The Framemakers: Picture Perfect
by Michelle Troutman

"The most unusual thing that I've ever framed was definitely mouse skins, and a close second to that would be an antique wreath made out of human hair -- all different colors of human hair, woven into flowers. It was the weirdest thing," says Framemakers owner Bill Taylor.

Taylor took art in high school and in college, and majored in art at The University of Maine at Augusta, where he studied for a year and half. While there, he opened his first business, an antique/junque shop, The Rainy Day Woman (named after a Bob Dylan song, Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 ), which helped cover the costs of his tuition. Then he took a detour to California, but after not finding any work there, he returned to Waterville in 1971, and started working at Berry's Stationer's in the framing department. He ended up making a career out of it, staying there for 28 years.

He moved onto The Framemakers in 1999, and bought the business four years later from the estate of Harry Faust after Faust died of pancreatic cancer. Faust opened The Framemakers in 1975.

Taylor met his wife, Cathy, at the You Know Whose Pub, where she worked as a waitress during the summer while attending Colby College. Cathy came from Newton, Massachusetts to go to Colby, met Bill, and as he describes, "never left." "She was president of her sorority at the time, and I was kind of a hippie. It was an odd combination. We've been married 35 years this year, so it worked. Opposites attract."

The Taylors went into business together in 2007, having bought Adams & Worth Home Furnishings from George and Paula Gordon, but they sold it three years later; Bill attributes the need to sell it to bad timing.

"You cannot figure out retail. It's always different. Christmas is our busiest season -- just like any other retail, but during the year, you never know. Sometimes you have a wonderful July, sometimes you have an awful July."

Most of his Framemakers employees have worked in the art or framing world for a long time. Amy Cyrway has worked there over eight years, two years prior at Berry's. Fitting Department head Amy Heald has been there seven years. Matt Russ makes the frames and helps customers choose frames; he has been there three years.

Earlier this year, Cyrway earned the Certified Picture Framer award/certification from the Professional Picture Framer's Association (PPFA). While growing up, she took private art lessons from founding member of the Waterville Area Art Society Peggy Stowers, and is currently being taught by fellow founding member Pat Binette. Cyrway received an Associate degree in pre-press and design from Central Maine Technical Institute (now known as Central Maine Community College).

In her spare time, she teaches private lessons to home school children and does her own illustration and commission work on a contract basis. One of her projects was a cover for the short story anthology Double Vision by local science fiction/fantasy authors Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

Cyrway likes the designing and hands-on aspects of the job, one which allows her to use her design knowledge from college, such as color theory. "I do the mat cutting, I do the mat design. I've done some pretty crazy mat designs here. I do the mounting and laminating here. I can pretty much do anything in the shop. That's my concentration."

Taylor's hobbies include playing piano; he could play by ear, but took piano lessons at age 30 and learned to read music. He occasionally paints in watercolors. Taylor is also on the Board of Directors of the Waterville Historical Society.

Among Taylor's accomplishments, he invented the Cosmic Modulator. Essentially, it's a kaleidoscope in a box; he came up with the idea in 1974 when picking up the shards of a broken mirror. "You've got to peek over the edge and look towards the back. It's all mirrors on the inside, so it makes it look like it's going to infinity...I just pick a theme, and then, just go for it." Taylor has made them on such themes as lobsters, soccer, and music. They are all cloth on the outside, which has been mounted; on the cloth cover are "little doo-hickeys you can find anywhere."

Taylor cites Tony Vajs (pronounced "vice") as an inspiration in his career; Vajs was the head framer at Berry's when Taylor started working there. "He's the one that showed me all the ropes, and explained to me how to look at the picture, find some color in it that looks good, and then try to go from there. You want to enhance the picture without taking away from the picture."

Among notable customers, The Framemakers has framed a set of golf clubs for Harold Alfond. They also did much of the framing for the movie Empire Falls. "They would come in, in the morning, and say, 'We need 15 things framed for tomorrow,' and they'd bring in the pictures, and I'd say, 'Will do,' and we did. But, the best part of the Empire Falls job was there was a scene in the movie where they go to the factory owner's house; they had portraits of all the generations -- there were four portraits, and we used our widest and most expensive moldings," Taylor says. " Empire Falls was great for us. They can make a movie in this town anytime."

Anyone who wants to show art in their big display window facing Main St. has the opportunity, though they are booked up until 2013. They don't take a percentage of any sales that might result.

Taylor believes what sets The Framemakers apart and keeps customers coming back is their awareness of preservation and their creativity. They choose all of their framing materials with longevity in mind, such as acid-free paper. They use "eco-friendly" mattes and moldings, safe for recycling, and recycle some of their cardboard and scraps, or donate them to Barrels Community Market or to schools.

"Another thing about framing, you're building equity. It's not like, you go out to a nice restaurant and spend $100.00 on a meal, and then it's gone. When you spend a hundred dollars to get something framed, it's an heirloom. It's something you can hand down for generations."

Among the recognition the business has received, The Framemakers has been featured in the Professional Picture Framers Association magazine twice, and received the Downtown Business of the Year Award for 2007 from Waterville Main Street, and The William R. Cotter Award. "The best award I've ever gotten is the William R. Cotter Award, and that is a regional community arts center award for community service. I was really, really happy to get it. It was part of an awards ceremony of the Chamber of Commerce," says Taylor. "It was nice being recognized by your peers." Taylor is also proud to be a two-time cancer survivor.

"The thing I like most about the business is waiting on the customers, and picking out just the right combination, and frame, for whatever they need to have framed. We really like doing three dimensional things. I've framed beer cans, I've framed jerseys, piano parts -- you name it, we can frame it."

"We have people cry when they pick up their framing. A couple times a year, some people absolutely cry because they're so pleased with the end result. That's really cool. I love that."

The Framemakers at 46 Main St. is open 8:30am to 5:00pm weekdays; 8:30am to 4:00pm Saturdays. After Thanksgiving they are open 12:00 to 4:00pm on Sundays. www.theframemakers.com.

Bill Taylor was a past secretary of the Waterville Main Street Board of Directors.

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