We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jake Gerth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jake, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

My industry, Custom Picture Framing, is ruled by industry standards and controlled by suppliers who sell to all vendors. The only difference from shop to shop are the people who work there (and their design skills) because the materials and methods are virtually the same coast to coast and beyond.

My wife opened a women’s boutique and I found myself inspired by the fashion industry. Exclusivity, point of view and style rule that world. I wanted to include these ideas into my shop so I embarked on making our own framing material to stand out.

I started by salvaging barn wood about 10 years ago. We are based in Cincinnati, Ohio, right across the river from Kentucky, which might be the abandoned barn capital of the world. We actually salvaged 9 full barns the first year. We researched each barn and sold them as limited batch material of each unique barn. I went door to door to other regional framers and got our barn frames picked up in multiple shops. This gave these shops a unique local product outside of the industry offerings.

I decided to vend our new product line at the West Coast Art and Picture Framing Convention in Vegas. I cleared our bank account to pay for the entrance fee and even had to borrow money from my mom to pay for our hotel room. I drove 28 hours to the show with our booth strapped to the roof of my old Jeep Cherokee.

I’m so happy to say we actually sold the entire concept to a massive national framer! I then became a consultant for a year helping them get our products on shelves all over the country. Michael’s even gave us an end cap display in all their stores!

Currently, our focus is on milling our own moulding and creating unique products and offerings, not found at your traditional Framing Shop.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I rarely say my last name because my dad is trash (his whole side of the family is really) and my daughters and wife both didn’t take my name. Therefore I am simply, Jake.

I thrive in the madness I make. I’ve always had a big mouth! I use it to excite people to the ideas I have and then use it to bite off more than I should be able to chew.

frameshop (not capitalized if possible) is the name I gave our frame shop….
Being a trade name, it can’t be protected, but that’s the way I like it. My goal is to rebuild the mom and pop frame shop industry. New shops are rarely opening and the industry is constantly consolidating to big box and online corporations.

I strongly believe every “Main Street” needs this business as part of the “town bouquet”. Frame shops are a place for people to bring their art and cherished memories. These items have tons of sentimental value and demand a personal touch. I don’t think it can fix every problem we have but I think it can surely help.

I want to help more shops open and continue to make products that the small shops can carry that set them apart from the giants who are trying to smash us.

To fuel this endeavor I have searched for new clients to rocket us to the next level. Enter the hospitality industry in our modern world. The drive to stand out and have unique experiences and storyline has helped us stand out with hotel and restaurant groups. We have been fortunate to take on and deliver large projects with great success!

We’ve worked on many hotel art packages and even have some celebrity clients, including Lebron James’ I Promise Village, Reese Witherspoon’s Production company’s office in Nashville, Peyton Mannings’ Bar and most recently Chip and Joanna Gaines boutique hotel “1928” in Waco, Texas.

We continue to lock in large projects around the country. We get hired to create art concepts then build them and lastly deliver and install. We insist on being the installer of the art we make. It makes for an easier process but also let’s us really see the country and the places we are crafting. One of my goals is to create a place where artists want to work. The travel becomes a huge benefit to my staff and customers alike.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The fastest way to illustrate how resilient I’ve been is the fact that our bank account has gone to $0 (or below, with fees, of course) many times over the history of business.

I’ve had to sell new jobs to pay for material and labor to deliver current jobs. This is not sound business advice but it does show how tight I’ve run this ship.

We have constantly leveled up to bigger projects without the help of traditional financing or investment to grow.
I’ve reinvested almost every dollar we have ever made. Our capabilities and facility have improved steadily everyday since we opened.

The level of risk scared off my business partner, who I bought out several years ago. …The entrepreneur lifestyle isn’t for everyone. Especially in an industry where money doesn’t just fall from the sky. Sales have to be made and then real work has to be done.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I have a hate relationship with Social Media.

Being 37, I grew up without it. I got my hands dirty and made things since I was a kid.
I have a real gloom outlook on the future “talent” in our country.

I feel like people are so self absorbed and obsessed with other’s through the screen that we’ve lost our humility.

I’m really pushing for old school values of hard work and self determination.

Almost everyone is copying someone else. Not taking inspiration from, but straight up copying. I’ll never forget the little cute coffee shop that opened on my block. I thought it was so special. The focus on the craft, the decor, the smells, the baristas, etc….Then I started to travel and saw every other city had the same thing. Copy and Paste culture (lead by the thumbs)….

I’m over it!

Focus on doing good work.
The money will follow if you do the first part correct.

…Then maybe start promoting yourself…

Contact Info:

• Website: www.frameshopusa.com
• Instagram: frameshopusa
• Facebook: frameshopusa