Creative Framing Prints Etc.

645 W. Washington St., Sequim

683-2667

Hours until Nov. 30: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday

After 34 years at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Washington Street in Sequim, Don and Jaymee Peck are shuttering the doors to their business Creative Framing Prints Etc. to retire and spend more time with the families of their three children in Edmonds.

Back in 1982 as thirty-somethings, Don, now 71 and Jaymee, 70, were encouraged by family to move to the Olympic Peninsula from the San Francisco Bay area.

“I worked for a frame shop and I thought it would be fun because I like design,” Jaymee said.

“We thought it would be a good family business, being our own bosses, but it turned out to be labor intensive,” Don laughed.

That might be an understatement — over the past three decades, the Pecks estimate that they have taken about 31,340 framing orders, some with 5-10 individual photos per order.

“We began framing people’s wedding photos, then their children, then their children’s weddings, then grandchildren,” Jaymee said. “We’ve met the nicest people through our business. I think people interested in art are interesting people. It’s been nice to be part of the community — it’s a charming town even now.”

No job too odd

The couple have learned on the job, for many years tediously hand-cutting all of the mat designs, eventually embracing computers into their craft for design and layout, although Jaymee says in her opinion, hand-cutting really produces a sharper result for fine-work.

“The people want it nice and we’ve really tried to do that for them,” Don said.

“You really get to know your customers because we’re a small town and have had repeat customers,” he said. “And every job is different. With custom framing, we put multiple different things in a frame and have to be open to the customer’s ideas as well. People come in with projects that totally surprise you and that’s really the fun part — being creative with something you’ve never seen before. You have to keep a sense of humor!”

Over the years, if it could be hung on a wall, the Pecks strove to make customers’ desires happen. Some of the more notable framed items have been antique baptismal gowns, slide rule groupings, pistols, sports memorabilia including full-size footballs and baseballs, military memories and a man’s cowboy hat in a shadow box. A request for tastefully framing plumber’s tools had them laughing, the congenial couple said.

“Our most memorable experience was framing a queen-sized Mexican blanket,” Jaymee recalled. “The customer was moving to California and I tried to talk her out of it but she wanted it done.”

Don remembered framing vintage mortgage slips and sprigs of wheat from an old farm in South Dakota that were sentimental to a customer.

“We’ve done lots of treasures for people and art,” Jaymee said. “An eye surgeon had taken micro- photos of the inside of the eye and blew them up — they looked like they came from outer space.”

Reflecting on the artistry of their work, Jaymee said, “When we’re done with framing, we’ve made it look so easy. Nobody has any idea how much work goes into object framing, designs that go into framing, just picking out the right colors, the spacing, the set-up. We put in spacers to give depth of field — you do things as pretty as you can — and you never know how long it will take.”

From the cozy confines of their Sequim shop, they’ve traveled the world, the Pecks say. In presenting their trip photographs to be framed, customers have shared stories about the places they’ve visited and the cultures they’ve experienced.

The Pecks also have supported local groups by framing special projects for the Boys &Girls Club, Soroptimists and Ducks Unlimited, among others.

Winding down

The Pecks have been busier than ever in an effort to wrap up all their orders before Nov. 30, the final pick-up day for customers, and have stopped accepting orders. Don said they probably will have a sale of the display artwork beforehand.

After that, they’ll spend more time with their grandchildren and attack a home honey-do list.

“Our customers are the cream of the crop — 99.9 percent have been fabulous,” Jaymee said.

“They are wonderful and we’re going to miss them for sure. We appreciate their friendly faces and feel they’re our friends — they’re absolutely top notch and it’s been an honor working with them.”

The Pecks, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in the summer of 2017, plan to remain in Sequim.