BUSINESS OF THE MONTH

Adobe Creek Framing & Fine Art Photography is a full-service frame shop located in Kittredge. Owner Ken Juliano takes pride in doing quality work in all price ranges. Everything from kids’ artwork to fine art is framed conservationally, with UV glass and acid-free materials.

The shop has over 1,000 frame samples to choose from hanging on the walls. “Great things come from small spaces,” he said. “There is no need to go down the hill for high quality framing. The value is not better. Here, you’re dealing with the owner, not hourly employees. Everything gets framed like we own it.”

Ken began his career as a photographer in New York, working for newspapers and magazines, and also doing wedding and product photography for auctions and catalogs. He left New York in 1994 and moved to Evergreen after visiting a friend here. “I found the culture to be what I was looking for. It’s a good fit for me,” he said.

When he came to Colorado, Ken expected that he’d left the art scene behind him but he was pleasantly surprised to find a huge and thriving artist community here in the mountains. He still works with artists, photographing artwork for catalogs, websites and giclee prints. He does some portrait and landscape photography as well.

He opened Adobe Creek Framing 15 years ago after studying with Hugh Bickford of Hidden Spirit and Dave Smith of Timberline Gallery. He started with a 325-square-foot space on the end of the Adobe Creek Center and slowly expanded, adding more units as they became available. He now has about 1,200 square feet.

One of Ken’s favorite things is the variety of work he gets. “Everyone who comes in has something different. The joy of this is the different combinations and different types of art. And helping people decide. Customers say they have no idea, but they do. They know what they like and what they don’t like, so we start there,” he said. “The people are fantastic. It’s a fun career. I love coming to work every day.”

Ken said he especially loves a challenge. People have come in with antiques they want to put on their walls. “I love the designing and engineering that goes into hanging something different. I may not have the answer the same day, but I will figure it out for you.”

A particularly memorable and challenging project was framing a 5 by 8 foot old American flag. “That was when I just had the one unit. My daughter, who was about 10 at the time, would come in to help me. I had to frame it after hours because it took up so much room.”

In addition to framing, Ken does repairs such as replacing broken glass. The shop also carries a large selection of ready-made frames.

Ken encourages anyone thinking about framing holiday gifts to get their projects in early because supplies are harder to get than usual.

For all your framing needs, save the gas and shop local at Adobe Creek Framing & Fine Art Photography, located across the street from Black Hat Cattle Company and The Comfortable Home in the Adobe Creek Center in Kittredge. Hours: 10-4 weekdays, 10-3 Saturday, closed Sunday. 303.679.1128