Business: Art & Frame Naperville
Address: 115 E. Ogden Ave.
Phone/website: 630-355-0703, www.artandframenaperville.com
Owner: Agatha Blaszkowska, 60, of Downers Grove
Years in business: 17
What does your business do? “Producing fantastic long-lasting memories. I’m in the business of making people happy. People bring me all kinds of things (to be framed),” Blaszkowska said.
What sort of things? “It could be a vacation poster or grandma’s bathing suit from the 1900s. The things I’ve framed. The most exotic projects I’ve had? Guitars, hockey sticks. I had a broom from Kenya. A wedding necklace from Africa. … I do repairs for customers who are not happy with what they got (somewhere else). That’s what sets me apart. I don’t discriminate against any job. If I think I can do it, I’ll do it.”
Is most of your work repairs? “No, but I do get broken glass to replace or I’m trying to rejoin the frame. … I have wood and metal frames. Composite is difficult to work with.”
Agatha Blaszkowska, right, owner of Art & Frame Naperville, discusses her ideas for framing a Bruce Springsteen concert poster with Barbara Hauter, of Naperville. (Steve Metsch/Naperville Sun)
What’s the background? “Timing is important because I bought the business (in 2007) right at the beginning of the recession. …Two months later, everything started falling on its face. …. The first year, I didn’t even pay myself. But I just had to keep going. … I do have pretty long, at this point, experience in retail.”
Why did you buy this place? “I was always handy and I enjoy working with people. At first, I was aiming at a restaurant but I didn’t have enough funds. Thank God. That restaurant was gone after six months. We found this business for sale. I thought it might be worth trying. It was appealing to me. … I have an old school way of doing business.”
Old school? “What I mean by that is I feel that nowadays more and more businesses are approaching the business in a different way. If people come here, if I do something wrong, it’s on me. Always on me.”
What happens when someone comes in? “When you have a framer, he or she is your designer first. When you are picking out a frame, it’s always the customer’s choice.
“I’ll lead you through what I think and tell you pros and cons. That’s the designing part. But, ultimately, you are paying for the frame. You are paying for your happiness. … Most of us do the same thing. Help you navigate through the options, pick the ones that are right for you. We take in your taste. But, also, sometimes I have a customer who will put in an order for something they never thought of. … This is a challenge, but, again, it’s what do you like.”
And after designing? “The second part of the job is production and assembly. You have to know what to use, what not to use.”
What does a customer say? “I’m a regular customer,” Barbara Hauter, of Naperville, said. “She does a great job. Good eye for color. … You don’t find too many frame shops anymore. If you’re going to get something framed, you may as well get it done well,”
Any favorite stories? “A jersey for a well-known player had a sticker for authenticity. The owner told me, ‘You can’t lose it.’ The sticker was coming off. I lost it. … I turned this place upside down. I found it stuck on another board with a jersey on top of it.”
Is this a good location? “It’s fantastic because I’m near other stores people visit often. … I don’t want to be downtown. Where are you going to park?”
What about competition? “It used to be more. Young people are not necessarily going to this type of job.”
Any future plans? “Good question. I’m 60. I’d like to retire when I’m 65. That’s my plan for today. There is a need for this business. I hope I can find somebody interested in owning it. That would be a shame to give it up. … There’s a need for this service.”
What do you like about your job? “I love to create things. … I’m my own boss. … I have such good relations with people. Customers who will stop in and say, ‘Hi, how are you?’”
Anything you don’t like? “The stress. God forbid I do something wrong.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “The biggest knowledge is through experience. There are not enough books for you to read. … Have a cushion of money because it’s going to take time for people to trust you. You have to work for it. And, it takes time.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see to profiled in Down to Business, contact him at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.
