In May 2024, Vincent joined Ian for a uniquely tailored Five-Day Foundation course which not only covered the syllabus subjects but also included specialist advice – Vincent’s goal of setting up a really different kind of framing related business meant that quite some time was spent discussing his idea and working out his best way forward. As you would expect there was plenty of business discussion too, with topics ranging from understanding pricing to – most importantly – identifying the market which bespoke framers work in.
Vincent was keen to learn, and his previous business background meant that he was very quick to pick things up. He had spent quite some time digesting the contents of the Study Guide before attending, so was prepared with a list of questions! He very quickly became comfortable with how the four levels of framing married in with the four mountboard levels, and was able to competently explain the differences between the levels. Because Ian & Vincent both have business experience stretching back many years (albeit in very different fields) it was easy to get sidetracked, and plenty of laughter was had when recounting stories from ‘the early days’! However, as the tutor, Ian had to ensure that there was plenty of practical time for cutting moulding, pinning frames, sizing and cutting glass, boards and creating mounts. Over the course of the week, Vincent learned the basics of working with art on paper, textiles, lacing fabric and canvas stretching. Time was also spent learning about mount decoration, including creating V-grooves as well as traditional ruled lines (which Vincent was really, really good at!).
He was also able to meet and chat with the other trainers over Skype, which helped him appreciate the fact that he had a network of professional help available to him should he ever need it. An added bonus was that he could speak with Chris, another student who was doing exactly the same course as him at the training centre in Devon. Both he and Chris were, coincidentally, from the same industry background, so found they had a lot in common.
It was a fantastic week, and by day two, Vincent commented “I had high expectations – and you’ve already exceeded them”. He really appreciated the fact that his time with Ian didn’t need to follow a highly structured plan, but still covered everything he needed to know – and more. Vincent is pictured above looking very proud as he displays the highly prized Certificate of Achievement which was awarded to him at the end of his week. He is looking forward to developing his plans on the back of what he has learned, and we can’t wait to be part of his ongoing journey.