Angry at myself (long)

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Angry at myself (long)
14
Mon, 07-26-2004 - 3:30pm
I posted some of this story below in the Monday Check-in thread.

One of my best friends is getting married on August 14th. My BF and I are flying 2/3rds of the way across the country for this, and are making a holiday out of it at the same time. We are leaving on August 7th. When I found out about the wedding, I of course started wondering what I could get her as a gift. She's one of my best friends and wanted to get her something special, but couldn't spend a lot of money. In October, I bought a wedding-themed cross-stich kit complete with cloth, needle, thread, etc for $25, figuring I had nine months to complete it, and that all the time and effort I put into it would be worth far more than the $25 I spent on it. Later, people kept telling me it would cost $200 to have this thing framed! I refused to believe that, and tried putting it out of my head, since by that time I was getting closer to being finished. I kept telling myself I would shop around and see who could give me the best deal. Part of me just refused to believe it would cost me that much.

Well, classic me, I kept putting off the "shopping around", and finally finished it last Wednesday, still having no clue what it would cost me to frame it. On Thursday, I called one place for an estimate, and they told me the average cost to frame a needlework piece was $225!!! I almost had a heart attack. Everyone was right. The panic started, but I calmly told myself I would call some more places and take it to whoever gave me the best deal. The next day, it dawned on me that I only had 2 weeks left - just how LONG does it take to get this done anyway??? A new sense of panic took over, and I called that first store back and they said "about 2 weeks". Crap, crap, crap!!!

No time for shopping around now - I hopped in my car and went straight over. They hooked me up with a frame, mats, fancy uv-protection glass, the works. The thing that bugged me was that the salesperson kept showing me all these different options, but without telling me prices. I kept having to say - "what does this one cost? What about that one? And this one???" She wasn't volunteering anything. She kept pushing the bigger frame (thus more expensive), the double matting (thus double price), the UV glass as opposed to regular non-glare, without giving me cost options. It was the most frustrating experience of my life - buying a car must be easier than this was! I kept telling her I wanted to keep it simple, since the design itself was very intricate (a polite way of saying I wanted it CHEAP). When I DID ask for pricing, she would look through all kinds of books and would tell me "that one is about $20 difference from that one" and I would have to say "$20 MORE or LESS than that one???? And what does that one cost ANYWAY?????"

She would only give me a final estimate when everything was decided an hour later. Fortunately the list was itemized so I was able to see where I could start cutting costs. I got rid of the double mat (cut $20) in favour of the single, and then tried to cut the UV glass in favour of regular non-glare when I saw that the freakin UV glass was $50 - but another salesperson happened to overhear and said "we highly recommend UV glass for needlework - it will fade if it is not protected". "FINE" I said through a gritted-toothed smile.

$170 later, I felt so angry at myself that I'd left this to the last minute. I know I could have gotten a better deal somewhere if I'd only looked. And is UV glass REALLY necessary, or were they just pushing it for the extra sale? I mean, how much would it really fade, and how long would that realistically take? Good grief. I felt so dumb.

This is going to be another one of those expensive lessons (you'd think I'd be the smartest person on earth by now, after all the money I've spent on "lessons"). The moral of the story - give yourself some time and spend the effort looking into ANY purchase that you aren't sure about, or aren't familiar with. Don't leave it to the last possible second like me!!!


Edited 7/27/2004 1:21 pm ET ET by unicorn21



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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2003
Mon, 07-26-2004 - 4:22pm
Oh sweetie - I am so sorry, and this will probably NOT help you in this instance. But if something like this ever comes up again, keep in mind that traditionally, not everyone presents the happy couple with a gift AT the wedding. You have up to a year as a time frame to give a wedding gift - you could have done your shopping around, and mailed your gift to your friend after she returned from her honeymoon.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Mon, 07-26-2004 - 4:36pm
That stinks! I do cross stitch myself, and I also frame them myself! Damn... if only we lived closer I could have helped you out!!!

kel

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Mon, 07-26-2004 - 4:54pm
I know I could have sent it to her later - but that's the thing - she's 3000 miles away from me and I didn't want to take the chance of having it get wrecked in the mail. I would have had to pay extra for insurance, good packaging, and I probably would have had it couriered to save on shipping time (and therefore handling). Ah well. That's what I get for sitting on my a** for the past month or two.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Mon, 07-26-2004 - 5:02pm
Thanks so much. This experience has convinced me to learn how to frame cross-stich myself too! I've been doing c/s for years, but haven't actually finished anything to frame yet. I've done a couple of little banner-style projects, and I'm nearly finished a 10x14 wolf picture, but this was the first thing I've actually had framed. A good friend of mine has finished some absolutely stunning pieces, like an angel complete with sparkling metallic thread, beads and ribbons, and they are sitting in tupperware containers because she doesn't have the money to frame them. I had no idea it was so expensive when I started.

So, do they really fade after a few years? Or do you use fancy UV-protection glass on yours too? I can't get over this feeling that I was suckered. :(



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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2003
Mon, 07-26-2004 - 5:20pm
I don't know if this will make you feel better or not, but an online photo developing store was having a sale. They had 20 X 30 Canvas prints for $30! I decided that for that price I could have 2 pictures of my daughter done this way. I never even thought how much stretching the canvas and framing them would be. Well, $60 + shipping, $115 for stretching and framing one, $30 for strechting the other only to find that they frame I wanted was out of stock, so I took it to another store. I get there and find that they do texture on them that makes them look painted, so I paid $50 for the framed one to be unframed, textured, and reframed and then $115 for the unframed one to be framed and a clear coat to be applied so that it will not fade over time.

They are both supposed to be ready this Friday and I can't wait to be done with them so that I can enjoy them instead of them being a thorn in my side! Of course I did search for the best price and could have cut out some cost by not doing the texture, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Kathie

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Mon, 07-26-2004 - 6:09pm
Good Gawd!!!! These framing places must be making a killing. I know a place where you can buy solid wood frames at wholesale prices (if of course you buy the wholesale quantities). A plain 10x14 solid wood frame can cost under $10. Sickening.

I'm sure this thing will look absolutely beautiful once it is framed (I hope), but I'm still rather ticked at myself. I'm very crafty and I'm sure I could have done this myself for a fraction of the cost had I thought of it sooner.



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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Tue, 07-27-2004 - 7:00am
Well, I have never used uv protection glass.. and mine have never faded. Also my mom has been doing cross stitch for year and years and and I don't see how any of hers have faded. Granted, if you put in in a room directly in front of a blaring sun, I am sure it would fade, but most people do have curtains in their homes!

I have also started lots of projects and not finished, so congrats on this one! And don't feel bad, it was a mistake... we all make them. I can totally relate to being "bullied" by salespeople.

I think you may be able to find some framing instruction in some cross stitch books. Check some out at the library.. and look in the back. that's where I found the info.

kel

Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Tue, 07-27-2004 - 8:36am
I haven't read the responses, so forgive me if I'm being redundant. . . but I am sure you can skip the UV glass. I framed a piece of needlework 13 years ago and it looks exactly the same as when I made it. My in-laws have a big crewel-work picture that my SIL made 30+ years ago, and it still looks great - and it was never protected under glass at all. If it's not too late, call the framer and tell them you've decided against the UV glass.

BTW, no matter how much it costs to frame, your friend will cherish it. I particularly enjoyed the handmade or otherwise unique gifts I received for my wedding.

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 07-27-2004 - 9:08am
I think UV is a term framing "professionals" like to throw around to scare people. It is true that UV does cause damage over the life of an object, but there are a lot of other factors to take into consideration.

Simply being exposed to light for extended periods of time will cause the object to fade, regardless of the levels of UV and IR. If the mat used is not acid free, the mat will begin to break down and can stain the object (called mat burn) and the acid will migrate to the object, causing it to break down (this can begin in a few years time). What kind of backing board did they use -- acid free? How is the object being affixed to the board and mat? Most adhesives are non reversible, can stain, and can become acidic over time. Even so called "archival" framers use dry mount, which is a no-no among conservators.

Secondly, before buying a frame, ask yourself if this is something you really want to survive for generations. Its worth it to spend extra money on grandparents wedding photo.

My personal opinion (for items in my home) is that it is more important to have an acid free frame, with no adhesives than UV coating. If the entire frame is not archival, then the UV coating probably isn't worth it. At work, I wouldn't get UV glass because it glass (can break) and the uv coating has a greenish color.

Light, heat, humidity, and environmental pollutants are the main factors that cause fading and decay in any material, including textiles. If your interested, I have included a few links below.

Light and environmental damage to textiles: www.aiccm.org.au/pdfs/caring_for_textiles.pdf

Light and environmental damage to paper based materials: www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf24.htm

Image permenance institute at RIT: www.rit.edu/~661www1/sub_pages/8contents.htm

Way cool history website: www.gilderlehrman.org

I Know its too late now, but I hope proves helpful in the future!

Sandra

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Tue, 07-27-2004 - 11:29am
Boy I wish I had researched before I went ahead with this! It certainly sounds like I was ripped off on the UV glass after all. *sigh*

I read through the terms in fine print on the back of my order form, and it said any cancellation or changes must be made within 24 hours of ordering, or any deposit or pre-payment will be forfeited. Nice! What a bunch of jerks. I'm never going back to that store for anything ever again (they sell really nice framed prints and posters at not bad prices - ironically).

I'm definitely going to learn how to do this myself. I'll save myself a fortune when I get my other projects (and any future ones) finished.

Thanks for the responses everyone. And like I already said - just another expensive lesson learned. I just hope my friend actually hangs this on her wall and doesn't toss it in a corner somewhere until she "gets around to it".



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