Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Durbin.
Hi Jamie, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Jamie Durbin and I was born and raised in Rockwall, Texas. I have had the pleasure of owning Rockwall Custom Frame Shop since 2019. I got into the framing business purely by accident. Thankfully life has a way of getting us where we need to be. I started my career working in HR after graduating from Texas A&M. I took a couple of years off to stay home with my daughter. In 2018 I walked into the local frame shop, which I had done business with for years, and the current owner and I got to talking about her love of the store. I asked if she ever needed part-time help. A year later, she called and asked if I would be interested in buying the store (they were moving out of state). I spent quite a bit of time here, observing and taking in all that a frame shop did. I loved it and made it mine. I stumbled and fell into the career that is not a job but an amazing creative space. I am fortunate enough to be in a framing community that has taken me in and has mentored me continuously to get me where I need to be today.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I wouldn’t say it has been an easy journey but it has been a great adventure. Starting anything brand new always feels like a steep mountain at the beginning. There were so many things to learn including cutting glass to properly mounting any item with the goal of conserving and preserving it in the best possible way. One of the most shocking things about the framing world are the items people frame. We have framed everything from clothes (that date back to the 1800s) to skateboards to kitchen spoons to fishing lures to (my personal favorite) all things military (medals, dog tags, etc.). The road is endless. We have to be creative and resourceful on the best methods of framing while ensuring that at any point the item will come back out of the frame unharmed. These are people’s treasures, and they deserve to be enjoyed and remain in the condition that walked in the door. An additional obstacle was that I was a first-time business owner. How do I take it and make it mine and be successful? We bought the store in August of 2019. Covid took over in March of 2020. Of course, that was terrifying. We had to figure out how to ensure our business survived, and wow did the community support us! They kept on coming in, which kept us going and made us stronger. Rockwall is full of the best people.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
It is a family-owned and operated business. My husband makes all of the frames. My mom loves to help with any part of the framing process. My dad works on any of the machinery that needs attention. My daughter is 8… she has grown up here. It has influenced her to love art and be such a creative person. I couldn’t do what I do without them. As a business, we strive to make sure that when you walk in the door you get a fully customized experience. It can be very overwhelming walking in and seeing the 1000s of frames on the wall, so I walk all customers through the framing process and help them narrow down all the options so that they leave feeling 100% about their choices. We carry all conservation grade glass options and acid-free mats and backboards to ensure any material that is used in the framing process won’t age it. We take pride in making sure that when the customer arrives and sees their piece there are no questions about the quality of the job. These pieces will hang in their homes for years and should be done right the first time. If there ever is a concern or something that isn’t exactly as they had envisioned, we will correct it.
Any big plans?
We are in the process of researching the possibility of bringing in printing capabilities so we can be a one-stop shop. We get lots of calls regarding printing something to frame, so we are hoping that we can make that part of our business and save our customers time and money by doing it all in-house.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://rockwallframes.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/rockwall_custom_frame_shop
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rockwallcustomframeshop
- Phone: 972-771-2300
