To us, an empty wall space wider than three feet cries for the right picture to make its home there. Since half our waking hours are spent in the home, pictures on the wall create warmth, memories and a decorator look. Our budget being what it was, finished prints in glassed, matted frames were out of the question. That left finding rolled up prints in rummage sales, sale bins in framing shops and a good dose of luck with the mats.

The proper size and color mat is what makes a beloved picture look right on the wall. It shouldn't be too wide or the print will look lost. Too narrow and the color will be lost. Through the years we had collected dozens of frames of all widths and sizes. Another collection of beautiful prints gathered dust in the drawers. All they needed was the right mat for a perfect marriage. Unfortunately, a custom mat could cost from twenty to thirty dollars, thereby blowing our budget before the start. What we needed was a professional mat cutter.

Some quick research informed us that a good mat cutter would cost twelve hundred dollars to say nothing of the board, blades and supplies. Suddenly I had an idea that somewhere out there existed a used mat cutter waiting to be bought. But such an esoteric item was not to be seen. So I went to the next town and approached the owner of a good sized frame shop. I presented to him my dilemma and asked him if he had a cutter or knew of one for sale. He was intrigued with my industriousness and admitted that he still used his original mat cutter for cutting up cardboard and that he would be willing to sell it to me for two hundred dollars. I think he was surprised when I immediately agreed. He then offered to replace a long missing part with a new one, supply me with a hundred dollars worth of mat board and start me off with a box of needed blades and supplies - all for no extra charge!

The following week, when I arrived to pick up the mat cutter, he gave me a lesson in its use and helped me out to the car with the machine. At home I made a custom table for it to sit on with storage for the board underneath and hooks for the accessories around the outside. A friend had heard of my new venture and showed me twenty different pictures with their complementary but unmatched frames, I was to make the mats and frame the pictures under glass. I gave him a price half that of a professional and he gladly agreed. The following week I delivered them to their owner who was thrilled with the result and recommended another friend who needed a similar job done on a three by four foot antique map. In a few weeks I cleared nine hundred dollars profit and had decorated our new home with framed pictures in every room. Without the kind assistance and generosity of a complete stranger, none of this would have come about. During the next few years I was able to supplement my meagre yearly income with several thousand dollars and decorate our house at the same time.

My greatest thrill is to turn an almost hopeless treasure into the glory it was when it was new.