Oddly shaped balls

A sports supplier from Lisburn recently approached me to frame some Ulster Rugby sporting items. Nothing unusual in that request apart from the shirt to be framed was for display and not for hanging on a wall and the other item was a full sized rugby ball they wanted suspended in a frame so that you see all sides easily.

Both items were to be used as the window display in their shop. The client also specified that the frames had to be black and hand machined with black mounts.

The shirt framing was done with a hand made stand as the frame had to be stood at a specific angle to minimise reflections of not just the glass of the frame but of people looking through the glass window and the glass of the frame. It also had to be heavy duty to support the weight of the large top, framed. It was also hinged to allow for movement and cleaning in and around the window display.

The ball concept is one of those known in the trade as a ‘framer’s nightmare’. The double glass solution is a complex one, the type of glass used, the size of the aperture to allow viewing of all sides and it is tested in various lights, such as the photo below to see where shadows fall and to minimise this. Where the ball was to be mounted was also important as this would decide the depth of frame and shadow lighting. The internal surface of the finished box is also coated with specific finishes to minimise reflections and give definition to the edges of the ball from different viewing angles. Finally the suspension mechanism requires a lot of attention as it needs to be discrete and because once its in, its in!

I delivered both items to the shop premises in Lisburn and I have to say they really do add the wow factor to the window display.

 

Acorn framing framed rugby ball

acorn-framing-rugbyshirtstand