The modest little shed with its curved roof set back from Stoney Road in the middle of acres of orchard farmland is highly deceptive. Inside is a sophisticated climate-controlled workshop where Kelly Robinson, known as ‘Kel’ to everyone around, demonstrates her skills in picture framing.After a career in the hotel business, Kel moved with her husband to Rose Cottage in 2012 and encouraged by her brother took over a framing business based in Woolhope some nine years ago when a family member retired. She relocated it to Kilcot, but the shed was cold and damp and the roof was collapsing — hardly the best place for sensitive prints and paintings or ornate woodwork. With hard work from her family and local craftsmen she restored the building, built benches and stands to prepare the frames on, installed proper air conditioning and heating, good lighting and mainly by word of mouth — and of course by regular advertising in The Chimes — built up a highly successful framing enterprise in the succeeding years.Now, local artists, collectors and businesses as well as numerous residents, call on her services, either to frame newly acquired works or to re-frame existing paintings which have not been done well. And it is not just traditional works of art that are framed: people ask for magazine covers, special cards, family photographs, jewellery and necklaces to be displayed in such a way that they can be eventually unmounted if required at a later date. This means very careful use of fixatives and sealants — it is not just a question of ‘glueing and banging.’Framing also involves a variety of techniques, from woodworking to paper and glass-cutting. Kel has benefited from established artistic ventures in the area such as h-Art, the Herefordshire-based annual art festival and exhibition which causes local artists to have greater opportunity to exhibit their work and therefore need framers more. So there are a lot of repeat customers but also newcomers who may not know what they are looking for. “There is a great deal more to correct choice of frame and mount than many people realise at first,” says Kel. “They come in thinking its a simple choice and then after half an hour realise that it can make a huge difference. But just like the art itself, everyone’s ideas differ and I try to give them a choice of styles and sizes I think will work.”Talking of “huge” — Kel’s current work includes a 2 metre by 2.4 metre canvas rolled up next to her workbench, which will only just accommodate it. “I need some extra muscle power for a job like this,” she jokes. In fact, she also plays cricket for Aston Ingham Ladies and that keeps her fairly fit. Her weirdest framing job? Mounting a World War II anti-Nazi toilet roll with pictures of Hitler on it! And framing a championship boxing belt for a client in America. But, she insists, she doesn’t do football shirts. “It’s too time-consuming for me and too expensive for the customer. There are specialists to do that. Anyway, I already have a four-week waiting list. Good framing is not an overnight job.”Looking at the excellent work she does, it’s not surprising.