u/artsupremacist

Hi all, me again. My raise/promotion situation did not go well, picture framing can’t pay my bills anymore. No other shops are hiring in my area to my knowledge. If you know anyone in need of a really talented, hardworking framer in the Reno/Tahoe area, let me know.

If any of you have left the craft, where did you go? What did you do?

I have some things in my area that I qualify for but I’m just curious about other options I maybe haven’t thought of.

Hello, I hope this isn’t a redundant post but I do need some guidance.

My mom passed away in October and I am next of kin. She told me she had life insurance, I saw the payments on her bank statements while she was in the hospital and I was helping her move some money around.

I filled out a form with NAIC in January and I haven’t heard anything. I did notice that I missed putting in her SSN, but everything else was complete. They say not to submit the form again in their auto reply, they also say it could take months to hear anything. I am wondering if I just need to keep waiting or if I should go ahead and submit another form.

Could calling them be a productive thing to do?

If there is another way I could get the information about her life insurance in a timely manner, that would also be helpful information.

I’m coming here for some slight guidance as a longtime framer/employee. I have been at a high volume shop for 5 years. I’m an extremely competent, reliable employee. I got my CPF in less than a year starting in this field. There has been a recent discussion with my employer about me becoming manager of the shop I’m at. The owner of the shop told me in September, she would like to promote me with the new title and a pay raise.

I’m currently earning $21/hr. In the past when I’ve received pay increases, it has been an additional $1. For the duties and responsibilities that I will be taking on, I’m planning on asking for a bigger pay increase than $1. I would like to be making $25/hr-$27/hr. I am not making a living wage and I feel that I am crucial to keeping the business running smoothly.

Some context:
-Our shop made just under $1m last year. We are very busy. We are located near Lake Tahoe which brings in clients with a lot to spend. We have been open for 51 years, in the 5 years that I have been here I have cultivated a broad clientele that exclusively likes to work with me at the design counter. I stand 10 feet tall behind my work and take a lot of pride in it, my clients know that.

-The owners of my shop are a married couple. Wife works ~25-30hrs a week, she keeps our books, manages the email, does some marketing, and orders our material. She is not a framer, has no interest in learning about framer. Husband does our deliveries and installations, I’ve gotten so good at my job he’s only in the shop ~10hrs a week. He has been framing for over 20 years, eager for retirement lol. When they are gone, their roles become mine and I take over these tasks. I would say on average they are out of town 4 days at a time every other week.

I’m the go to, all of our employees (3 other part timers) rely on me throughout the day to keep production moving and orders coming in. I am covering shifts, other employees time off, and my employers frequent time off. I am basically just writing this post to confirm that I’m not out of my mind for asking for the raise that I want and feel I deserve. I knew I was never going to be rich being a picture framer but I want to be compensated fairly for the employee that I am. I do have health insurance, I get 2 weeks of PTO a year, I do not get sick time.

Hopefully this is enough information for me to get some valuable feedback.