a picture framer
Many of us are drawn here by the love of this glorious land whilst others have been here all their lives. Born here, grew up here and will always be here. That’s Cornwall for you and that’s the way it’s always been for Kitty.
Kitty grew up in Falmouth. Her mum is as Cornish as you can get and her dad comes from a little further up the line here in the South West. She went a local primary school which is the same school as her two children now go to in Falmouth. Keeping it in the family you might say…
Now, there’s a creative element that seems to run through us down here and Kitty’s creative side started early in life. She has memories of her love of drawing and painting from a very young age. That clearly influenced her thoughts later in life as she chose to study fine art at college in Truro. After finishing college, she didn't really know what she wanted to do and didn’t want to go to Uni or move away. She was fed up of being broke like most students, so she went out and got herself a job at a local picture framers in Penryn.
Now, ironically, Kitty happened to mention this to me, “I remember my first trip to the National Gallery - all those incredible gilt frames and the hours that must have gone into them, *almost* as beautiful as the paintings themselves”. This memory appeared to have had some influence on the direction she started to take and a love of framing. I think she saw it as a kind of an arty occupation, so it seemed a perfect fit for her.
“I remember my first trip to the National Gallery - all those incredible gilt frames and the hours that must have gone into them”
Over the years, along came a family of her own and she grew tired of working for others, so her thoughts then turned to setting up a business of her own. That formed itself into a 10 x 8 windowless garden shed as a work place ( a bit of shed love there) soon followed by a place of her own. A fully functional studio with real windows. That was 9 years ago when she set up The Banana Shed Framing Company. The framing part of the name came easy as did the banana connection. Her step dad grew banana trees in her family back garden where her shed was located, so if you put the two together, hey presto!!
I first met Kitty when I was looking for someone to frame some of my own work. I visited her at her ace little studio down on Islington Wharf in Penryn which is surrounded by all things boat related. Her space was busy, full of colour and it just all looked right. Her self made creative space.
Thanks Kitty….RD
