Have you ever walked through an exhibit in a museum and wondered how they are able to mount objects and artifacts without causing any damage to them? Perhaps you have your own object that holds a special place in your heart that you’d like displayed in your own home, but you have no idea how that would work and you don’t want anything permanently adhered to it either. We have seen all sorts of 3D objects walk through our doors over the years, both large and small, and each one has received a custom mount engineered in-house that is completely reversible should you ever want to remove the object from its framing package. The most important part of mount making is not only keeping the object safe and secure on your wall, but also ensuring that the mount does not distract from the piece of art we are framing either. We utilize a variety of techniques to accomplish these orders for our clients, and make sure that whatever method we use is the most appropriate method for your piece. To view a full gallery of our finished 3D packages, visit here.
Hand Stitching
Hand stitching is most commonly used when framing fabric, textiles, or jerseys but is also a technique we employ for things like fans, jewelry, and medals to name a few. To learn more about how we hand stitch fabric and textiles specifically, go check out this page and browse some inspiration for your next piece! Depending on the type of object we will use either cotton, silk, or monofilament thread sewn directly into a mat board to keep the thread from pulling with gravity over time. For objects like these fans, we first expand them as it would be displayed and then looped thread around key stress points and structural elements to hold the fans up in their package. The key with these types of mounts is to keep the tension snug without pulling so tight that the object will bend or the mat board will warp as the piece is mounted. For objects like flags or scarves, we use the appropriate thread for the material and discreetly hand stitch through existing natural seams and hems to mount the object safely and securely to a mat board
Pedestal Mounts
For projects where a client wants to see all sides of their piece, we construct what are called pedestal mounts for a full 360 degree view in the finished frame package. By their nature, these mounts tend to be more visible than others so they can take a bit more engineering to make sure the object is safely secured while keeping the mount from being the focus of the piece.
Trap Mounts
Trap mounts, sometimes referred to as sink mounts, are non-invasive mounts used for heavy objects or documents, like this cookbook, that safely hold the object in place without the use of any glue, tape, or stitching. We create a “well” for the object to sit inside using an archival foamboard build up, and then place a window cut mat over the top to physically trap the object in place so it cannot fall or shift forward. These types of mounts also allow for natural movement of organic materials, like paper and wood, so they can expand and contract over time with changes in temperature and environment. For this Betty Crocker cook book, we also engineered the front of the frame to open, held secure while it is closed with magnets, with a ribbon placed under the book so the client could open the package and remove the book as they wished. Our project with these antique tools used a combination of both a trap mount and hand stitching to ensure the heavy tools would be safe and secure within their frame package, making sure they wouldn’t come loose and end up coming into contact with the glazing on the package.
Magnets
Magnets are a great primary and secondary way to mount objects that the client would like to move or reposition. We have used magnets on several gun displays. In addition to recessing and having a button strap, the magnets help distribute the weight of the gun and use its existing magnetic properties to our advantage. We had a client bring in two rocks she and her husband had found on a beach vacation. Throughout their trip they had the rocks on a table and left them in a different position every time they walked by. She wanted to recreate the same feeling but make it more display worthy. We siliconed the rocks to magnets and added a magnet behind the mat to make the rocks repositionable.
Encapsulation Mounts
Often used for documents, encapsulation mounts use archival-grade Mylar where the artwork is “sandwiched” between two sheets of the film and relies on static hold to keep the document in flat and in place without using any adhesives directly on the paper to hold it in place. This process is fully reversible by simply cutting or opening one edge of the film and removing the document, or can be used with only three sides closed for a retrieval of the object, like the magazine seen below. The benefit to this process is that you can achieve two-sided viewing of a document or artwork that is on the recto-verso (front and back) of the piece.
Custom Acrylic Mounts
Custom acrylic mounts are a great option for transparent objects of unusual shape that cannot be secured using more traditional mounts. We custom formed three acrylic pieces and secured with a wire through dibond to ensure the piece was well supported and could easily be removed and replaced for a cross country journey after completion.
Rod Mounts
For objects that are heavy in nature, we utilize rod mounts that we custom make using specialized metal and shrink tube to display them safely and unobtrusively without causing any damage to the piece. We engineer our rod mounts to fully support the object being framed at key stress points while making sure it does not distract from the display of the piece. These types of mounts are very strong, and less reflective than acrylic support mounts, and can be customized to color match the piece to make them as invisible as possible.
