Mike Nussbaum, owner of Salt Bay Framers, moved his location down several units in Damariscotta’s Main Street Centre in January and gained two rooms he did not need for his framing business.
He first reached out to customers he regularly worked with to offer them exhibition space on consignment, and a gallery project was born with a goal of supporting artists he works with.
Nussbaum, who offers framing, mat cutting, glass cutting, mounting, and more from his shop at 472 Main St., said the project is his first venture into gallery work. He has six artists displaying work, and room for eight more, which he hopes to find by May. The gallery is now also accepting work from artists who are not customers.
Hosting a gallery wasn’t something Nussbaum planned for, but when he moved into his new location to add more physical space for his business, “it just made sense,” he said.
Nussbaum first extended invitations to his customers — artists he works with regularly providing glass, matting, and framing. He said the gallery setup he developed is unusual because it offers artists year-round, long-term display space, rather than the shorter exhibition windows of many galleries.
The artists have creative freedom with the pieces they display and their arrangement on the walls. Nussbaum said he has just a few ground rules, such as providing a biographical statement so customers can learn about the artists.
Each artist’s wall space displays four or five pieces, which Nussbaum said he hopes will provide a sampling of work that leads customers to explore more of the artists’ catalogs or to visit their own galleries.
“It’s not the whole shebang, but it’s a taste of it,” he said.
Work on display includes watercolors, pastels, wildlife photography, and prints from local artists including Gwendolyn Evans, Lisa Dombek, Jan Kilburn, Sherrie Tucker, and Sherrie York.
Seeing a finished product is a new experience for Nussbaum, as he usually works on just one or two pieces for his customers — cutting glass, matting, or framing.
“Getting to know a customer better is important,” he said. “It’s really about relationship building.”
Standing in the gallery space, Nussbaum pointed out distinct artist approaches to framing their pieces. Some use the same frames and mats for all of their pieces, while others create a unique arrangement for each artwork.
Artists often know exactly what they want when they come to his shop, though he can offer advice on questions like glass quality and frame size. For example, as Maine homes often have low roofs, Nussbaum recommends smaller frames to keep rooms in the same scale.
“The presentation of it is very important,” Nussbaum said. “It needs to be clean and look like you did a good job. The various materials can make a huge difference in how it presents.”
Working on the project together has taught him about their work and them about framing, according to Nussbaum.
“It’s been a healthy give-and-take,” he said.
To enquire about gallery space, email mike@saltbayframers.com or call 563-1789. Salt Bay Framers and gallery space is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
