All courses are run personally by Mike Royall GCF who is one of only a few professionally trained Guild Commended Framers (GCF) in the country. Joint tuition, up to maximum of two is also available should you wish to share the course with a partner or friend. Mike has been operating a successful art gallery and framing business since leaving a senior personnel and training position within the Aerospace Industry in 1990. His training courses have been recognised as being of the highest quality and have received full accreditation from the Fine Art Trade Guild, the art and framing industry's governing body. In addition to this he is also a qualified adult education teacher and has been teaching adults how to frame since 1995. His wealth of knowledge and experience is in great demand and he can often be found running seminars around the UK and at places such as the International Spring Fair at the NEC in Birmingham. His reputation as a teacher of framing has now stretched well beyond the United Kingdom with people from as far away as South Africa, Portugal, Kenya, Norway, Luxemburg, Australia, Nepal, Trinidad and America attending his courses.

For those who wish to learn how to frame to a professional level then a three, four or five day course is normally recommended. In this case you will be using the latest professional equipment similar to what you will need to use in your own workshop in order to produce quality work to a professional standard.

For people who wish to become a hobby framer and frame for themselves, friends and family then a one or two day course is normally sufficient. In this instance you would be using non professional equipment similar to what you are likely to be using in your own workshop.

For those who already have knowledge of framing but wish to become a Guild Commended Framer (GCF) then a one day revision course is offered where you will be put through your paces to ensure that you are ready for the exam.

Most courses will normally vary in length from one to five days depending on the level you are currently at and the level you wish to achieve. If you are in any doubt at all about the length of course that you will need then please telephone Mike for advice. One of the major differences between this course and others is that all courses are run at times to suit you, including evenings and weekends. Courses can even be spread over a number of weeks if perhaps you are the sort of person who prefers to learn more slowly. Please be advised however that as we are open for business to the public on Thursday, Friday and Saturday that any courses run on these days may involve the occasional interruption. Please be assured however that if for some reason the interruptions are excessive then we will work beyond the normal finishing time.

As each course is run on an individual basis it can be easily structured and modified to suit every individual according to what they know or don't know already. Unlike many other group courses this flexible method of teaching ensures that you will only spend time covering those areas where you have a lack of knowledge and not waste time covering old ground..

Any aspect of framing can be included such as mount cutting, mount decoration, mitre cutting, underpinning, drymounting, heatsealing, stretching and framing of needlework art, canvas stretching of oils, object or 3D framing, glass cutting, conservation framing, cleaning of oils, watercolours etc.

There are no timetables or daily schedules to keep to - only when you feel happy about one topic will we move onto the next. This we feel is a very important aspect of the learning process as we are all individuals and as such we all learn at different speeds. Mike learnt this lesson very early on in his own career when he was attending a training course with seven others and the group were learning about cutting oval mounts. Once our allotted time was up we had to move on to the next subject - the end result being that four out of the eight still hadn't grasped the basics and had yet to successfully cut an oval mount!

One of the major differences between this course and others is a rather unique one - once you have completed your course you are able to continue to learn by being able to ask for advice by telephone or email on any aspect of framing. Mike is more than happy to give advice to any of his ex students for up to 12 months after their course has finished and he believes that this service is especially valuable to anyone starting their own business.

For those who wish to start up their own framing business it must be remembered that to have a successful business you can't just rely on being good at picture framing alone. What about some of the other important aspects of running a business such as marketing, accounting and customer liaison? Unfortunately this is an area where picture framers have traditionally been very weak and many business's have failed in the past because their owners lacked adequate business skills. It is vitally important therefore that training be obtained on the business aspects of running your own framing business. Mike, who has degrees in Business Management, is able to offer this important aspect of training to all framers but it is especially useful, if not essential for those entering the trade for the first time. Topics covered include frame pricing, press releases, accounting, marketing/advertsing, running exhibitions, website set up, selling on commission and the use of computers - both for pricing and for keeping accounts.

Picture opposite
An oval / circle mountcutter

We are ideally located - away from the hustle and bustle of the city yet within one mile of both the M4 and M5 motorways. More importantly your training will be undertaken in a quiet semi-rural location which can only be conducive to good learning. Remember that on this training course you will be receiving one to one intensive tuition unlike other courses which may appear cheaper at first glance until you realise that there will be up to nine others on the course with you! For example three of our competitors charge £130, £140 and £175 per day respectively for their courses but they will each have up to ten people attending which means that each individual on the course will really only be receiving the equivalent of about 40 minutes of the tutor's time!

Two other important aspects of group courses that must be remembered is that firstly, they tend to only proceed at the pace of the slowest learner in the group (which is fine if that person is you, but if it isn't then your progress could easily be held back with the end result of you feeling rather frustrated!) In addition, group course are reknowned for always having at least one person on it who either tries to dominate the tutor's time (therefore getting as much one to one tuition that they can!) or by continually asking so many questions that the flow of the course gets disrupted.

If it's "value for money" that you're looking for then an intensive one to one course is the only real choice - it may be a little more expensive than a group course but as with most things in life nowadays you tend to get what you pay for!

Cost of Training Courses

All courses are charged by the day at the rate of £250 per day for one person. Should a second person wish to share the course with you then an additional charge of £125 per day will be made. (Please note that as we are currently not registered for VAT that the above prices will not be subject to VAT.) If you would like to book a course then it is essential that you telephone first to check available free dates.

Please note that a deposit of 40% of the total course fee will be required at the time of making your booking and this should be paid by credit /debit card. The remainder of the course fee is to be paid on the first morning of the course and this can be paid by cash, cheque or credit /debit card.

Once booked, if you later decide (for whatever reason) that you want to rearrange the date of your course then it is important that you give a minimum of 7 days notice. If less than 7 days notice is given then it will be too late for us to reassign those dates to another student and as such you will forfeit your deposit and a further deposit payment will become due. Please note that in the event of you cancelling the course that all monies paid to date will be non refundable.

Each day of the course will consist of six hours intensive tuition which will be split into two, three hour sessions starting at 10.00am and finishing at 5.00pm with a one hour break for lunch. As lunch is not provided on this course most students normally choose to visit one of the local public houses or cafes - the nearest of which is approximately three quarters of a mile away.

A listing of local hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation is available on request.

Picture opposite
A professional 48inch mountcutter

(Course information last updated 18.1.2008)