, who I’ve named Gir, is a CMC (Computer Mat Cutter). I can lay out vector art design, import it into Gir’s software, and Gir will cut virtually any shape into a mat board. I learned to lay out vector art many years ago using any variety of design software- so just about any custom design you can imagine, I can actualize right here in my shop. The cost to you is minimal, and I can help you turn a pure idea from your head into a design cut into the mat of your frame.
So first I scan the diagrams into my computer, and open them in Illustrator to use them to guide me in the design. I use the measurements provided by the artist, and where they haven’t been provided, I use my natural design skill and knowledge of composition to arrange the decorative border into what the customer is expecting. Once satisfied, I export the file and send it across the in-store network to Gir. Gir has a dual processor computer dedicated to its handling of the 
design and control of its cutting head. With just a little import and last minute tweaks to the layout, Gir gets to work on the task of cutting the mat. I truly believe that technology does not take the art out of a craft, but rather acts as another tool in the hands of an artist.
The final piece fits perfectly with the art. Notice that nothing in the design takes away from the image, despite the wide matting etched with an intricate design, and detailed, heavy grained wood frame. All of the elements work together and present the art with the impressive energy that the artist had intended. If you have an original work, and you want it to stand out, then this is often a better way to go than a minimalist framing that is virtually unnoticeable and does nothing to present the art.
The other day, a gentleman brought in just such a piece. Here we have an old, thin wood framed piece, with a yellowing paper mat and some dust or mold creeping in under the glass. I see a lot of this in older framed pieces. Professional picture framing techniques are a relatively new thing, and you see all sorts of materials that we would now consider inappropriate in common use in older picture frames. Take a look around your home, I’m sure you have something like this.
When I get a job like this, the first thing I do is pull it apart and clean it out. Outside of a couple scuffs, the frame is in good shape and the customer would like to reuse it in the new design. Some cleaner on both the inside and outside of the glass goes a long way towards clearing up the cloudy look that was given by the grime of age. The first thing I notice after getting the piece apart is that the art itself had been pre-mounted on a thicker acidic board and essentially taped in place with masking tape. The customer is long gone by the time I notice this, and I make a decision to give this piece a proper mounting when I put it back together. 
Countermatting is the appropriate way to mount art on thicker substrate, be it a photo mounted on a thick board, or sometimes whole magazines or comic books can be mounted in this way. To do a countermat, I first use some acid free foamcore to use as a backing. I then center the art on the board, and cut some strips of archival mat that will be attached to the backing. I fix the strips in place so that they fit snugly around the art. When I place the finished matting on top of the piece, the art is sandwiched between backing and mat, with the archival board strips around the edges to keep the art centered. No adhesive actually touches the art, there is no chance of the art slipping around inside the frame, and everything will fit flush inside the frame with no awkward bowing of the mat. 
The matting was chosen with the customer during the design process when the piece was first brought in. Many factors can go into consideration when choosing a design for your piece. Maybe you want to match the new look of a re-done room. Maybe you want to give the frame a fresh, new look that’s more up to date. In this case, taking apart an old frame, cleaning it out, and re-fitting the piece with some new, acid-free mats has rejuvenated this piece of art. There was a lot of detail in the image that was lost behind musty glass and acid stained matting, now this old piece has been made brand-new while staying within the budget of the customer. 
