T&A Trader of the Week: Weaverbird Workshop in Ilkley

Philippa Enever, owner of Weaverbird Workshop - Telegraph & Argus Trader of the Week - tells us more about the business, which this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary:

Since 2004, I have been providing guidance and expertise to help my customers choose the perfect frame to complement and elevate their artwork, and then creating each bespoke frame in my workshop at the back of my shop using the highest quality and responsibly sourced materials.

The framers use sustainable materials (Image: Weaverbird Workshop)

I run the business with my long-term colleague and friend, Nik Walford, who’s been working with me for the past 15 years. We have customers from all over Yorkshire as well as further afield like London with people bringing their artwork with them when they come up north on holiday.

A self portrait of co-owner Nik Walford (Image: Weaverbird Workshop)

Nik and I are both artists ourselves - I specialise in textiles and vibrant abstracts and Nik is a portrait painter. We use the shop as a way of promoting local emerging artists by showcasing the artists’ artwork in our shop window, with all the art available to buy in store. The artists can book a slot and we change the window displays on a monthly basis.

Philippa with some of the artists' work on display and for sale (Image: Weaverbird Workshop)

We also display fine art, textiles, photography, screen prints and prints, with a particular focus on local scenes by popular established artists such as Joy Godfrey, Lucia Smith, Alex Jacob and Lisa Hinds.

We don’t just frame pictures. We can mount and frame all sorts of things, like photos, maps, certificates, paintings, textiles, posters, football shirts, medals, first shoes, keys, tiles and children’s plaster casts of hands and feet.

We’ve recently framed a jockey silk as a present and have even dealt with a scorpion which we put behind glass and mounted on a velvet board. No project is too small, too large or even too weird and wonderful!

We also offer a full conservation framing service on any piece of work, covering a variety of 18th and 19th century art works and collectables. Our preservation techniques ensure that the artwork is protected from damage and deterioration over time which maintains the condition and integrity of the artwork, making it more desirable to collectors and potentially more valuable.

* How did the business come about?

I certainly didn’t plan on being a professional picture framer. After growing up in Ilkley I went to live in London, did a degree in textiles and then went travelling. After travelling, I decided to move back to Yorkshire and settle in Addingham with my husband. I knew I wanted to do something artistic but didn’t know what.

A chance request by an Ilkley interior designer, who I was working with, to frame a piece of artwork led me to meet Geoff Benson the owner of Weaverbird Gallery which at that time was located on Station Plaza in the town centre.

Geoff took me under his wing when I was keen to learn more about framing. He trained me as a framer and when he retired, I bought the business!

I moved the premises to Wells Road, renamed it Weaverbird Workshop Picture Framers and the rest is history.

* How does sustainability come into the business?

We try and recycle everything in the shop so nothing goes into landfill. We don’t use plastics and we use responsibly sourced moulding and backing boards certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

We donate our unused frames to local artists and give away all our old tubes and mount boards which anyone can come and help themselves to.

* What’s your USP?

Because Nik and I are both artists, we pride ourselves on our eye for colour and design and can tell instinctively what will work. Each person’s artwork is special. It needs to be treated with care and attention and deserves to be presented in the best possible way and that’s where we come in.

We love providing advice and input when it comes to frame styles, colours, materials and mounting options and take great pleasure in creating a frame that really enhances the artwork’s impact.

And because we hand-make our frames ourselves in our workshop, rather than sending them away, we can deal with the whole process from initial consultation to final delivery.

Plus we’re the only picture framers locally that can do same-day framing when needed.

I feel very fortunate that I am surrounded by so much wonderful art, and that I get to see so many new and varied pieces every single day.

Nik and I complement each other perfectly in terms of work styles and no two days are ever the same. It’s a great job and I’m looking forward to the next 20 years here in Ilkley.

* Weaverbird Workshop is at 6 Wells Road, Ilkley. Tel. (01943) 817784. Visit weaverbirdworkshop.co.uk