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When customers walk in to We’ll Frame It, a custom frame shop located in Maumee, they are likely greeted by Rachel Wilcox, who this year is celebrating 30 years of owning the store.
The business began in South Toledo in the 1970s, before moving to the intersection of Byrne and Glendale. Three years after Wilcox took it over in 1995, she moved it to its current location on Dussel Drive.
Wilcox grew up around a woman-owned small business, as her mother owned an underground utility construction company. She helped her mom with payroll, taxes and billing, giving her a solid foundation in business. Shortly after earning a film degree from the University of Toledo, she learned of the opportunity to buy We’ll Frame It, and she decided to go for it.
“I didn’t really have anything holding me back,” she recalled. “…It was just an opportunity that was there and I thought, ‘That sounds pretty interesting.’ So I thought, ‘How hard could it be?’”
As she learned, there are plenty of challenges associated with owning a business with a storefront where she is responsible for everything. Since she is the store’s only full-time employee (and there is only one other part-time employee), Wilcox is usually the person who greets customers at the counter, talks them through their options, completes the framing, and handles all of the business side. Especially around Christmas time, she will come in on her day off or arrive early to finish all of the orders by the holiday deadline.
Being in the framing business for so long has given Wilcox a window into the changing culture surrounding what people desire to frame. She recalls that when she first bought the business, people were asking to frame a lot of the classics: art by Vincent van Gogh or Claude Monet, for example. Now, her projects are mostly bigger and more personalized, such as shadow boxes with concert memorabilia or their own digital photography.
“It doesn’t do anybody any good keeping something tucked away in a closet,” Wilcox said. “Get it on the wall and enjoy it.”
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Other interesting things she has framed include a piece of a sign that had been blown away by a tornado, siding for someone retiring from selling it, and hair wreaths that are created as a Victorian mourning custom.
Part of what Wilcox enjoys about running the business is that it is different everyday. She loves working with customers to figure out exactly what is best for their project.
“When you show them their finished piece and they are thrilled and happy, sometimes tears of joy, and that is the best part for me,” she said.
The store has more than 1,500 samples of frames so people can find exactly what they want for their project. They have worked on projects of all sizes, and Wilcox said the biggest project she could remember had to be moved in a rented uhaul truck.
Wilcox said she thinks people can sometimes be intimidated by the framing process, but “there is nothing to be intimidated by.”
“If people have questions, I encourage them to come in and call me,” she said. “…There is something for everybody.”
