Derek Nielsen Photography

When I first started my career as a photographer, I had no fundamental concept of the importance of the marriage between a single fine art print and its frame.  After many years in this space, I not only understand but wholeheartedly believe that the perfect frame has the ability to take a piece of fine art and turn it into a masterpiece. I spend hours searching out the perfect compositions or traveling for days to find a particular animal. It is a meticulous process that requires an obsession with perfection. Roma struck me right away as a company with the same approach to its craft. The attention to detail evident in every frame has made them the only framing company I do business with. Add in a focus on sustainability, relentless innovation, and a team that is, from top to bottom, a true pleasure to work with: Roma Moulding sets itself apart. I’m not sure I could find a better partner to complete my artistic vision. They help add the “luxury” aspect to my fine art. 

Roma Green | Eco-Friendly Frames  

Most people know me for my work as a conservation photographer- someone traveling to all seven continents, visiting remote parts of the world, and bringing images of wild animals and wild places into their homes. I struggled to reconcile the idea of cutting down gorgeous ancient trees to add a frame to a piece of art I was selling to help conservation efforts. It seemed like a net-zero transaction at best or that I was possibly doing more harm than good. So, I searched “sustainable framing companies,” and Roma was one of the first to pop up. 

Roma’s approach to sustainability:

“At Roma, we take great care and pride in knowing that our mouldings are made using only woods from active reforestation programs. All our mouldings are made in Italy in compliance with the highest EU material and production standards. In addition, we work closely with our suppliers and vendors to monitor quality and material processes, ensuring there are no harmful chemicals or foreign objects in any of the finishes we use. Both our suppliers and distribution centers adhere to strict guidelines, use reclaimed wood when appropriate, and utilize recycled and environmentally friendly packaging materials whenever possible. 

Roma has also partnered with One Tree Planted in our commitment to planting over 5,000 trees by 2023, as well as positively impacting communities and ecosystems all over the world. In the future, we wish to extend this tree-growing challenge to all of our partners.” This is precisely what I was looking for in a framing partner. As a business, I did not want to sacrifice our integrity for profit. The art business can be cut-throat, but it doesn’t have to be. I have witnessed several companies and even photographers I’ve studied under drag other artists’ names through the mud to make a profit. Number two under Roma’s List of Core Values is – “Be Real and Live in Integrity.” In business, as in life, I believe that integrity is everything. It’s important to me that the frame housing my art reflects that philosophy, and I want anyone buying my fine art to know exactly what they are getting. No greenwashing. 

Roma Innovation | An evolution in fine art design

(Limited Edition Luxury Fine Art Print of 50 – Heaven’s Gate – Derek Nielsen Photography)

Spend any amount of time on their social media channels, like Instagram, where I spend most of my social media time, and you will quickly see the ways Roma Moulding is adding to its product line. Trends are constantly changing. Styles come in and out of fashion like the tide. I never know what a particular client will want for their interior design needs. Thankfully, I have yet to let a client down with Roma’s ever-evolving catalog of frames. In fact, their reactions have been quite the opposite: absolute satisfaction. On a few occasions, I have seen clients walk into a room for a reveal, look at my image inside a Roma frame, and find themselves overcome. Tears begin flowing. 

As an artist, it will never cease to humble and amaze me when a piece of my art moves something inside them so profoundly that it brings them to tears. It’s very powerful. I feel so lucky to have found a framing partner who not only shares my commitment to the environment but also creates such exquisite mouldings that they enhance and elevate each piece to a level I could never have dreamed of back in the early days of my career.

Roma Moulding Culture 

(Limited Edition Luxury Fine Art Print of 6 – The Thinker – Derek Nielsen Photography)

In 2020, at the height of COVID, Roma started an Instagram Live series called Tuesday Talks, hosted by their CEO, Tony Gareri, in an effort to maintain a sense of connection throughout the framing community despite the isolation everyone was feeling at the time. In its second season, the idea was floated to expand beyond framers. To start highlighting artists, photographers, and others in the art community who are making a difference in the world, in addition to framers and galleries. As it happens, I was the first test subject in that expansion experiment. Their social media director struck up a conversation with me on Instagram while I was on Safari with Ndifo, and a few months later, I was fortunate enough to be a guest on their show. They just wrapped Season 2, with plans for Season 3 to start early this Autumn. 

Each episode is focused on highlighting a different person or company in the art industry. This is their brilliant way of keeping a solid pulse on their community and helping the community create new connections. We all chime in and learn from each other, understand trends, and support one another. What I find beautiful about how Roma and Tony conduct their business is that they thrive on the philosophy that a rising tide raises all ships. They welcome competition, focusing on sharing the pie and bringing their competitors up instead of putting them down. That’s not always easy in business. 

A word from Roma Moulding CEO Tony Gareri on innovation and corporate culture:

– How do you and your team at Roma Moulding stay up on innovation inside of your industry?

You have to be ready to adapt, invest in technological innovations, and disrupt the status quo on your own terms, or you’re going to end up going the way of Blockbuster Video. The reason some organizations are agile and able to adjust in real-time while others stay clunky and unwieldy all comes down to culture. If you foster a culture that’s excited about change and always willing to try new ideas, you’re putting yourself in a position to win. You have to turn your company into an adaptive space, one focused on freedom, transparency, and trust. Good leaders are always on the lookout for new ideas, new talent, and new possibilities. Always paying attention to trends in the market and never afraid to set the trends instead of just following them. Great leaders bake that hunger, that vision, and that excitement about innovation into their corporate culture, so instead of being alone on the watchtower, they’ve got an entire company with them, scouring the horizon. How do you do that?

#1. Embrace positive, constructive discourse and conflict. Conflict makes ideas better. Recognize that even the best people will resist new ideas sometimes, and that’s good. Resistance to new ideas creates a pressure-testing effect that creates better ideas.

#2. Implement positive, internal policies that are future-facing and focused on anticipating what’s coming next. If you see a gap, fill it! Don’t wait for another company to do it for you. At my company, Roma Moulding, we saw a gap in that there was no National Day for custom framers, so we made one! We see a gap in education for those in our industry, so we’re creating an educational series of master classes for framers, gallery owners, and designers. We also recognize that the internet is changing the way people shop, buy, and live, which is why we’re investing heavily in tech innovations that elevate a customer’s web experience.

– Where did the 10 Core Values come from at Roma? How do you, as a leader, help bring these values to life every day?

The Core Values were the first step in our company’s “Culture Overhaul” that we started in 2011. They were created through a collaborative process that involved the whole company. We started with a company-wide survey asking our team to list (confidentially) what they valued in their own lives. Over the next few months, as a company, we whittled down the 300ish values from that initial survey into 100, then 25, getting company-wide feedback at every step, and eventually landed on the 10 Core Values we have today. It’s not something we keep in a drawer or a frame. The Core Values are something we live and breathe every single day. We celebrate them, and they’re at the core (literally) of everything we do.

One of the ways we do this is with our Core Values Cards, the system we’ve devised to give peer-to-peer acknowledgments. There are no proverbial carrots, incentives, or prizes associated with them. Just the satisfaction of praising another human, the accompanying jolt of dopamine, and the sense of team unity. Because in order for the cards to be truly effective, it HAS to be 100% genuine. Physically, they’re colorful 3×3 cards. There are 10 versions, each with one of our 10 Core Values printed on the front and a space on the back for the giver to write a message of thanks, acknowledgment, or praise along with the date.

Twice a year, we hyperfocus on delivering peer-to-peer praise through what we’ve coined Core Values Awareness Week, but that’s just the big event. We all give out Core Values Cards year-round. If you join one of our tours through our offices, you’ll see them plastered on everyone’s workspaces. They’re like a little trophy, a tactile token of praise and appreciation. They’re cherished. So, the Core Values are literally and figuratively all around us, all the time. We hire and fire based on them. With every major decision, we’re asking ourselves, “Is this in line with our Core Values?” These are just a few of the tools we use to cultivate a culture that puts a premium on praise and represents those Core Values. We cultivate praise, acknowledgment, and appreciation like some people cultivate crops. We give it a lot of light and a lot of attention and enjoy the bounty as it grows and grows. This is probably why we get to celebrate wins like our most recent survey, which returned a 92% internal net promoter score! For a leader, those are the best wins of all.

What is Custom Framing?

(Limited Edition Luxury Fine Art Print of 50 – Divine Calm – Derek Nielsen Photography)

One may think custom framing equals big, expensive projects. It certainly can be, but it doesn’t have to be. The essence of custom framing is finding the perfect frame to match the spirit of your art piece. Many of us have entered a Hobby Lobby, a Michaels, or Target to find a basic frame to place around a family photo. Three aisles basically the same black wood(ish) frame in variations of thickness. These ready-made frames are typically only found in standard sizes, with the largest usually clocking in around 16×24. The wood, glass, and construction are generally about the same low level of quality that you would expect from mass production. At best, a small selection of novelty frames and styles from the latest HGTV trend will fill out the rest of the frame section at these big box stores. Can these frames do the job of making grandma happy with the adorable picture of you two inside? Absolutely. They are perfectly serviceable for a wide variety of basic framing needs.

But… What if we want more? What if we want that statement piece to be displayed in our favorite room of our house? Something our friends can’t stop staring at. Something WE can’t stop staring at. Something that will stay with our family for generations to come. That will protect our art from damage. A piece of fine art that makes you proud each and every time you look at it. This is where custom framing using Roma Mouldings comes into play. It’s in the attention to detail, the quality of materials used, and the unique blend of centuries-old techniques with modern innovation. Moulding that is handcrafted by some of the world’s most skilled artisans. Roma never uses poly, fillers, or composite. They only use natural, sustainably sourced quality wood. Even their wood paste is 100% natural, composed of fine wood particles, natural oils, and glues. With custom framing, we, as artists, also have far more options available to offer our collectors regarding texture, finishes, designs, and profiles. Custom framing also provides the opportunity to use only acid-free materials and museum-quality glass to help preserve our art for generations. 

Roma Moulding | Made in Italy

(Limited Edition Luxury Fine Art Print of 6 – Watchman’s Gone – Derek Nielsen Photography)

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been familiar with the term “Made in Italy” as an indicator of quality. “Made In Italy” is synonymous with brands like Gucci, Ferrari, Giorgio Armani, and Panerai. With artists like Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. These titans of their respective realms leave no doubt in their collectors’ minds that they are getting a top-of-the-line product. It is of the utmost importance to me that my collectors have that same experience. Luxury Fine Art Photography is not just a term or a buzzword. It’s a commitment from me to my collectors that every frame is handmade by skilled artisans in the heart of Italy using centuries of skill and knowledge passed down from generation to generation. I promise you will feel the difference. 

“Age-old traditions and techniques are passed down from generation to generation to ensure quality and craftsmanship remain unparalleled. Family traditions are at the heart of everything Roma creates and continue to guide us as both a family-oriented organization and as a brand.” – Roma Moulding. 

Just as there are endless possibilities for photography, there are nearly unlimited possibilities for framing as well. Roma Moulding offers a wide variety of profiles and styles, from simple to ornate, classic to modern, and everything in between. They list 18 colors on their website, but the reality when you get into shades and wood tones is much broader. Their mouldings range in size from tiny ¼” fillets (also called enhancers) to massive 12″ wide statement frames that I dare anyone not to gawk at. It is essential to reach collectors at all different price points. Roma offers three distinct collections of frames at three different price levels, along with an array of photo frames and ready-made gallery frames. I’ve included a basic summary of each collection below and linked to each on their website for you to explore further.

Simply Roma features all the 100 percent made-in-Italy craftsmanship that Roma Moulding is world-famous for at an industry-leading value, without the toxins and chipping associated with other value brands.  

Roma One is their signature collection. Truly gorgeous mouldings and cutting-edge designs. The Roma One line runs the gamut from minimalism to glam to bright and bold.

Roma Elite is their couture collection. These are jaw-droppers that range from 5-12 inches wide. From classic looks, the cigar leaf Tabacchino on a 6 ½” wide scoop to a 12″ Gaboon Lacquer to a 9 ½” Croco monster to traditional ornate profiles blown up to massive sizes and finished with the brightest, boldest lacquers, you’ve never seen frames like these. 

Adding Value to Your Art

Custom framing isn’t just about impressing your friends. It’s about appreciation and dedication to the fine art, skill, and craftsmanship that go into your investment. It’s a way for you to express your artistic flair in the final production and let your personality come through in your interior design. Every single photograph I have for sale to my collectors requires an immense process spanning months or more to produce. Some more so than others. And each, in its own way, is a piece of my soul. Art and conservation are two of my biggest passions. I would not be doing either justice by pairing my collection with a generic frame or partnering with a company that doesn’t share my values. My fine art photography exists for the greater good of this planet, and its home is inside of a Roma Moulding frame.

Written by – Derek Nielsen