Endorsement: Flying Pig Picture Frames
Look for Flying Pig’s Mondrian-esque facade in Kensington.
BY JILLY MacDOWELL | A couple months ago, I needed to frame a gallery of 24 equal-sized photographs to hang in a super-symmetrical fashion in a client's home. I went to large-craft-chain-with-male-name and they did a great job, though one was lost in the mail. The packing was thorough and the craftsmanship was solid. Respect to the team.
But when I needed to frame a single piece -- in this case, a velvety Rousseau print from the Barnes Foundation -- I sought out a specialist: A professional framer who would consider the work to be framed, the style and uniqueness and weight of the frame with respect to the art, the width and color of the mat. An artisan. An expert. I went to Dan Tag.
Man, what a feeling walking into Flying Pig. I came up in Philly in the late '80s-mid-'90s, and this felt like walking into Killtime or that mannequin factory in Port Richmond; Iron Maiden blaring, paint or some chemicals percolating in the humid air, shit everywhere, a tattooed guy covered in paint.
It's artist, framer, skater and father Dan Tag. He moved to Philly from north Jersey in 1988. He sells his own art and custom picture frames in Kensington. "I've been around art & frames all my life," he says. "The [framer] that worked for my dad taught me." He grew up skateboarding & did it semi-pro, tours abroad, etc., and he could always come back to the trade.
Tag opened his first shop at 5th & Bainbridge with a partner, then quickly relocated to Rittenhouse for some years, eventually taking over his retiring mentor's Bucks County business. Years of commuting and a Philly-based GF (now wife) inspired him to move the business back to town.
His current studio of less than a year feels like home; it was once the loading dock at the sewing factory-now-lofts. The large, kaleodoscopic space is jammed with art, mostly framed, his own and others'. Some of the best of it is Tag's turd emoji series (I've got my eye on "Duke") and these delicious, candy-coated frames reconstructed from frame scraps & some colored goo he calls "secret sauce." Recently he's been working on a pizza slice series. It's gross!
"My dad, a big, cigar-smoking Italian art dealer, he sees my stuff and tells me I'm nuts," Tag says, proudly — this, of course, is artist speak for "you're on the right track."
"He goes, 'When are you gonna put a sign on your shop?' I tell him I don't need a sign. People look you up these days. He just shakes his head." His father is 80, and still involved with his NYC gallery. God bless.
Grimy punk-pop art is a great entry point if you're looking to start collecting. And custom framing a cherished piece – whether it's a wedding photo, a museum poster or original poo-poo art – is highly recommended. It binds you with the art, the framer and the experience. Patronizing a maker's workshop enriches you. Small business enriches the city. Anyway, get something framed!
@flyingpigpictureframes, 1720 N. Randolph St., at Cecil B. Moore Ave.
