220 S. Wabash Ave. Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 431-9588
(312) 431-9588
Chicago White Sox Flanged Lip Plexi Box Frame
Our client had the opportunity of a lifetime: She got to throw out the first pitch of a Chicago White Sox baseball game. They gave her a White Sox T-Shirt to wear and let her throw from the "Ladies Tee" just in front of the pitcher's mound. While I do not know if the ball made it across the plate, I do know that she got to pose for photos with Mike Buehrle, the starting pitcher for the Sox, got the ball she threw autographed by him and got her picture taken throwing the ball as well with her name up on the scoreboard behind her. We wanted to make this frame really special for her.
We picked out a Kelly Green Crescent Suede mat board upon which to sew down the T-shirt, orienting the shirt at an angle to break up the linearity of the composition. The photos we had to work with got mounted onto acid-free mat board platforms and we then mounted on black and silver mat board to mimic the color scheme on the t-shirt. The platforms with the photos had risers put under them to make them appear to be hovering in place. The same was done for the game-day tickets.
We picked out a Kelly Green Crescent Suede mat board upon which to sew down the T-shirt, orienting the shirt at an angle to break up the linearity of the composition. The photos we had to work with got mounted onto acid-free mat board platforms and we then mounted on black and silver mat board to mimic the color scheme on the t-shirt. The platforms with the photos had risers put under them to make them appear to be hovering in place. The same was done for the game-day tickets.
The baseball presented the greatest challenge, necessitating the use of either a very deep frame, or something known as a "flanged lip plexi box", which allows you to use any picture frame. The plexi-box protrudes out the front of it, with the bottom edge of the open side having a 90 degree "flanged lip", which hooks under the lip of the surrounding picture frame. The plexi box can be made to any size, any depth to accommodate whatever is under it. We had the box made from OP3 plexiglass, which has a 98% u/v filter to retard fading. This was important to preserve the contents of the frame.
We also had fabricated an acrylic baseball holder, which holds the autographed baseball in place without any glue or other mechanical fasteners and allows you full visual access to the ball. That holder was bolted in place to the mat board with a masonite washer behind it for strength and to keep the nut and washer from pulling through the mat board. Both the plexi box and ball holder were made by Showcase Acrylics, a division of Gemini Moulding.They did a great job on both.
The frame is a Larson-Juhl Gramercy black with silver edges and a very deep "drop shadow" lip. That means that the plexi box did not have to protrude so far past the front face of the frame. The inside of the plexi box was sized to approximately 36 x 36 x 5 1/2".
Frame design by Brian Flax, CPF
Framing executed by Dana Fisher, CPF
Framing photos by kind permission of Ruth Dorochoff
Click on the photos, below, to enlarge:
STORE INFO
- M-F 9:00am - 5:30pm
SAT 10:00am - 5:00pm
SUN Closed - 220 S. Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL 60604 - Phone: 312-431-9588
- Email: info@flaxartandframe.com