Hi, I’m Glyn. Welcome to The WorldUnderGlass

Hi, I’m Glyn.  Welcome to my blog for The WorldUnderGlass, my website where I can hopefully inspire you to take up my chosen hobby of picture framing.I first became interested in framing after watching a framing demonstration whilst on holiday in New Zealand.  As an enthusiastic photographer I took lots of landscape pictures whilst on holiday and my vision was to display the pictures in my home.Back at home I realised that the cost of paying a professional to frame my photographs was very costly and this spurred me on to learn how to frame my own pictures.  I bought my own equipment, undertook training and learned as much as I could from books and found that once you learn the techniques it becomes very straightforward to frame your own pictures.  What’s more you have some really amazing choices to make on how to make your pictures unique and personal to you and your tastes.Once I had mastered the techniques I found that family and friends were approaching me asking me to frame their pictures – it seems like everybody has a picture or two lurking in a cupboard waiting to be brought to life and displayed in a frame!My sister especially was very pleased when I offered to frame her watercolour paintings as she could be involved in choosing the mount board, the style of the frame and the composition. This really enhances the creative process.  You can create such dramatic effect for example, you can create an atmospheric mood using a dark mount and frame or perhaps create something more colourful and bright.  These choices are what makes picture framing so much fun and is one of the reasons that I decided to teach framing.Other than framing, I have a lot of other interests.  I love woodworking and I enjoy making useful items from wood. So far this year I have made vegetable boxes, a cold frame and strawberry tubs and last year I made a spice rack and a coffee table which I distressed and stained very dark and finished with old rope for a rustic feel.  I have recently taken a course in how to use a router (a tool used to create curved edges and rebates for picture framing moulding) – and this will allow me to make my own frames.As you can probably tell from the above, another one of my hobbies is gardening. I especially enjoy planting and growing my own vegetables. Part of my garden is an allotment and I have been lucky enough to have grown strawberries, courgettes, blackberries, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes and broad beans to name a few (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall eat your heart out!).  Hopefully this year, along with my new vegetable tubs, I will be able to grow many more!I have also turned my hand to making my own wine from local produce; we have had the pleasure of homemade rosehip and elderberry port wine and we have enjoyed sloe gin over Christmas for the past few years.My wife Jenny, supports me in my interests and shares my passion for whole foods and cooking.  She also appreciates locally grown food and enjoys baking and making jams and chutneys.  She enjoys creating lunches for my courses - homemade sandwiches, salads and delicious cakes.I hope that my website has inspired you to pursue framing; I would love to impart my passion and enthusiasm for framing onto you.Glyn