I first got started in the the framing business in 1987. I took a job in a local shop right out of high school. In 1996 I took a job as a sales rep for a regional picture frame supplier, but life on the road wasn't for me. I moved back into the frame shop. and took a job at a local chain. Over the years I  grew to be the Operations Manager for a 130 store chain. By 2004 I had had enough and was ready to hang my own shingle. I founded Gastonart & Frame with a single location. I opened a second location in a neighboring town in 2014 and a third location in 2019. Along the way I earned my CPF and the MCPF certifications. I spent many years as President of our local PPFA Chapter (NEPPFA) and spent a term on the PPFA International Board of Directors. I was a co-organizer and host of FRAMECON and am an industry educator teaching at WCAF and as a private consultant. I have seen our industry from many angles and really enjoy the business and operations side of things. 

I have been framing since 1982.  I started out at a frame shop in Nashville while attending art school. I opened my own shop in 2008. My favorite things to frame are wedding photos and music prints. If I can add a custom frame finish or French mat to a piece I will.  I am an MCPF and past president of KY/TN PPFA.  This year I had the pleasure of teaching at WCAF in Vegas achieving a goal I set for myself after attending a few shows. My current art obsession is pottery and when I am not framing I am playing in mud.

I graduated from college in 1995 with a degree in Fine Art and American History with no idea what to do next. My dad told me to get a job so I found a frame shop in Madison, WI hiring full time and willing to train. I quickly learned the business and moved up the career path as far as I could. I left for a new up and coming frame shop on the East Side. Before long I was co-owner and learning the business side of framing.  In 2007 I moved to Milwaukee and started my own business, SB Framing Gallery, in the Historic Third Ward.  I immediately joined the PPFA to continue my education and find like minded people. Eventually I was president of the Wisconsin chapter and also spent a term on the International Board of Directors.  I enjoy learning new techniques in preservation framing as well as talking and hanging with my framing friends from around the world.