Isis purchased two electronic mat cutters that would cost more than $100,000 to replace. In the last few years, her insurance has tripled. “I don’t think you’ll find many picture frame makers driving a Rolls-Royce,” Mr Brooks said: “It shows you that a lot of what we do is actually just for fun.”
Upselling is part of the business: Antonio Yepes, 40, who runs Thou Art Framing in north-west London, deliberately shows his customers a thicker mount instead of the cheapest one on offer. He says he knows a man who has developed pricing software for picture frame manufacturers. He says that if more than 75 percent of customers say yes to your price, you are not charging enough.
Frontispiece Ltd. is based in east London and has a framed photo of King Charles and one of Madonna's bras. “We will never be about money because we are not expensive,” says Julie Clark, 61, who works there. She and owner Reginald Beer believe that nearby shops charge three times as much as they do. “That's why we are poor and they are rich,” joked Clark. Beer, 79, takes home $1,267 a month, which he shares with his wife; Clark earns “over $760 a week,” according to Beer.
Mister. Mr. Yepes said his full-time employees make between $31,000 and $38,000 a year. He believes he could make about $38 profit after all deductions on a $114 frame. His wife advises him to raise his prices, but he is afraid of comparing unfavorably to other frame makers. (While customers may not know how much it costs to make a frame, conscientious customers know how much the competition charges.) If Mr. Yepes's materials become more expensive, he could raise his prices, but not his markups.
At Thou Art Framing, a high-quality 15-by-19-inch black wood frame with 2mm glass, the kind you'd find in any department store, costs $164 ($202 with UV-resistant glass). Mr. Yepes shows me in his customer database that Rowan Atkinson, the actor best known for his character “Mr. Bean,” has been there on several occasions, spending $386 here and $443 there.