Proper Framing reaches 50th anniversary
Proper Framing has been providing people with quality, custom keepsake framing for 50 years.
Owner Richard Kinnee was 17 years old when his brother Sandy opened Proper Framing in March 1974. Kinnee officially took over the shop with his mother in the 1980s. He said his mother was the face of the store and he was the man behind the curtain. Now 50 years later, Kinnee continues to be committed to providing people with the best frames for their memories and memorabilia.
"It's not about me; it's about what people bring in here that's important," he said. "I have to find out their style as quickly as possible to make their work look the best version of it could be and do it properly. Hence the name Proper Framing."
Proper Framing is located at 226 Huron Ave. in downtown Port Huron. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment only on Saturdays.
Kinnee said he's been focused on finishing current work projects, so he has not planned a celebration for the business's 50th anniversary. He said it's hard to focus on himself when the work his customers bring in comes first.
However, Kinnee said his friends have planned a private celebration with family, friends and previous employees.
Custom framing is the primary service at Proper Framing. Kinnee said the business has close to 1,000 different frame samples for people to choose from. Kinnee is also able to tell people if the artwork is a reproduction or the original version.
Proper Framing has seen many different things come through its doors for the last 50 years. Kinnee said he once framed a ship fragment from the War of 1812. He said it was one of Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry's ships. Kinnee has also framed the cane used by Sydney Greenstreet in the movie "The Maltese Falcon."
The business originally got its start in their parent's garage, and then moved to the corner of State and Stone Street a few months later. It then settled in its current location in 1995.
Kinnee said reaching 50 years feels like a double-edged sword at times.
"It's that realization of your age and limitations and that you don't have the energy you had when you were younger," he said. "But you also have the knowledge that it way beyond what you had when you were much younger."
Kinnee said Proper Framing has had amazing customers and employees over the years. He said his customers are very understanding that he is the only person in the business. Additionally, Kinnee said previous employees who have continued to work in frame stores have been called the best trained workers by their employers.
Kinnee said the future of Proper Framing will have everything to do with how he feels health-wise and the economy.
Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Proper Framing turns 50 years old
