Where do framers come from?

[shayla]

College jobs that had nothing to do with who I am
on the inside, such as working in the cannery and
working on a farm that raised alfalfa seed to create
new varieties of it. Since then, sixteen years in picture
framing, which I enjoy doing.

One good thing about the jobs I had before is that
they taught me what a hard day is really like. Having
to work asparagus lug set-up for nine hours in heat that
reached 124 degrees, with a half hour lunch. Having to
ride my bike to the cannery that one summer, when the ride
was over two miles each way and my shift was from 6:42 a.m.
til 6:00 at night. And having to hoe outside when it was 109
degrees. Even on a really 'hard' day at the shop, it's nothing
like that. Plus, I like not having to kill field mice and watch out
for black widows.

 

[The Wavy Framer]

If I told you, I would have to kill you........

Really.

 

[shayla]

Would killing us with kindness count?

 

[The Wavy Framer]

Would killing us with kindness count?

Well, put it that way, and I guess I will have to tell you (I write as my brain is squirming to come up with some super duper creative lie).

Reality is boring. My first answer will remain more fun than the truth....

Certified Nursing Assistant
Nanny
Freelance and portrait photographer
Framer since 1995

Still awake? :kaffeetrinker_2:

 

[Baer Charlton]

Printer's Devil for mom, then graduated (barely) from the 8th grade. Been framing since out of most of the off and on, or in PaulN's terms in and out.

Never could figure out if I kept returning to framing for my sanity or quitting for....

 

[Baer Charlton]

Jeez Wavy! Nanny?! and you're still alive to tell about it. Nannys in MHO, rate up there with SEALs and Airborne...... actually, maybe ABs are just aspiring Nannies...... I already know that SEALs make great nannies.

 

[echavez123]

What I did in my previous life

- Misc short jobs: (Az mines, bartender, bouncer, typist ...)
- Played Rock n' Roll & Tex/Mex music in band (7 years)
- Tutored inmates in county jail for GED. Math lab at Jr College.
- Truck Driver (4 years)
- database programmer (5 years)
- Pres of computer consulting business (15 years) silicon valley
- Art circuit in CA, AZ, NV, OR (8 years)
Framing my art for 6 years. Open gallery/frame shop 1 1/2 years ago.

Ernesto

 

[The Wavy Framer]

Jeez Wavy! Nanny?! and you're still alive to tell about it. Nannys in MHO, rate up there with SEALs and Airborne...... actually, maybe ABs are just aspiring Nannies...... I already know that SEALs make great nannies.

Ya, no kiddin'.....

Me, before being a nanny....

Me After.......

Seals are a cake walk!

 

[Janet L]

Women's clothing buyer for chain of upscale clothing stores
Manager of small mall (36 stores)
Director Home Builder's Assn.
Director Chamber of Commerce
Advertising Mgr. local newspaper
Head Hunter for Staffing Agency (mostly industrial)
Opened framing biz in 96

 

[Mike Labbe]

This is an interesting thread. I have a pretty odd/mixed resume, too:

Started a landscaping company with about 5 employees (age 11-17)
Worked several summers at a summer camp
General Manager for local chain of video stores mid 1980s
Employee and then manager of a couple Radio Shack stores 1980s
Technician for big screen tv company (night clubs, homes, rentals, trade shows, etc) 1980's
Academic Computing dept head and part time instructor for local university (1986-1989)
Part time IT person for large law firm (1990-2004)
PT IT person for local chain of Mexican restaurants POS & Printers (2001-2003)
Alarm company tech (still)
Licensed contractor for data networks, voice systems, video/cctv, & phone systems (current)
Consultant to family DME/medical equipment & rental business (present)
Consultant to family Reposession business (present)
Landlord managing a few rental houses
Part time tech for a phone & vm company (design/programming) (1991-present)
Computer and network consultant 1982-present (about 60 clients, mostly medical)
Full time CIO/IT Director for Insurance related dept/agency (1989-present)
Frame shop co-owner 2002-2009 (I'm only there about 17 hrs/wk. andy is the talent!)
Dog walker

 

[Paul N]

Holy Motherboard Batman!!

And you get time to sleep too Mike???

 

[blackiris]

First job..........Bait girl...............yah I know....I sold deer tags too....
2nd job........MOM..and all the wonderful jobs that go with it
3rd.....framing...and various other things that I cant say NO to.....

 

[RoboFramer]

I did this same topic once - here's my wife's jobs from that topic.

(advanced search 'jobs' in topic titles only, by me, in Warped)

Part time:
1. cafe counter worker
2. pet shop / garden supplies
3. estate agent
4. paper/sweet shop
5. coffee bar in bingo hall
6. paper round for Salvation army

Fulltime:
1. merchant banking
2. computer officer for sign company
3. haulage company - transport manager
4. international removal company - transport manager
5, horticultural - trade grower, mainly fuchsias
6. shepherdess
7. warden of animal sanctuary
8. veterinary nurse
9. jewellery maker
10. road manager for jeweller maker
11. telling roboframer there was no way I would work for him for 6 full days a week.
12. working for roboframer for 6 full days a week!!

 

[TomDrama]

Bachelor's degree with double-major in Theater / Psychology in the '70's

Worked for years as a Recreational Therapist in psychiatric hospital. (which was pretty good training for working in retail)

 

[Pat Murphey]

38 years as an airline pilot - started my frame shop 7 years before I retired from flying.

 

[PicturedFramer]

Graduated in Photography and Fine Art
First job as a Graphic Artist - then a Journeyman Pressman
Dad
Dad
Started 2 printing companies sold both ( went nuts)
Executive printing sales (got sane)
Been in Framing only a couple of years (going nuts)

 

[Cavalier]

Cavalier - just stuck on the image of stripper then to librarian.......... : )

We had shirts in college: "Co-Ed Naked Image Assembly: Strippin' for a livin'!"

 

[Jody]

VP in sales at a bank
But, my Dad owned a saw sharpening business and was a master woodworker - so I always used to hang out in his shop and putter. Making frames was my favorite thing to do when I was a young-un.

 

[Pangolin]

-lawnmowing (7th grade - 12th grade & part of college)
-babysitting (high school)
-Student (bachelor's in speech & hearing sciences)
-grocery store clerk & stock team 3rd shift (college)
-specialty grocery stocker and display builder (college)
-framer (college)
-Student (assoc. in applied science in interpreting/transliterating for the deaf/ ASL)
-Student (Master's in Deaf Education)
-Framing (yeah, more)
-Pick & pack, manager, forklift driver, whatever-else-needed-to-be-done (local seed packing company)
-Started my jewelry business
-Framer (at my own shop!)- for almost 2 years now!
-started selling bento boxes and tiffins - for about two months

I still mow lawns now and then.. The jewlery, frmaing, and bento are all based in the same shop, but I still travel to art shows for the jewelry, and I'm working on setting up an on-line store for the bento/tiffins/accessories I have in the shop.

I don't sit still well!

 

[jim_p]

Graduated from MIT in 1984, spent 20 years in the corporate world doing software development (Operating System Internals, if you know what that means. Most recently doing Linux kernel internals). Started my frame shop in 2004.

The way I got into framing: I married an artist a year out of college. Twenty years hanging around art and artists will rub off on you I found that working with my hands was much more satisfying than slinging bits and bytes...

Before that I worked in my parents' printing business (hot metal... those were the days!). Gave me some of the basics I use to this day in digital imaging.

Spent a summer on the loading dock of a potato chip factory (hey, at least the boxes were real light!)

Various odd jobs in college...

 

[prospero]

First job..........Bait girl...............yah I know....I sold deer tags too....
2nd job........MOM..and all the wonderful jobs that go with it
3rd.....framing...and various other things that I cant say NO to.....

I thought that said Batgirl.

I must stop squinting at PC screens in the middle of the night........

 

[Sister]

Part time sales clerk in jewelry and clothing stores during high school and college.

Girls' Health and Physical Education teacher for 2 years (7th-12th grade) prior to 2nd Bachelor's and Master's Degrees.

Office Manager and Adult Education Teacher for 5 years.

Business Ed. teacher in Military Academy for 3 years (7th-12th grade). That was an experience!!!

Computer Ed. teacher in Middle School (7th and 8th grade) for 18 years.

Retired teacher turned framer 6 years ago.

I am almost over my nervous twitching from all of those years teaching, but I still have a problem when I see a school bus!

Dealing with parents was great training for working with the public.

My dentist says he is glad I retired when I did; otherwise, I would have clenched my teeth down to nothing.

 

[David St Lawrence]

Design engineer 9 yrs
Corporate Executive 20 yrs
Independent Consultant 10 yrs
Corporate executive 20 more years
micro-business owner 5 yrs
self-published author - Danger Quicksand - Have A Nice Day
Framer 3 yrs

Custom framing is the ideal career for me.

Every project is different and I get to work with artists every week.
The Grumble is a fantastic support group. It is like having hundreds of mentors available on call.

 

[loosehorse]

1) Raised, trained, showed horses-Western & hunter/jumpers.
2) Preschool teacher
3) First female hired by Pitney Bowes LA service dept. Repaired all equipment but specialized in copier divison.
4) Pari-Mutuel teller at the horse races.

 

[Twin2]

Didn't think of listing my part-time jobs while I was growing up... so here goes...

Newspaper delivery person (age 9-12)

Cleaning my brother's apartment and ironing his shirts (got a whopping $1.50/per hour cleaning and an extra 25 cents per shirt - I still hate ironing to this day) (age 13-16)

Cleaning the set of offices where my brother had his computer company (age 13-16)

Data entry at my brother's computer company (age 15-20)

Started part-time programming at my brother's computer company while completing a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Computer Science. Became a full-time programmer after graduation.

See earlier post for rest of my list.

Looking back at my list, it looks like I might have been un-employed if it weren't for my brother . Note the 'age range' may not be completely accurate - I'm getting old and can't remember specifics!!

 

[Vaska]

Seems like all I've been doing since late 80ies until 2004 was to acquire and improve my survival skills in an urban environment : ))

Economy started collapsing in '89. My 'fresh' degree in engineering was useless. Found a job for an insurance company. Then at a bank. The bank went bankrupt - moved to another one. It failed too...7 different jobs in the financial sector for 10 years. Always on the run, always on alert..: )))
In a decade of bank failures, political chaos, social unrest, paralyzed health care services, regime of water supply, regime of electricity supply, uncontrollable street crime, hyper inflation and 1 denomination of the national currency - I somehow managed to be jobless for 3 weeks only /in 2002/, to complete 4-year studies in Finance and Banking /mainly nights and weekends/ and the only job that kept me alive and made sense in this madness - raised a child by myself /the 'father' had abdicated by mid 90-ies/

* hyperinflation - when you need a kilogram of banknotes to buy a kilogram of bread; a month later you need 3 kilos of money to buy a kilo of bread /if you can find it/ : )))

regards

 

[BILL WARD]

32years---mainframe programmer/analyst (that 'was' "DataProcessing" for all who might not know)

 

[couture's gallery]

32years---mainframe programmer/analyst (that 'was' "DataProcessing" for all who might not know)

so how many years framing???

 

[freakquency]

Basicly self employed for EVER...

but

Musician: Guitarist
Played in many bands and orchestras.
Including:
City Theatre Orchestra: Plays like Man of Lamancha, Grease etc.
City Studio Orchestra: Sat in when a guitarist was needed.
Dinner Theater variety Acts.
Cover Bands: Proms, Dances, Clubs, Bars ... only was shot at once.
. Drunks always were the ones yelling: "You're the greatest band ever!"

Started a band called 'Slayer' .. went to college instead of California to become a rock star .. boy did I blow it.

Currently trying to put together a Blues/Classic Rock gig. anyone available?

As a yout' did the myriad of odd jobs: Pizza resturant, Grocery Store, Bagger, Warehouse Fork lift operator. (This was an army Warehouse and the fork lift was huge, it could lift a TANK)

and many more ...

 

[Dave]

Shane...

I still play a fretless bass. It's an old Guild Jetstar bass I bought new in 1972 and totally reworked making it fretless.

Blues is what I play now but played in classic rock bands for about 15 years.

Sold my old Kay blond full size upright a couple years ago to my Omega rep. I should've held on to it.

We could form the "Grumblin' Blues Framing Revue Band"!

Anybody have a washboard?

 

[Ylva]

,
Started a band called 'Slayer' .. went to college instead of California to become a rock star .. boy did I blow it.

'Slayer' as in the heavy metal band?

 

[Randy Jordan]

LOL, I guess there is enough room for my list of careers, none of which were extremely successful. 1. USAF, 2. Aircraft electrician on Boeing 747, 3. Bookkeeper for car dealership, 4.Staff accountant for CPA firm, 5. Bookkeeper for nuclear power plant construction, 6. Contract Framer (houses), 7. Restaurant owner, 8. New Car Salesman, 9. Dealership Business Manager, 10. Picture framing class student at one of Paul Casio's classes, 11. Bump on real picture framer's behind. If that ain't enough for 1 person then I quit! lol! Randy J.

 

[globalframer]

globalframer

Wrapped Cheese

 

[Bob Doyle]

That's so cool! For years I've been un-wrapping cheese!

Actually in what capacity? For a big company or do you make your own?

 

[globalframer]

Small cheese factory we cut up and package it I ran the machine that put the wrap on

 

[Bob Doyle]

We're turning out to be a pretty diverse group! Guess Paul can't use this list of past jobs as a "mailing list" for his classes.

I got into framing Paul because I was out of work. Maybe you could blanket employment centers as possible framing class candidates

 

[MnSue]

I got into framing Paul

did you use Mus. Glass?

 

[Bob Doyle]

Nope, used opaque plexi. Nice guy, but have you seen him

OK he's handsome, so ugly me had to cover him up!

 

[gggnipp]

Bought my framing business from another Vietnam Combat vet. It is a great stress reliever. I have so many customers that just come through the door and allow my imagination to take over. In a year i've grown from a 560sqft shop to my brand new 1500sf metal building and a lot of new equipment.


Thanks be to talent on loan from GOD.

 

[shayla]

Yes, Ylva, that band. Shane's so cool, it gives me hypothermia just to be near him.
Not that I'm a Slayer fan, but doing that is still pretty dang high on the cool chart.

Welcome to the Grumble, gggnipp! You'll like it here.

 

[Uncle Eli]

Grease Monkey --for the family trucking company
Truck Washer-- ditto
Commercial & residential painter
Paint store clerk
Window display artist--for interior design firm
Spotter for Dozer cuts-- for forestry/fire department (actually got run over by fire on this one)
Outdoor equipment sales
kayak instructor
rock climbing instructor
Hooters Fry Cook
Telephone interview agent
Car salesman
Camp Counselor
Beer Man for Sporting events @ CSULB
Freelance Photographer
B.F.A. Photography
Bagel maker
Portrait Photographers assistant
Framer (2 yrs)
Frame Shop manager (different shop 3 yrs)
Bouncer
Frame Shop Manager (different shop 3 yrs)

 

[shayla]

Eli, you officially have my favorite resume.

So, when you were run over by fire, did you hide in one
of those little heat tent thingies? You're lucky to be alive
after that one, my friend.

I've been a camp counselor too, but I'm guessing that
yours was paid and lasted way longer than mine. Mine
was at our church camp, with a cabin full of 9 to 11 year old
girls. The first time I was seventeen and had just graduated
from high school, and the second time, I was nineteen. Only
had one hour prior notice the first time, but it was a great week.
One of the girls in the cabin was eleven at the time, and she
wrote me letters until she was in college. A sweet memory.

I'm smiling at all you've done. Hooter cook, bouncer, kayaks.
You're going to have so many stories to tell your kids. LOL...
okay, maybe some you can tell and some you can't.

 

[Seamo]

Graduated as an Electronics Engineeer;
Worked in Australian Telecommunications industry for same Telco for 29 years, finishing up as General Manager;
Worked for telecommunications supplier for 5 years as Project/Program Director, both in Australia and New Zealand; during this time, undertook a Picture Framing course, and started to develop it as a part time hobby;
Took early retirement in 2004, and undertook private consulting work both in Australia and New Zealand, while converting the picture framing hobby into a business.
The commute from the front door to the garage sure beats the heck out of the commute into the city, or the regular commute from Melbourne to Sydney. However, I do miss the frequent flyer points.

 

[Uncle Eli]

Eli, you officially have my favorite resume.

So, when you were run over by fire, did you hide in one
of those little heat tent thingies? You're lucky to be alive
after that one, my friend. . .


I'm smiling at all you've done. Hooter cook, bouncer, kayaks.
You're going to have so many stories to tell your kids. LOL...
okay, maybe some you can tell and some you can't.

Did I also mention that I just turned 30

In response to the fire question Yea, My dad was driving the Dozer, and I was spotting for him, we got a radio call that the fire had broken an adjacent line, and was headed for us. Halfway through the message we saw the fire coming for us. He put the blade on the ground, and angled the dozer with it's back to the fire. We deployed our fire blankets and got under them. I was only about a foot from my dad, but I couldn't even hear him the fire was so loud. once it came over us, it was all I could do to hold onto the blanket, the wind was so strong It was trying to rip the blanket out of my hands. I was yelling at my dad, but couldn't hear anything, I didn't know if he was still alive. it lasted for what seemed like forever, but was actually about 5 min. once the wind died down, My dad peeked out and most of the fire had cleared us. We hopped up and jumped on the Dozer and headed back to camp. Mind you there was no more seat, or rubber handles on anything. One of the most frightening and exhilarating experiences of my life

 

[Paul N]

Hooters Fry Cook

And you got paid too!!!

 

[Uncle Eli]

And you got paid too!!!

What i loved about that job, was the fact that it was an open kitchen, You felt like you were at a party all the time. We also didn't have bouncers at ours, so anytime a drunk customer got a little grabby with one of the girls, we had permission from the owners to jump the counter and "escort" the #### out. There were quite a number of times that the ****s would roll all the way into the street when we tossed them.

 

[Cavalier]

Started a band called 'Slayer' .. went to college instead of California to become a rock star .. boy did I blow it.

Not THE Slayer, right? I mean, you're pulling my chain, right?

Right?

RIGHT?!

...because, D U D E. Just ... D U D E. Because if you did, I can tell Bill that yes, metal bands do have talent and I can point to you and say, "See? Told you so!"

But I digress.

EDIT w/ question: Why is D U D E a naughty word?

 

[t_lewis]

My life before being a framer

My last held position was a neuromuscular therapist
Massage Therapy Instructor
Infant Massage Instructor
Dialysis Tech
Certified Nurses Aid
Emergency Tech Basic (small town volunteer)
Cooked in a small town cafe, waited tables, and everything in between
Farmed - drove heavy equipment for endless hours - chased, worked, hauled cattle, milked cow and goats, raised chickens, ducks, turkeys and anything else that found it's way to our house. (yes, they have all been through my kitchen or bathroom at some time or another)
and developed the character of 4 great kids during that time.
Farming and Massage were dual jobs for nearly 10 years - as seasons allotted and became full time massage/ instructor when I became a city girl.

 

[lisamarie_b]

Art student /waitress
Art student/time to make the donuts lady
Art student/counselor
Art student/gallery assistant
Art History teacher/framer
art buyer/framer
framer
waitress
framer/waitress
waitress/framer
banquet manager/framer
sports bar marketing director
sales rep uniform company/framer
sales rep wireless/framer
sales rep FedEx/framer
4 month stint as housewife....not a good fit...still a wife, but....
framer
frame shop owner

 

[Rick Granick]

I went to the University of Cincinnati, and studied industrial design and sociology. During my whole time in college, and for about another year thereafter, I worked as a framer/designer at a local gallery. Started my shop in 1977. So, outside of extracurricular activities (music, graphics, etc.), I guess I've never really done anything else.
Rick