Most of the items I get contacted about reviewing for this blog are child-related – and usually in a pretty obvious way. So I found myself scratching my head a little when the folks at eFrame got in touch to ask if I’d like to review their online picture frame service.
However, whilst scratching my head I glanced round my living room and quickly realised the connection they had made – as our living room, and indeed the rest of our house, is covered in pictures of our children. That’ll explain it then!
With my moment of confusion brushed aside, I jumped at their offer, and set about finding something that needed framing.
Now eFrame offer all the usual frame sizes and a whole heap of styles and colours – but I soon figured that just ordering a run-of-the-mill frame would make for a pretty boring review.
As luck would have it, I’d also recently purchased an art print online by Dan McCarthy – a print which is a rather unusual shape, being around a foot wide and 3 foot high, give or take.
So I asked the framing people whether they could make a custom frame to fit my print, and they set about constructing it there and then.
Considering I placed my order in the week before Christmas, I was pretty damn stunned when the frame turned up just a couple of days later – though as you can probably tell from the date I’m posting this, their efficiency in putting it together FAR outstripped my own inefficiency in putting it up…!
The frame came in an impressively constructed suspension-style box, which as you can see from the photo, ensured my frame came in one piece – and also gave the kids a LOT of cardboard to use for their next constructions.
Getting the frame setup was as easy as you can ask for – all transparent surfaces came with multiple protective coatings, to ensure the thing didn’t go up covered in finger prints. The hanging kit supplied was also pretty easy to attach – meaning the whole process took me less than 20 minutes to do from box-opening to hanging it on the wall!
As you take a look at my handiwork, you might be a little confused as to why I appear to have framed a blank sheet of paper. The answer to that puzzle delights me (and utterly infuriates my poor wife) – the painting is done in phosphorescent paint, meaning 90% of it can only be seen in the dark – as you can see below.
Thankfully, the pleasant and smart frame I chose means that even when you only see the blank version on the wall, it still looks pretty damn nice!
I shall definitely be using these guys again in future – though for the sake of my wife’s sanity, I might choose something a little more “standard” to frame next time…!
