Gorgeous New Stock from Yumi Yumi

Rarified has just received some gorgeous new prints from Yumi Yumi from etsy.com.

Yumi Yumi- alias Aline *Yumi* Yamada is a; 'fine artist and illustrator originally from Brazil. I currently reside in the midwest with my husband and son, where I'm still learning how to cook, garden and keep up with my toddler.'

Click on her shop name to see other examples of her art and purchase works directly.

The Rarified team love her whimsical illustrations, fine art skills and beautiful sense of colour.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks as they are framed and added to the Rarified gallery walls.

* Images copyright - Yumi Yumi.

Super Saturday Sale 24th May 2008

Super Saturday Sale

Get ready for day of fun!

Saturday 24th May 2008, Rarified is holding a 'Super Saturday Sale'!

Buy two framed wall stock prints and receive the third for half price!*

Or bring in three items to be framed and receive the fourth framed for free!**

This great offer is for one day only, from 9am until 4pm on Saturday 24th May 2008, so don't miss out!

Rarified is currently stocked with a great selection of framed prints and ready made frames to choose from.

Plus- 10% of proceeds from the day will be donated to the World Vision Myanmar Cyclone Appeal.

To find out more and how you can donate to the World Vision Appeal in the meantime click here


* The half price frame is to be the lesser in value of the three.

**The free frame is to be the lesser in value of the four. Offer is strictly limited to sales made on Saturday 24th May 2008.

Using colour to give your framing impact - pink

Recently the Rarified team framed this wonderful original Nina Simone record cover for a special client.

Our client is a big fan of Nina Simone, her music means a lot to her and she wanted to choose a frame that represented Nina's individual style.

Our client's favourite colour is also pink, a happy coincidence, as the use of this musk stick pink frame perfectly compliments the yellow and pink in the record cover design, making for a stand out individual piece!

In her words; 'I love it, the colour is from the era and suits the artist, as she was so unique'.

Framing Medals and Memorabilia

With Anzac day approaching, the Rarified team thought we would share this story with you.

Framing medals and other memorabilia makes a powerful and lasting tribute that honours loved ones, their lives and achievements, whilst allowing every day viewing.

Pictured here is a collection of medals and a photo booked in for framing by a private Rarified client. Here the medals were hand sewn into position, using minimal stitching and no glues. The matt colour chosen, a lovely warm beige, suits the serious and traditional subject matter and helps to 'lift' the metallic tones in the medals.

The personal story here honours; 'Wal- a father, grandfather & great grandfather. In memory of his service in the Great War in France and Belgium'.

Finally, the bronze coloured timber frame compliments the piece and pulls it all together without competing for attention, adding just a hint of metallic sheen.

'Thanks for the job, the finished result was excellent both in the quality of the work and the colours used for the frame and background, which really work well with the medals & badges.'

Who do you know who owns medals or other memorabilia, that would love to honour them with framing, or elevate them through the framing process?

Vision Boards

Lately I've been talking a lot about goals and values.

Naturally that leads to discussion about vision boards!

Vision boards are wonderful things to create, a strong visual reminder of those goals you working towards and attracting into your life! A well thought out vision board is powerful tool and can lead to great clarity of mind and self awareness.

Rarified custom makes vision boards for clients, in your choice of colour and your choice of frame. How do you know where you are going if you don't define your goals and values and display them in a way that makes you feel great to look at?

Pictured here is an example of a sample vision board that is hanging at Rarified, covered in fantastic quotes about art.

My vision board hangs in my study. It is pink, for me the colour of passion and love and is covered in pictures of what is most important to me; beautiful and innovative houses, hand written lists of my values, the standard poodle that I am attracting into my life, plus other things that mean a great deal to me!

What will you put on yours?

Contact Rarified if you have a story to tell about the power of a vision board for you!

Keep Calm and Carry On...

You may have seen these great images featuring in modern homes, in recent interiors magazines.

Titled; 'Keep Calm and Carry On', it's a great piece of revisited British propaganda art from WWII.

Of course the poster is now laced with post modern irony, available to purchase in many colours and applicable to any stress inducing situation! The Rarified team thinks it's great!

Rarified has stock in red, pink and aqua blue. Red and pink are currently framed and in the window, selling for $260 each.

Now there is no excuse for feeling less than calm...

Solution to using black matts- when framing travel memorabilia and art

What do you do when you've bought some lovely pieces of art, yet the art looks so heavy by the black card put around it?

If you scroll down, you'll find the first installment to this story...

Poor Ganesh and the Goddess of Knowledge were sadly dampened by the heavy black card around them, when I bought them on holiday in Bali in January.

When changing from black matts, one solution is to go either side of black; either to charcoal grey, or a warm grey/brown with the matt. The darker tone makes the lighter areas of the image stand out and the softer tone helps the artwork to speak and breathe.

On my paintings here, I used a deep warm/grey outer matt and a warm peach cream inner matt. Finally, these lovely paintings were finished off with a dark, carved timber frame, for a rich asian-inspired decorative effect!

It's so exciting to have new artworks on my wall at home! Especially ones that remind me of such a great holiday!