It’s Mother’s Day Month here at Chez Townsel. Yes, you read that right. Month.
As a working single mother, I found early on that the actual Sunday designated by the greeting-card companies often wasn’t the best day to celebrate. And, with a mother and a stepmother to honor as well, Mother’s Day seems to have become a whole month of cards, flowers and family buffets for all the moms in our family.
That means, then, that May now takes almost as much work as Christmas: hams to glaze, pies to bake and presents to make and wrap for our series of weekend celebrations. The bright spot in all this is that I’m so busy, I lose track of dates — so
I’m always shocked when my small person, Sadie, presents me with another carefully “wrapped,” homemade treasure.
Over the years, Sadie Lady has made me plaster handprints framed with paper plates, an acrylic painting on canvas, a mosaic-on-tile number, and a collage of her feet and handprints in felt. I remember exactly what she’s made each year because, after I polish off half a box of Kleenex and dispense about 50 hugs, I take her creations straight to Vikki Espinosa at Bishop Arts Custom Framing, in the Bishop Arts District at 601 Haines. And, every year, Vikki has helped me frame my treasures in way that delights me — and makes my kid beam with pride.
Mother’s Day presents. Special art assignments. Love notes written in crayon. (“There’s no mom as nise as you.” “I love you more than n-eboty.”). I take it all to Vikki, and she makes permanent memories out of my kiddo’s priceless treasures. From standard frames for flat art to 3D shadow boxes, Vikki has been my partner in not just preserving, but displaying, Sadie’s efforts so that I constantly enjoy my kid’s creativity.
We trust Bishop Arts Custom Framing because Vikki treats everything we bring her — from tempera paint on construction paper to glitter pen on popsicle sticks — with the same care my kid took in making it. “If you think enough of artwork to custom frame it, I’m going to give it all the respect it deserves,” she explains. “We use only the best products available, and we use museum-quality preservation practices, so I’m able to help you keep the art in its original condition.” Any mommy who has watched a painting fade from red to pink on the front of a refrigerator knows what she’s talking about.
If you’re looking for a way to make Mom — or your kids — happy, my rug rat and I heartily recommend taking some of your family’s treasured artwork to Vikki at Bishop Arts Custom Framing.
Sadie’s Frame
Miss Vikki’s is a cool place! She has a dog named Stevie that wears a bandana, so I like it when we go to get my artwork framed! My house has lots of my art that Miss Vikki framed for us. It looks professional! Her shop is really cool inside, with lots of upside-down V’s with colors of frames. She even has cow-print frames. I love cows — they are my favorite animal — so that is my favorite kind of frame. If Miss Vikki turned all the frames the other way, it would look like smiles all over the walls — and a bunch of Vs for her name. One time, I was in the first-grade play, “The Stinky Cheese Man,” and we got the poster framed! It was so awesome! I love Miss Vikki!
– Sadie Townsel, 7, 2nd-grader
Canterbury Episcopal School
