Check out local art at Milford’s Frame Depot

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Michael Cleveland photo Paulette Braffitt, center, with her husband, Peter, left, and David Reiner, The Frame Depot's workshop manager. Behind them is some of the work by the Keyes Art Group that is on exhibit today, Friday and until noon on Saturday, Christmas Eve.

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MILFORD – Paulette Braffitt thinks that giving local artists a place to show their work is important, so for the past few years, she has been hosting the Keyes Art Group’s annual holiday show at her shop, The Frame Depot, on the Oval here.

This year, the show will remain on display through Christmas Eve, when the shop will be open until noon and Braffitt is hoping some people will do some last-minute shopping there.

It will be a double benefit, she said: for the artists and for The Frame Depot, because interest in the Keyes Art Group will bring people into her business.

She hosts the show, she said, “because it gives them a place to exhibit their art and it gives us exposure. We help each other.”

And she likes the idea of having different pieces of art on exhibit in her store, which, she said, is primarily a place for framing. Included in the Keyes exhibit are handmade ornaments and cards, not just paintings.

Braffitt said that, in general, business has been picking up a bit this year, but added that it isn’t quite as good as it was five years ago.

“But we’ve probably sold more this year than in the last two,” she said.

It’s a good business for her because, she said, she likes meeting people and working to help them get what they want.

“I enjoy helping them out,” she said, especially when it comes to selecting the correct frame. But economics come into it too. “They’re so excited if you can help them get the cost down.”