01Move
DNA dimensions
Commissions/week, avg ticket (£42–£420), conservation vs standard mix, trade share (galleries + photographers + designers), online click-and-collect, mount + canvas attach %, turnaround time.
All playbooksSmall business
Framing shop playbook.
An independent UK bespoke picture framer running gallery-grade conservation framing, mount cutting + canvas stretching, plus a ready-made + online range. The 2026 win is the trade pipeline — galleries, photographers, interior designers — alongside high-margin retail commissions.
Reference fit-out · Framing shop
Overview
A UK indie framer in 2026 runs three engines: retail bespoke commissions (£48–£280 ticket, 58–68% margin, 28–42/week — family photos, prints, kids' art, sports memorabilia), conservation + gallery-grade (£180–£640 ticket, 52–62% margin, 6–14/week — limited editions, original art, museum-grade work), and trade (galleries + photographers + interior designers, £42–£180 ticket on volume — 22–34/week at 32–42% margin but recurring). Maths: 32 retail × £88 = £11k + 10 conservation × £320 = £13k + 28 trade × £72 = £8k = £32k/month at a solid single site. Online postal framing (send-in art + frame returned) adds £4–£8k. The 2026 strategy is the trade pipeline — once you have 8 galleries on monthly accounts, you have 60% predictable revenue and only need retail to lift margin.
62
Commissions/week
£128
Avg ticket
42%
Trade share
№ 01 / What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Cutting + assembly
Morso F + chopper (mitre + underpinner)
£3,400–£6,400
Cassese CS-3099 / Alfamacchine T200 underpinner
£3,400–£5,400
Valiani Mat Pro / Logan Compact 650 mount cutter
£3,400–£14,000 (CAD-driven)
Fletcher 3100 glass cutter (vertical)
£1,400–£3,400
Heat press (dry-mount Seal / Drytac)
£2,400–£4,400
Canvas stretching pliers + bars + workbench
£420–£900
02
Workshop bench + tools
Cutting + assembly bench (3m steel-top)
£1,800–£3,400
Hand tools (V-nails, taps, points, glazing tape)
£420
Conservation kit (acid-free tape, museum mounts, UV glass)
£640–£1,400
Mirror + spirit level + plumb line
£180
03
Showroom + display
Moulding sample wall (600+ corner samples)
£3,400–£8,400 (free from Larson-Juhl)
Frame display wall (50+ assembled samples)
£1,400–£3,400
Quote desk + iPad + Shopify POS
£900–£2,400
Ready-made frame gondola (gift sizes)
£900–£2,400
04
Stock + supplier accounts
Larson-Juhl + Wessex + Arqadia moulding accounts
30-day net once trade-vetted
Opening moulding length stock (top 60 SKUs)
£3,400–£8,400
Mount board (Crescent, Larson, Daler)
£900–£2,400
Glass + acrylic + UV glass + museum glass
£900–£2,400
Backing board, V-nails, hangers, cord
£420–£900
№ 02 / Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Adjacent to galleries + photographers
Within 0.5 mi of an art cluster
Trade walk-in is the volume driver.
Affluent residential catchment
Within 5 mi of ABC1 households
Bespoke retail is income-correlated.
Unit size
60–140 m² shopfloor + 30–60 m² workshop
Morso + underpinner + mat cutter + stretching bench need separation.
Loading access
Wide doors + lift if upper floor
Moulding lengths arrive 3m bundled, weekly.
Class E
Existing commercial
No change-of-use needed.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
London Zone 1–2 (Mayfair / Marylebone / Notting Hill)
£3,400–£8,400
Premium retail + trade. Gallery cluster walk-in.
London Zone 3–5 (Stoke Newington / Dulwich / Chiswick)
£1,400–£3,400
Sweet spot. ABC1 residential + photographer trade.
Regional city centre (Bath / Edinburgh / Bristol / Brighton)
£900–£2,400
Tourism + gallery + local commissions.
Market town high street
£420–£1,200
Lower volume, sticky loyalty, occasional luxury commissions.
№ 03 / Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqCompanies House Ltd
Companies House
£12
Same day
OptFine Art Trade Guild — Commended Framer (GCF)
FATG
£280–£640/year + £640 assessment
12 weeks (test + portfolio)
OptFederation of European Picture Framers (FEPF)
FEPF
£180–£280/year
4 weeks
ReqPublic + product liability insurance (incl. art-in-care)
Hiscox / Aston Lark fine art
£420–£1,400/year
1 week
ReqEmployer's liability
Broker
£240/year
1 day
ReqCOSHH (UV glass + adhesives + cutting dust)
HSE-compliant assessor
£280–£640
2 weeks
ReqWaste carrier registration (glass off-cuts + moulding)
Environment Agency
£154/3 years
2 weeks
ReqICO data protection
ICO
£40–£60/year
1 day
№ 04 / Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 0 — Site + supplier accounts
Weeks 1–6- Site search (gallery / ABC1 cluster)
- Open Larson-Juhl + Wessex + Arqadia trade accounts
- 12-month cashflow + £55–£130k funding
02
Phase 1 — Fit-out
Weeks 5–10- Workshop bench + Morso + underpinner + mat cutter install
- Moulding sample wall build
- POS + Lifesaver Framing software go-live
03
Phase 2 — Stock + accreditation
Weeks 8–11- Opening moulding + glass + mount stock
- GCF certification (test + portfolio)
- Insurance + licences
04
Phase 3 — Soft launch + trade
Weeks 10–12- Friends + family commissions at cost
- Local gallery + photographer outreach (target 6 trade accounts)
- GBP + 30 reviews
05
Phase 4 — Open
Week 12+- Open Tue–Sat
- Online send-in postal service live
- Trade-account monthly billing in place
№ 05 / Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Lease deposit + 3 months
£2,400 → £8,400
Shopfit + sample wall + display
£8,400 → £22,000
Workshop kit (Morso + underpinner + mat cutter + press)
£14,000 → £32,000
Opening moulding + glass + mount stock
£6,400 → £14,000
POS + Lifesaver + IT
£1,400 → £3,400
Branding + GCF + licences + insurance
£1,800 → £4,400
Pre-launch marketing + trade outreach
£900 → £2,400
Working capital (3 months)
£8,400 → £18,000
Typical total
£43.7k–£104.6k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Rent + service charge
£900 → £4,400
Business rates (after relief)
£0 → £1,400
Utilities
£240 → £640
Materials COGS (32–42%)
£4,400 → £12,000
Wages (framer + counter + apprentice)
£4,400 → £12,000
Insurance + memberships + software
£280 → £900
Marketing + postal kits
£280 → £1,400
Typical total
£10.5k–£32.7k
№ 06 / Numbers that compound
How a framing shop actually looks on a chart.
Interactive projections rebuilt from real UK operating data — toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Source · NAVIZIX 2026 UK Fine Art Trade Guild Commended Framer cohort (n=18 shops, 60–180 m²)
№ 07 / First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 1
Soft open: 12 quotes given, 8 commissions deposited, £640 take.
02Day 7
First week: 38 commissions (£3.4k), 2 gallery trade enquiries, 6 family-photo orders.
03Day 30
Steady: 180 commissions (£18k), GCF test passed, 4 trade accounts active.
04Day 90
Full ramp: £28k/month, 8 trade accounts (£11k recurring), turnaround stable at 7 days.
05Day 180
Mature: £38k/month, Christmas peak (£52k Dec) for family-portrait commissions, postal service contributing £4k.
№ 08 / What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a framing shop.
02Move
Suggested route
Become Fine Art Trade Guild Commended Framer + GCF (Guild Commended Framer) certified, partner with 6–10 local galleries + photographers on trade-account pricing, offer a 7-day standard / 14-day conservation turnaround, launch an online quoting + send-in postal service.
03Move
Automations
Quote follow-up SMS, frame-ready collection SMS, trade-account monthly statement, anniversary 'frame your wedding photo' nudge, postal kit dispatch confirmation.
04Move
Integrations
Lifesaver Framing / SpecRight job management, Shopify for online quoting, Stripe, Klaviyo, GBP, Larson-Juhl / Wessex Pictures supplier portals, Xero.
05Move
Benchmarks
Avg ticket, conservation mix, trade share and turnaround time vs Fine Art Trade Guild Commended Framer cohort.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors from Fine Art Trade Guild (FATG), Federation of European Picture Framers, ex-John Jones / Darbyshire framers.
№ 09 / Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
Owners of a framing shop often run — or cross-sell with — these adjacent operations.
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