My goal: to get my mother-in-law a gift that would make her cry (in the good way!) Our walls were pretty empty excluding some framed photos of my husband and his brother from when they were kids. These were in their house in Salinas, CA as kids, in their father's home in FL once they were grown, and had found their way back to our house in Los Angeles some 20 years later. I always give photos as gifts but I wanted to try and match THOSE wooden frames. I looked on the back and was SO EXCITED to see THE LEVIN CO printed on the frame. They were still in business!
After some phone calls, we discovered that the specific model was no longer in production, but I was invited to take a look around the warehouse to see if we could find a match. We indeed found a VERY similar frame in a slightly different finish. The honey oak had altered color after years of sitting in different weather, so the oak matched up quite nice. Not knowing exactly how much of a bill I was racking up (there was no way I wasn't getting these, so no need to haggle) I resisted snagging similar frames in black for my bedroom (super cute!).
In the end I found 3 frames in the sizes I needed that were in stock and 1 that was more modern, but with the same oak finish. We checked out in the office and I was JUST UNDER my budget! :D As a photographer, you know what to skimp on and what to splurge on, and this was totally worth the drive, time and money.
The gentleman who was helping us was super friendly, we enjoyed chatting with him while he mounted and paper wrapped the back of the portraits. He also took the time to remove all the nails from the frame and bubble-wrapped them for our drive home.
Did I mention that I totally waited last minute and they help me accomplish this out-there goal within a day? Yeah. Total Win. I will definitely be back with my future framing needs. read more