Ready for their Marriage!

Time to take a break from the experimentations for new picture frames and try to make some money!  In this economy the paying commissions haven't been as steady as I'd like but I'm set to start on a new project.  This is to make a Mission inspired frame for an heirloom piece of stained glass.  The stained glass panel is one that came from my clients childhood home in Chicago, here's what it looks like:

Mission style, which is also known as Arts & Crafts, was made famous by Gustav Stickley and other furniture makers in the early 1900's.  One of the features of the style was to use quarter sawn, White Oak.  Traditionally this was fumed with ammonia to a dark finish and the flecks that distinguish it would stay lighter.  Fuming requires chemicals, plastic tent, and a respirator!, more effort than needed for this project.  Instead I'll use a dye to enhance the quarter sawn characteristics of the oak, it'll take some experimentation but I'm confident the wood, shown below, will frame the heirloom stained glass properly.  Here is a picture of the wood I'll be using, notice the flecks?, that's the distinguishing characteristic of quarter sawn wood.

My plan for this frame it to utilize mortise and tenon joinery, pegged with Ebony dowels to stay true to the Mission style.  The marriage of the clients piece of stained glass and the frame I make should be a lasting one!