New owner brings energy to Off The Wall: a framing industry veteran hopes to grow the mica box framing business - news makers

It all starts with laminating a print on both sides. The laminate is then glued down to an 1/8-inch piece of Formica. A box frame is cut, unfinished except for the color-coordinated mica edges. Then the laminate is glued to the frame, cut to size and wired for hanging. This cost-effective alternative to custom framing is provided by Off The Wall Laminations, the self-proclaimed "Mica Box People" of Beaver Falls, Pa., and a recent acquisition of veteran framer Greg Spoth.

Thirty years ago, Jim and Ellen Paine developed and improved mica box framing and then started Off The Wall in 1997. Looking to retire, the Paines sold the company to Greg Spoth, a long-time customer and fan of mica box framing. "Over the 35 years I've been in the framing industry, much of the industry has not changed. There are very few things that have been revolutionary," Spoth said. "What excited me about [mica box framing] was that I think it is one of the revolutionary parts of the industry. The no-frame, clean, architectural look offers an alternative I think will be a pretty good-sized niche in the picture frame industry."

Having run several successful frame shops, Spoth felt he was spending too much time training personnel rather than concentrating on the artistic aspects of the business. He sold his retail outlets and ventured into distribution where he became vice president of Fantastic Graphics and later, president of Piedmont Mouldings. When Off The Wall was being sold in April of 2002, Spoth was such a fan of the product he jumped at the chance to take over ownership.

Off The Wall offers several options in mica box framing once the art has been laminated or spray lacquered. The ArtMount, the most requested style, is a laminate mounted and trimmed flush to the edge of the colored mica box. The BorderMount mounts a laminate to a larger, mica-covered box. 3-D BorderMount, which is ideal for photographs, takes the laminate and mounts it on a smooth, thin board so the image floats over a larger BorderMount. The Duramount is a laminate mounted onto a smooth, thin board which is then braced with a sturdy, lightweight wood frame on the back. The EconoMount is a laminate mounted onto a smooth mica board with a recessed "float frame" on the back creating a neat, suspended look when hung. This mount is ideal for newspaper articles and a good application for the advertising industry.

Problems can arise when laminating larger pieces, oil paintings, gloss or silkscreen. So in these cases, Off The Wall uses four coats of spray lacquer which provides the same look without taking away from the value of the artwork or its authenticity.

"The box frame look is not for everything in the picture frame industry, but for some items, it's even better than the picture frame. There are certain areas where the box, in my opinion, is the best presentation for a particular poster or piece of artwork. For certain niches, this look is terrific," Spoth said.

What makes mica box framing more economical is its lightweight durability, which means shipping and packaging are less expensive. This also makes it ideal for use in hospital wards and schools and as signage in shopping malls.

Even though Spoth inherited a 400-person customer base from the previous owners, he would like to shift Off The Wall's focus. "We probably do 80 to 85 percent of our business in the ArtMount, but I would like that ratio go down to maybe 50 per cent with an increase of use in the other four applications. I feel there's a lot of business out there to be had using those applications," Spoth said. He estimated that 90 percent of business comes from frame shops and art galleries while the remainder comes from the interior design, advertising and photographic industries, which he believes are the sleeping giants for mica box framing.

Off The Wall is also developing new ways to utilize mica box framing, such as mica box collages and a coffee table line where the coffee table would be the box with decorative leg treatments. Another is mica box mobiles for the desktop or ceiling. The company is also working with different publishers to allow customers to order prints and have them sent directly to Off The Wall to save on extra shipping costs.

Even with all that Off The Wall offers Spoth said, "The most fun days of my week are Wednesdays and Thursdays when the bulk of our shipments comes in and we see all the different types of things people send us for laminating. You see the greatest photographs, the greatest posters, and you get a chance to see all the things people are excited about that we're boxing for them. It's a fun experience."

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