We LOVE custom framing projects.

Like it keeps us up at night thinking of fun framing ideas we want to do. There are just so many cool possibilities with framing outside the traditional white mat/wood frame (which has its place) that a lot of people might not even be aware of!

So without further ado, here’s what projects we framers at Apex Art Lab are dreaming of in 2021.

Plexi boxes are becoming more and more in-vogue in recent years due to their contemporary flare and clean lines. Plexi boxes can be used for 2D or 3D framing projects in all sorts of fun ways— but historically these boxes have been made only of clear acrylic. Now, we can really get cool & custom with colored plexi— doors are open on possibilities. Check out some of these projects done by other framers that have us drooling…

As you can see from these examples of knockout colored plexi presentations, the possibilities are endlessly fun. No wonder this is on our list of framing presentations we’re going gaga for.

When it comes to custom framing, getting custom painted framing elements is the pinnacle. This can mean so much more than just painting the frame a specific color; you can introduce custom visual elements into the matting through hand paint image extensions, or introduce patterns or textures to elevate the piece. In the framing world, we do have some rockstars who excel at this super custom practice— check out some of their projects to see what the cutting edge looks like ::

The Framing Devil of Highland Park, Los Angeles is a frequent shatterer of framing ceilings in our book– always coming out with the coolest hand painted matting & framing…

Another living legend for hand-painted framing excellence, Kosal of Framed by Kosal in Monroe, CT…

How cool are those pieces?? Once you realize what can be done, your brain starts to explode with ideas (at least ours do).

MAGNETS. The next frontier… I’m being dramatic, but really though there are a lot of cool things you can do with magnets as a framer. Magnetic displays allow for a certain dynamism– whether that’s in the form of an openable frame, or the ability to remove & replace the framed piece whenever you want, or what have you. Check out some ideas of magnetic framing projects from some fellow framers…

This project done by the good folks down at Best Framing of Costa Mesa, CA. Watch their video for a super cool run down on how they went about framing up these original Muhammad Ali boxing gloves…

Susan Kaulbars of Framing Solutions of Edina, MD got creative with magnets for this Corvette Club members jacket…

Magnetically closing pocketwatch display by John Barlowe of www.hollandframeshop.com of Holland, OH.

We’ve got some big nerds on the team. We can’t get enough of star wars projects— it allows us to flex our scifi brains on dreaming up the most fun presentations, with an endless amount of merch & imagery to use in our designs, and when someone brings in a star wars piece you know they are down to do something cool with it. Check out a recent star wars piece we did, as well as some other pieces done by fellow framers that have us swooning…

This piece was done by us at Apex Art Lab– we framed up two original Han Solo & Chewy action figures from 1978. We mounted the figures on a black linen mat, floated over a cut portion of a vintage Star Wars poster to make the background, with another black linen mat + thin blue reveal, all housed in a simple black frame.

Jason ‘Chop’ Kaeser of Queensland, Australia framed these Star Wars pieces with some especially cool mat cuts…

Framing Devil of Los Angeles coming at it with super clean & contemporary hand-painted Star Wars framing…

Framed by Kosal of Monroe, CT going extra as usual with this killer hand-painted frame up…

Want more inspiration on cool framing projects? Check out our 2021 Framing Dreams Pinterest Page!

We hope these projects excited you as much as they do us! If you’re feeling inspired, you know who to call 😉 

Have any other framing ideas you want to see in 2021? Let us know in the comments!