Reed's Custom Framing closes doors

Randy Reed announced the August 2007 closing of Reed's Custom Framing in Madison, Tennessee, owned by the Reed family for the past 39 years. 

Reed's parents began their framing business from their Madison basement in 1968.  Reed's Custom Framing has been in its current location for 23 years.  When asked why he decided to close the store, Reed commented, "After 39 years, there is a new chapter for Reed's. I am joining with the team at Belle Meade/Green Hills Framers." 

Reed will serve as Creative Director and Sales Representative at the Green Hills location beginning August 20.

Auction to be held August 15:  A liquidation auction will be held at 216 Douglas Street in Madison. Contact Randy Reed for auction information at (615) 717-5017.

Sondra Goldstein helps insure Tennessee

After serving the Tennessee Insurance market for over a decade, Sondra Goldstein opted to open her own insurance agency in Brentwood. Goldstein Insurance Agency, www.goldsteininsurance.com, is an independent agency, which represents numerous insurance carriers.  Goldstein offers a full range of insurance products, from home owners  to automotive and life insurance policies, with 'same carrier' discounts available. 

Auto Insurance for Same-Sex Couples - Goldstein Insurance offers automotive insurance in Nashville and surrounding areas, allowing same-sex partners to be insured on the same auto policy.   

Goldstein Insurance Agency is located at 217 Jamestown Park Rd., Suite 12 in Brentwood. Owner Sondra Goldstein is available to answer O&AN readers' insurance questions at (615) 221-1117.

Nashville goes high tech in unexpected places

Nashville consumers have commonly witnessed technical advances in the cable television industry with Comcast's Digital Video Recording options, in grocery stores, with self-scanning and price checks.  What changes may be in store for local middle Tennessee traditional industries, such as convenience stores and frame shops. 

Mapco's Touch Screen Service Enters Nashville Market - Paying for gas at the pump with a swipe of your credit card, or using Mobile's Speedpass, which allow customers to just wave the card as they approach the pump, is commonplace these days. 

Mapco, headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, has decided to take technology to the next level, expanding the horizons of the sometimes dreaded gasoline experience. According to Mapco's Vice President of Marketing, Paul Pierce, Nashville was the first market to allow customers to order a custom meal via a bilingual touch screen at the pump or within the store itself.  

By the time a customer's gasoline pumping is finished, the custom meal should be ready inside at Mapco's Grille Marx.  When asked about customer reactions to the touch screen service, Pierce commented, "Customers immediately embraced the touch screen order concept.  Since our touch screens provide both a Spanish and English version, they have also attracted Nashville's Local Hispanic community."   

Make Your Own Smoothie - A few months ago, Mapco also added a high tech smoothie maker station, where customers place the frozen smoothie or milk shake in the machine and the high tech machine does the rest.

Sixteen local area stores offer the smoothie maker and touch screen.  Locations include, yet are not limited to the following:

• 1100 Hillsboro Road,  Franklin
• 667 South Hartman Drive, Lebanon
• 1021 Almaville Rd,  Smyrna
• 1101 Bell Road,  Antioch
• 2924 Franklin Road,  Murfreesboro
• 4314 Harding Road,  Nashville

A second traditional industry experiencing a wave of high tech improvements is the local framing store. 

Advances at the Local Frame Shop

Local framers in the Nashville area are now offering several technology tools, such as in-house fine art computer searches, digital framing/art combinations displayed on a computer screen and photo restorations captured with a scanner (allowing customer to never part with a treasured photograph). 

Digital Imaging and Scanning Advances - When asked about technology advances in the framing industry, Karen Haden, owner of Eaze Custom Framing, told O&AN, "The framing shops have taken recent steps to incorporate digital imaging, scanning, and database searches to make the framing experience more interactive for customers.  For instance, our clients often have difficulty visualizing the finished framed product and really appreciate seeing how their art or photo will look with different framing choices via computer.   Similarly, to find fine art prints to frame, customers often search in-house art computer database during their lunch hours."

Haden further commented on the new scanning process used for photo restorations and colorizing. 

"Never having to part with a treasured photo requiring restoration, is a big plus in this industry.  A few years ago, the photo would have to be mailed to the restoration company, creating a potential for a lost photo.  Customers may now just bring the photo in for scanning, with it never leaving their possession."

Eaze Custom Framing is located in the Antioch area at 2213 Murfreesboro Pike Nashville, TN 37217 and may be reached by phone at 615-361-1667.

Retrieving Framed Images - Another advance employed by a local framing shop is the ability to retrieve a previously framed item from a computer database. 

Randy Reed, creative director and sales representative for Belle Meade/Green Hills Framers, stated, "We find it valuable to save our customers orders on our computer for easy access at a later date.  Customers may not recall the exact matting color, size, or frame they selected earlier and often wish to reference their prior purchase when shopping for a new frame and matting combination."