A York shop has moved out of the city centre and started a new chapter out of town.
FastFrame has traded in the heart of York since 1987 – for the last 13 years on Gillygate.
The framing and art store opened on Goodramgate in 1987. What was then a franchise business was bought in October 1991 by Andy Eccles and his parents George and Beryl, who have since retired from the business.
Andy told YorkMix: “We then decided to relocate to Gillygate in July 2011 after the lease on the Goodramgate premises ended.
“On Gillygate the business continued to grow, and we continued to offer the same great professional framing services as we did on Goodramgate to old and new customers alike.”
But he added: “After 13 years of trading on Gillygate and the lease coming to an end, we had a decision to make of what we do next – as it has been tough trading in the current economic climate with costs and overheads increasing significantly.
“Do we continue to trade or close?”
The good news is Andy is continuing FastFrame at new premises – 128 Boroughbridge Road.
“We will be sharing the premises with KL Photographers, another well-established York business with over 60 years’ experience,” he said.
They have worked together for more than 30 years, and now plan to “to offer a full package of services to both our customers whilst keeping both of our prices down, particularly premises costs by sharing the store.
“Also, we thought it would be an innovative way to keep both businesses thriving during the current difficult economic times.”
Andy, a qualified Guild Commended Framer, custom frames pictures for both businesses and private clients. “No job is too large or too small,” he said.
KL Photography does everything from portraits to celebrations, passport photos to prints. It can also transfer all forms of moving images, including cine reels and video, to digital formats.
Vapes And Phones has moved into the Gillygate shop vacated by FastFrame.
Find out more about FastFrame and KL Photography on their websites..