16 Oct From Fair to Outstanding
The key to any successful surprise is listening. Nothing shows a person you love and care for them like a thoughtful, unexpected gift. These are some of our favorite projects to work on because gifts mean so much to our clients and their recipients. When the piece is finally picked up, we always wonder how the surprise went. That’s why we were excited to hear that Philip’s gift was a triumph with his wife.
Philip had a photo of his wife from when she was twenty-one years old. “My wife [stated] that this was one of her favorite photos that she had professionally taken [after] arriving in Long Island from Michigan with her family,” recalls Philip. He knew he wanted to enlarge and frame the image for her as a surprise.
The hard part was finding someone who could help with this project. “I knew absolutely nothing about restoration,” says Philip. “I happened to Google ‘photo restoration’ and Coyle Studios appeared. I was very impressed with the company’s presentation.” He sent in the photo, and our team got to work.
Thrilled and Delighted
For Philip’s project, we photographed the original image and made a restored archival print. We framed our print using a thin, champagne frame with a repeating fleur de lis pattern throughout the moulding. The frame brought a delicate elegance that highlighted his wife’s beauty and youth. “I was delighted! The family loved it,” remarks Philip. “My wife was thrilled with the quality of the picture and frame. The original condition was fair. The end results were outstanding. The final result was my favorite part [of the process].”
Surprise gifts are always fun for everyone–especially the members on our team. We love giving gifts and knowing that we helped bring joy to someone’s day. “It’s always an honor to work on a gift,” says Mary Lou Coyle. “There is such an element of trust that you will make it fabulous and won’t ruin the surprise. I’m always excited to give a client something that I would be proud to give one of my loved ones.”
Building Trust
Philip recently sent a second photo to our studio as a gift for his children. He mailed in one of his favorite black-and-white photographs of his wife taken years ago. Mary Lou made copies, and Amy framed each one in a sophisticated, thin black frame. The special part of this project for our team is that it was completed 100% online and by mail.
For Mary Lou, online transactions and gifts all come down to trust. “When we’re working on a gift, we try to ask the right questions because the final pieces aren’t for our client but for their audience,” Mary Lou explains. “When we’re working on a project that’s fully online, we try to ask those same questions and give our clients the same options as if they were in the studio. That trust is huge.”
We mailed the final framed pieces to Philip who was pleased to receive them. “They will be given to my sons and their families. Words cannot express how I felt when they were received,” says Philip. “I will bring them to the families when I fly to see them this month. It was extremely emotional for me to see the exceptional quality of the photos as it brought back a most memorable time.”
