Date: Fri 22-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

business-Svanda-framing

Full Text:

w/photo: Svanda Opens Framing Shop in Brookfield

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

David Svanda didn't bat an eye when a woman came into his shop and asked him

to frame a nearly 20-year-old box of instant mashed potatoes.

"It was a family joke," Mr Svanda said. "Apparently she and her brother had

been sending the box back and forth between them since 1979. This year she

decided to put it in a shadowbox and present it as a gift."

Framing an old package of mashed potatoes may be one of the strangest jobs Mr

Svanda has done, but few requests surprise him after 10 years in the framing

business.

"I frame everything from posters to valuable original artwork," he said. "I

make shadow boxes for memorabilia, frame needlework and mirrors, family

photos, certificates and christening gowns - you name it, I frame it, in any

size, even 8x4-feet and larger."

On October 1, Mr Svanda opened Svanda's Framing & Art at 107 Federal Road in

Brookfield, directly across from Caldors. A native of Newtown, (his twin

brother operates the Mark Svanda Painting Company), David Svanda worked for a

local frame shop for the first seven years, then went out on his own two years

ago.

"I did all the framing for a gallery in Southbury, worked with an interior

design shop in Brookfield and a furniture store in Watertown -

simultaneously," he said. "I did a lot of running around."

During that time he looked for a good location for his own shop and was

fortunate to find the spot between the Oak Furniture Warehouse and New England

Carpet in a small red building which until recently housed the Beltone Hearing

Aid Center.

"This is the perfect location because there is a traffic light so that cars

can turn right or left into and out of my driveway," he said.

And as the only framer in the busy area between Costco and Stew Leonards, his

shop was busy from the day that he opened.

"All of the work is done here, on the premises," he said. "There's usually a

one- or two-week turnaround, but I can do anything in a rush if necessary."

Mr Svanda also sells decorator prints, fine art prints and original art which

he often purchases at auctions and re-frames. He has prints of area towns

including artist Pat Gallagan's winter view of the Newtown Meeting House and

the flagpole. One night a week a teacher holds a folk art class at the frame

shop.

One of his biggest sellers - four the first month in the new shop - was Andrew

Wyeth's Master Bedroom. "I can't keep it on the wall," Dave Svanda said.

Sketches of famous sports personalities like Thurmon Munson and Mickey Mantle

are popular gifts. Besides the in-stock art, Mr Svanda has several books of

prints which can be ordered with delivery in a few days. And he has a list of

area artists who can produce sketches or paintings of people, animals or

houses.

All of the work is framed with acid-free matting so that it doesn't

deteriorate over time. Special UV protective glass also is available for

valuable pieces.

The shop includes a children's area where tots can be occupied while their

parents arrange for framing.

Svanda's Framing & Art is open Monday-Saturday from 10 am to 5:30 pm, Thursday

until 8 pm. During December the shop also will be open on Sunday afternoons

and most evenings. For more information, call Mr Svanda at 775-4528.