Lines We Love: Raku
One of the things we’re most proud of at Artists Frame Service is our diverse selection of framing options - all of which are sourced personally and passionately from around the globe, as well as products we design and manufacture ourselves right here in Chicago.
It’s one of the core reasons Architectural Digest has dubbed us “Chicago’s Framing Master” and we go far to find the perfect frame, sourcing from the finest European ateliers in the world.
We recently started introducing you to some Lines We Love including the fan-favorite Shimmy. This month, we wanted to make a moment to introduce Raku, one of the most unique, dynamic and interesting frames we carry.
Debuting in 2017, Raku quickly became an eye-catching option for bold yet stunningly sophisticated framing with lots of movement and variation.
What does Raku mean you ask? Its name derives from pottery techniques for making traditional tea ceremony vessels that originated in Kyoto in the 16th century. The process involves pulling glowing red hot ceramic pieces out of the kiln to rapidly cool in open air or water. From there, metallic elements in the glazes immediately interact causing intense color and excitingly unpredictable results.
Our Raku frames, made in Italy, possess an iridescent depth of color achieved by hand-oxidizing gold leaf. The dynamic variations in the finish are expressive and exciting creating an "alive" quality to these frames because the mark of the human hand is still apparent in the finish. No two are exactly alike on a finished piece, making it the truly custom of custom framing.
Over the years we’ve continued to add colors and profiles to the line, ranging from a slim Feldspar Green to a bolder Copper Flame. Last year we also started carrying floater frames in the Raku finish, the perfect choice for framing three-dimensional items.
This is the part where we normally suggest to you what sort of art it looks best on, but the truth is like a great one-of-a-kind vintage piece, Raku can carry anything with a bold enough spirit. See Raku for yourself by visiting any of our locations – and stay tuned for more Lines We Love!
