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A landmark New York art supply store, family run for more than 80 years, is poised for expansion after being sold to new owners with big plans--including a reinvigorated focus on framing.

Eighty-three years ago, Sam Flax, an Eastern European immigrant, opened his eponymous art store in Manhattan. Over time, his business grew to two stores in Manhattan--one in Chelsea and one in Midtown--and expanded to include stores in Orlando, Fla., and Atlanta. Sam's sons, David, Leonard and Sidney (who passed away in 1986), literally grew up in the store and took over when their father died in 1969. But early this year, the brothers decided to sell the New York stores to Mark Honigsfeld. In a letter to employees announcing the sale, the brothers wrote that Honigsfeld "has a sound vision for Sam Flax [and] has a successful background with the financial strength of not only maintaining the business but taking it to a higher level."

Plans for the venerable icon, which carries albums, journals, art supplies, books, furniture, paper, presentation cases, graphics supplies and stationary and caters to customers who care about design, include multiple stores in major cities along the East Coast in the next two to three years. At the same time, the New York stores will be remodeled to serve as flagships. And part of the modifications will strengthen the stores' focus on framing.

Framing Takes Front and Center

Leading the framing department in tiffs new era is custom picture framing director Joseph Brentano. Brentano, 29, has been in the framing business for 20 years. The native New Yorker began working in his father's wholesale and manufacturing framing business at a young age and said one of his first official jobs was cutting mats. This early start cultivated a work ethic that endures today.

Brentano returned to Sam Flax last fall. (He worked there briefly as a custom framing sales associate after graduating from Penn State.) Three months later, the stores were sold to Honigsfeld, and the changes began.

The introduction of computer technology and modernized equipment will help to make the frame shop more efficient. But perhaps more significantly, a decision to move the framing sales department from the middle of the Chelsea store to the front may be the most telling change undertaken thus far. "The more exposure custom picture framing has, the more traffic our store will have and undoubtedly, the more business custom framing will bring," said Brentano. "This is solid proof of how important custom framing is to our store, and what a dramatic impact it has to our company as a whole." According to Brentano, sales in custom framing are second only to sales in Sam Flax's furniture department.

The new Sam Flax stores will include the centralized framing facility concept utilized by the New York stores. Currently, the framing facility, located in the Chelsea store, completes framing jobs for both Manhattan locations.

Catering to what Brentano describes as an artsy, student clientele, the Chelsea store sees average framing sales of about $100 to $150. Although the Midtown store is smaller, the bulk of the franking business comes from that store, according to Brentano, with average sales there at about $250 to $350. "It's not unusual to see an order for $1,250 from that store," he said. "We sell a lot of hand finished molding. It's a very big part of the business, even corporate wise."

The Inner Workings

The framing department is a busy place these days. Brentano, who oversees the work of five fitters and five sales associates, begins his workday at 7:30 a.m. By 8:15, the framing orders from the previous day are delivered from the Midtown store. By 8:30, he is reviewing the orders taken by the Chelsea store staff after he left, at about 6 p.m., the night before. The store opens at 9 a.m. He goes over any questions he has about the orders with the framing associates. He calls in any materials orders and files paperwork. Then he sets up the production day. In the morning, using a computerized mat cutter, he usually cuts all the mats for the day's work himself. A part time mat cutter lends a hand when on site. Then he gives each fitter his or her assignments. After that, he "answers 500 phone calls and 5,000 emails" and meets with vendors. Two or three times each week, he also travels to the Midtown store "just to be nosy," he said.

When it comes to vendor purchases, Brentano said it is important to include everyone who will be selling the product in the choices. He will often bring the staff together to look at and consider new items. "I have the final decision" he said, "but I like to include people in the process."

Although often pulled away from the hands-on aspects, "I still like to frame, so if something more interesting comes in, I do it," he said. His favorite framing jobs involve 3-D shadow boxes. "I like framing things that wouldn't typically be framed," he said, citing Japanese ivory, masks, jewelry and coins--"Things that don't have to hide in a drawer" he said.

Brentano, who worked for many years after college as a partner in a Manhattan frame shop with his father, sees both pros and cons to having a frame shop as part of a larger art store. "My [previous] company was basically custom framing. You relied on that. A bad day in framing was a bad day for the company. From a business standpoint, this [situation at Sam Flax] is good. It gives you more flexibility. Someone coming in to buy a glue stick may get a framing idea."

However, being part of a larger store can also mean getting pulled into different areas. "If you are helping a client frame-wise, you like to devote all your time to that person. The only downfall is that you can be distracted by other unrelated questions," he said. "But," he continued, "it does draw traffic in. One-stop shopping is nice."

Although Brentano also spends time, as he can, bringing in new corporate business, he said he would like to eventually hire an outside sales staff. "That was big in the '80s and early '90s. But the idea left a lot of companies," he said. It's a thought he would like to revive at Sam Flax.

And while he's only been back at Sam Flax for a few months, and the frame shop keeps him busy, Brentano, like any fast-talking, on-the-go New Yorker, is already itching for more. He said he'd like to learn all of the facets involved in running a Sam Flax store. "I'm a right-now kind of person," he said. "I like to make things happen."