From Jeep doors to ‘Sopranos’ scripts, Mount N Frame owner looks back at 35 years of business in Vail

As published in the Vail Daily on September 17, 2019

By Ross Leonhart

When Linda Osterberg first got to Vail in 1978, there was a Burger King where Solaris Plaza is now. There was also a small framing shop in the basement of the then-Crossroads Shopping Center.

She had a degree in biochemistry and was working for the town’s water district. While skiing every day, “because it was still one of my first winters here,” and driving the town bus, she met the manager of Mount N Frame who needed some help — offering any hours as long as the job got done, perfect for someone with a ski schedule.

“Honestly, I was a science person. I never paid attention to art very much,” Osterberg said with a laugh.

She spent time, when not skiing, going to seminars and educating herself with literature about the business of framing.

In 1980, she joined Mount N Frame. In 1984, she bought the business with a partner and eventually became the sole owner. On Aug. 1 of this summer, Osterberg celebrated 35 years of running one of Vail’s longest-running businesses.

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Rockin’ Out At Mount-N-Frame

What a fun day at the shop! There is nothing like framing something out of the ordinary to excite us. We were asked to match an existing framed guitar so the design was a no brainer. This was no run of the mill guitar, this one was signed by Coldplay band members. We LOVE all things musical so were ready to make this collector’s guitar look fantastic. First we had to figure out how to mount the guitar so it could be taken out of the acrylic box and played if so desired. We definitely wanted the mount to be reversible. Problem solved by attaching an acrylic clip integrated into the strap holders on the guitar over the fabric mounted to the box. Polished and cleaned all of the parts and we were ready to finish the assembly. 

Family Traditions Live On!


They say that every picture tells a story and this picture is no exception. The story behind this frame job spans 3 generations.

As Jeannie put it ” When I was a little girl, my Mom would put me on the counter and let me to sift flour. My earliest memory of this is from the age of 2. It has been the same with my boys. As long as they could reach the counter or sit on the counter, they could get flour all over, I don’t care about the mess because this is a tradition. And the tradition starts in the middle of November, once a week until Christmas. God forbid you should ask about making them in July! According to my Mom you can’t make them any other time of year. You make them in a specific way. You roll them into little snakes, cut them into an exact size, and place them cut side down on a cookie sheet. Sometime my boys would get into little squabbles and they’d reach over and smash each others cookies right before they were to go onto the cookie sheet. They have wonderful memories of that! Not only do you have to make them in a certain way, but they are eaten is a certain way as well. You have a plate with a mug in the middle, with the Pepper Nuts all along the edge and you don’t dip them, they are NEVER dipped!  Instead you have your spoon and you put your Pepper Nut in and just before they sink you snag ’em! You can see in the frame that there is a picture of the 3 of us at the top, the recipe in the middle and on the bottom a picture of each of the boys making Pepper Nuts.”

You Learn Something New Everyday!

 

Well, this one takes the cake for the longest sized project in the history of Mount-N-Frame.  We were enlisted to stretch and frame a 14 foot canvas which is a task taking precision and a lot of hand strength! Assembling the stretcher bars was akin to putting a puzzle together. Most framing stock is 10 feet long and this requiring bridging that 4 foot gap with overlapping pieces and lots of cross braces for support. Although part of me was intimidated seeing something I had not encountered in over 35 years of framing, it was pretty fun. Here is a step by step photo essay including the customers reaction.

 

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The Frontage Road is OPEN!

After 2 summers of construction we are so pleased that the Frontage Road is open in both directions. We want to thank all of our customers for taking the extra time to visit us through the construction. On Friday October 13 the underpass will be open and getting here will be even easier!

Roco, The Rescue Dog

One of the things people notice when they come to Vail is how dog friendly our community is. We LOVE dogs! Here at Mount-N-Frame you may be greeted by up to four dogs depending on the day. So it is not unusual for us to frame photos of dogs, deeply loved family members each and every one of them.

Mary and her son Chris are no exception, they love dogs too! Almost 7 years ago, while surfing the web, Chris came across the Eagle County Sheriff’s animal shelter website. He read about a 15-month old Alaskan Husky that had just been relinquished by his previous humans. Chris convinced his mom, Mary, to go check out the dog, “Roco”,  in person. Suffice it to say that they all fell in love. Although it took lots of training and hard work to help Roco overcome anxiety, and some very bad habits like jumping tall fences and running away, it was worth all the effort.

Now Roco is a sweet and secure dog who has travelled and played in dog parks in Vail, Chicago and Portland.  It truly is a dog’s life!

The story came full circle to us at Mount-N-Frame the day Mary brought us a picture of Roco to frame as a gift for Chris. She was so thrilled when she picked it up…you can tell by the look on her face.

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To celebrate the launch of the 2016-17 ski season we have produced a new Beaver Creek poster. This popular images which were once exclusive to Vail is now customized for those who love Beaver Creek. Designed both for kids and kids at heart, this is something for everyone.

Welcome international visitors!

You can’t help but notice the influx of international visitors to the valley and here in the shop. It is fun to hear all the different languages and help out with directions and information when we can. Many have come by to purchase posters and  1 seller this week has been “The Racer”.

Mat Board Scraps Get Second Life

foam core sculptureWe are always so pleased to see our scraps go to good use. Teachers like Ashley Ikoniak, art teacher at Edwards Elementary School are special. Ashley uses her own time to come get the mat scraps and finds creative uses for them. The photo is an example of the “Mini Art Museums” the students created with foam core scraps.