Framer from Bethany Talks About His Craft

In the framing business, a good eye is key.

So says Jason Ornstein, a Bethany resident who owns Framer's Edge Gallery & Frame in Orange.

"You need a good eye for color and design," Ornstein told Patchduring an interview this week in his shop at 663 Orange Center Road.

Framer's Edge has been in business for 23 years, 19 at its current location.

“I like to be as creative as possible,” says Ornstein, whose cluttered shop carries 350 colors of matting and at least 2,000 samples of frames.

Ornstein, 46, started his craft in 1990, framing for friends and family out of his parent’s house. He continued to hone the skill throughout college, working at two shops while studying graphic design.

Ornstein says he made the decision to frame full-time after being laid off from a graphic design job following graduation.

He hasn’t looked back.

Currently some of his work is being displayed at the Houdini Museum of New York, where he created shadow boxes for an exhibit.

“I wanted to appear as if it was floating,” says Ornstein.

The Bethany resident says he’s framed guitars, sports memorabilia and, the largest of the lot, a seven-by-nine-and-a-half-foot poster from the early 1900s.

The poster was for a collector in Orange and the framing was such a project that it had to be done in the customer’s home, says Ornstein.

Clients of the Framer’s Edge span from corporate to parents to artists. Most customers are walk-ins. Ornstein, a father of two, says he particularly enjoys serving parents who bring in a child’s work.

"I have nothing but great people," he says.