Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Karl Twomey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Karl, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

In the picture framing and wood working communities, there is a lot of waste generated from materials deemed ” unusable ” or ” too flawed / too small “. We as a company strive to cut down and reduce waste wherever and however we can.

To do this, we utilize the flaws as design elements for our larger projects, and produce small usable items like coasters from the small lengths that are no longer suitable for picture frames or furniture.

We also donate matting, glazing, poster board, and other materials to our local schools and art spaces. We know how much our teachers invest in their own resources, and how costly producing art is, so we try to donate and support when and where we can.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved creating. The gratitude of making something with my own hands, supplies, and resources has been a driving factor as to why I have pursued this as more than a hobby, but a career.

Most of my adult life I’ve worked in some form of creating, starting in home remodeling and construction to now fine woodworking, picture framing, and 3d modeling. It has given me the opportunity to work along side amazing individuals and I now bring that collaboration into my business practices.

Our products have a large focus on custom framing and woodworking. We offer our clients one on one design consultations for framing their art and / or designing their furniture and homewares. We use this time to not only find complimentary design elements, but also problem solve potential issues. Our clients have expressed how important this design time is and our desire is to create products that truly wow the client.

My focus for the upcoming year is to break down the walls of competition and to instead create avenues of partnerships. There is no way I can provide every service a client is desiring, but with partnerships in place, it opens up a huge resource pool. Now my clients have access to art conservators and restoration, and my partners have access to my woodworking skills and 3d modeling services that would typically not be available to them.

Having a storefront, and a growing following on social media allows me the opportunity to promote the talent that exists right in our own backyard! It has always been a dream of mine to have a space that would boost and promote the art and artists and I regularly use those resources to show the community what beautiful creations are happening right here in our community.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Working without a college degree, and primarily in art related industries has had its challenges, ESPECIALLY In the early 2000’s. I sought out every picture frame shop all over the Bay Area, cold calling and emailing them trying to find anyone hiring. I’d find work for a year or two then ending in a similar fashion, either business slowly declining and layoffs, or the business shuttering its doors.

It was discouraging to have a passion for the work I did, but nothing sustainable. Not to mention the commute for work growing longer and longer as all my local resources had vanished. Many days I wanted to give up, just take any job I could get so I could pay the bills. I just wanted something I could count on.

What I didn’t realize were the benefits that came from working so many places in such a short time. It provided opportunities to work along side extremely talented people I’d otherwise wouldn’t have met. My skills were being refined and my capabilities growing as I learned from them, taking every moment to pick their brain, ask questions, and shadow them whenever I could.

I began this journey in a gallery shipping art, and it evolved into so much more. One place taught me museum grade art handling and archival mounting, another taught me wide format printing and graphics design, then AutoCAD and 3d modeling at another, Each place provided a new skill and truly set the foundation for me to build my company upon.

I often get asked ” How did you learn all of this? What school did you go to?”. It wasn’t school, it was this journey and all the amazing people I’ve met along the way. Those relationships are the reason, and I’m glad I was resilient enough to keep at it after every layoff and disappointment .

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2012, all my resources for employment had ended and I was unemployed. I made the decision to move to Modesto CA to stay with family and try to pursue something outside of the arts and picture framing community. It felt like one of the darkest times in my life, and it was hard to not feel like a failure.

I was very fortunate that my brother was working at Starbucks and put me in contact with the right people to secure a job. I loathed this change, and struggled daily with how I could do anything else without college education or any other real life work experience than what I had. Though dimly lit, there was a light still shining in the distance that I couldn’t loose sight of .

To my surprise, starting work at Starbucks became the foundation to so many great things. I gained friendships that eventually led to meeting my (now) life partner. These relationships via Starbucks is also how moving to Seattle became a possibility, Five of us (including me and my partner) were able to transfer to this city, find housing, and start work immediately! It was wild how everything was forming and coming together.

Moving to Seattle provided a clean slate to work from and provided me the opportunity to work in the arts and picture framing again. And provide it did. Less than six months after moving, I found an opportunity at Annie’s Art & Frame and it slowly became the best place I’ve ever worked.

Because of working at Annie’s, I was made aware of a frame shop selling and leaped at the opportunity for business ownership. It took many hours, emails, meetings, negotiations, and after months of work, finally happened. My partner and I are now the proud owners of Lucky Rabbet Custom Framing and Sarah & Karfunkel Creations.

Making the choice to move out of the Bay Area and everything I knew started off as a decision of failure. Little did I know the amazing relationships and life changing opportunities it would provide. I am beyond thankful this happened, and cherish every relationship I’ve gained along this journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.luckyrabbetframing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luckyrabbetframing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luckyrabbet
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lucky-rabbet-custom-framing-and-artistry-seattle

Image Credits
Lucky Rabbet Framing, Annie’s Art & Frame