STORY AND PHOTOS BY Brenda Eggert Brader
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Articles that touch the heart, objects of art and even slices of history have come through the doors of the shop at 249 East Stuart in Lake Wales to be protected and displayed forever by custom framer Lisa Pedersen. Custom picture framing, needlework for framing, shadow boxes, prints and original art by local Polk County artists highlight her business, the Gallery and Frame Shop.

“The local artists paint Florida scenery and landscapes and some animals and birds. All the original art is on consignment,” said Lisa. She runs the shop with Jessco, an Australian shepherd and black Labrador mix, for company. Majoring in advertising at the University of Florida, Lisa Pedersen began work in Orlando in various advertising agencies and decided she didn’t like the work in the real world. A friend, who was leaving a position in Orland at a frame shop, asked Lisa if she would be interested in taking the job. Lisa did and stayed there for three years. She moved back to her native Lake Wales, bought the Gallery and Frame Shop from Tom and Priscilla Freeman, and has owned her place for 18 years.

When clients bring in the object to be framed, Lisa helps them select the right matting and frames. “I have a wide variety of frames at all price ranges and many color choices in materials for matting. Once the selections are made, the items are ordered. It usually takes a week and half to two weeks for the job to be completed. Concessions are made if someone needs it sooner. “I try to work around people’s schedule, but wanting it yesterday is not an option,” she laughs, “Although people think it is. When someone brings in a project for framing, I try to draw the elements and colors of the picture into the framing so each product is customized to the artwork.”

She has also tackled some large and unusual projects. “I have stretched canvases five by six feet,” said Lisa. “Some shadow boxes have been 36 inches by 48 inches to accommodate dresses. I just finished a wedding dress from the 1920s for a shadow box. I framed a personal item, a flapper dress of my great aunt’s that I have hanging in the shop.” She says that in most shadow boxes, the object can be taken back out with no damage to the object. If the item is fabric that is going in, then she sews it in, if glue is used, it can be removed without damage to the object. “I have framed christening dresses that have been taken out of the shadow box, used and put back in the shadow box again,” she said.

She gets to know local families and what they are doing based on what they want framed in their lives. “Of course, I get to frame all the pictures of the babies that wore those dresses too,” said Lisa with a giggle. She has framed some rather unusual items that have found their way into her shop. “I framed a piece of terra cotta tile that was dated from 49AD from Spain. I did it for a customer who does a lot of diving. He went diving off the coast of Spain and found an old shipwreck. The Spanish government let him take the piece of terra cotta to keep since it really had no significance to the government. It didn’t look like much, but it did when you knew the significance of having something that old,” said Lisa. “It was kind of neat to bringhome and have it placed in a shadow box.”

She has created a framed setting for pieces of the Berlin Wall that obviously holds a greater significance when the wall came down and you are holding a piece of history there. “I did a Florida cowboy print by Robert Butler and incorporated some barbed wire in the framing. But you can use pieces of rope or cloth to enhance a picture.” She has framed baby shoes, all kinds of clothing, war medals, and flags that adorned caskets. “One shadow box was framed for a family whose mother made biscuits every day of her life,” said Lisa. “They brought in the baking powder can she used for the cutter, the rolling pin and all the other items she used daily to do the job. I used the shadow box for the items and when the family members came in to pick it up, they cried.”

Hours for the Gallery and Frame Shop are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesday and Saturday by appointment during the summer months. Winter hours are 9:30-5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 9:30 a.m. to noon Wednesdays and Saturdays.

For more information, call (863) 676-2821.