The Frame Shop

ABOUT THE FRAME SHOP

The Frame Shop has re-opened in Glencoe and is now under new ownership!

My name is Jim Laitinen and I am the new owner of The Frame Shop in Glencoe. I purchased the business in July of 2015 from local artist Bonnie Mohr and opened the doors as my own on September 9th of that year.

The Frame Shop is a full service Custom Picture Framing Joint, and with my 24 years of experience in the Framing Industry, you can be sure that whatever it is you would like to have framed, I will know how to frame it. If you don’t know how you would like it framed – no worries because that equates to 24 years of Design experience as well! Bring it on in and I guarantee I will have multiple ideas about how it will look its best! (But don’t worry – if you do have ideas, I work well with others and can take your direction to fulfill your vision.)

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Quality Custom Picture Framing

I have been working in the Framing Industry for 24 years. It is my goal to take this framing and design experience, and to combine it with a commitment to the use of only the highest quality framing materials, to offer an unparalleled framing service at a reasonable price to The Greater Glencoe Area.

Art Gallery

The Frame Shop in Glencoe now features original Art by Minnesota Artists. I have already shown traditional Plein Air Painters Bob Matheson and Bob Bonowitz, followed by Photography documenting the Beargrease Dogsled Race in Duluth, and now currently the photography of Nick Kozel.

I plan on having a Gallery Page here on the website, featuring current and past shows, with original art for sale directly from the site. So stop back to check in on my progress. Or better yet, in the mean time, come in to The Shop to see it all in person.

Mission Statement

It is the goal of The Frame Shop to provide high quality custom picture framing, using only the highest quality materials, with excellent craftsmanship and great service to The Greater Glencoe Area. And all of that comes with a lifetime guarantee, meaning that if the mounting slips or a frame corner separates, bring it back in and I will fix it for free.

Philosophy

I have been working in the Framing Industry for a loooonng time. One of the thing I have ALWAYS focused on, and have a lot of experience with, is listening to my customers and really hearing what they need – rather than what I can sell them. This frequently meant that, contrary to the instructions of my manager and employer to “upsell”, I was often actually down-selling and telling my customers that maybe they didn’t need what they had a preconceived idea of , or that we could re-use some portion of their previous framing, or maybe even that what they were really looking for is something they could just do themselves. It may seem like bad business to many, to tell customers that they need less than what they are willing to pay for, or to even go as far as to send them home to do it themselves, but the point is that I have always believed that it is good business – and in fact the BEST business – to be honest with my customers. This way, with honesty, they never feel like they’ve been SOLD something, but rather that they’ve been HELPED. And that is a far better VALUE for the money spent.

The result of this is that I have built important thing like TRUST and LOYALTY with my customers. Because if you work with me you will always know that I am being honest with you and that I am not just trying to make as much money from each sale as I can. I actually have your best interests in mind. It might sound crazy to some, but that is what I call good business – and in fact the best business.

About Jim Laitinen

In 1992 I moved to Saint Paul with my girlfriend (now wife). I had recently graduated from college, and beyond wanting to paint and be an artist, I didn’t really have a plan. I needed a job. On my first day of job hunting I responded to two Help Wanted ads – one was for a dishwasher position at The Lexington, the other was at a frame shop. Well, The Lexington never called me back, and I ended up staying at the same frame shop for 23 years. If I had heard back from The Lexington, who knows where I’d be today!

Though framing is not new to me, business ownership is. When I opened the The Frame Shop doors to the public on September 9th 2015, I did so for the first time as the owner of a business.

I live with my wife and 12 year old son, a beagle and a black Bombay cat, in South Saint Paul in a 100+ year old house that is constantly in need of attention. I coach basketball and baseball and am still known to create art on occasion. I also attempt to play a variety of stringed instruments.