BEHIND THE MASSIVE WOOD
doors of a stylish East Side brownstone, home of Julius
Lowy Frame & Restoring Co.,
4,000 antique frames used to sit
side by side like hopefuls at an upscale singles party anxiously awaiting the arrival of the perfect
mate—or in this case, painting.
The frames arc still there, just as
they have been for over 92 years,
hut now Lowy is marrying them
off by going high-tech. In essence, it has revolutionized its business by setting up a computerized match-
maker called the Lowy Scan Digital Frame Imaging system.
When a painting's period, dimensions and style are keyed in, the program scans Lowy's database, retrieving 3-D images of frames whose style suits anything from a 20th-century American work to a 17th-century Spanish masterpiece. After this virtual pairing, the choices are winnowed down by one of Lowy's frame specialists and digitally married to the painting. The resulting portfolio of potential combinations is printed and the high-caliber renderings dispatched via e-mail or courier to the client.
Improving sales scene
Developed with IBM'S T.J. Wat-
son Research Center, the system
was an instant hit. With its help,
Lowy's sales soared to $2.5 million last year, a 30% gain over 1998. That was more than enough to cover the $350,000 Lowy spent to develop the software and buy a high-tech camera capable of scanning frames of up to 60-by-72 inches.
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"What makes this system special is how fully integrated it is," says IBM'S Howard Sachar, who managed the project. "Lowy can photograph a frame and it is immediately iiv.ul.iblc in their database."
Fur Larry Shar, who represents the second generation ot his family to head the business, the results confirm an inspiration he had years ago when he heard that IBM had created a powerful digital camera. The device, capable of recording 3-D objects, had been developed to allow museums to create a virtual inventory of their collections.
Lowy had long had a.. photographic inventory of its collection of antique frames, which range in price from $5,000 to $250,000. But the company was looking for a more efficient way of capturing and accessing the inventory and, ultimately, of making its frames easier to sell.
At this early stage the majority of Lowy's clients .Still do business the old-fashioned way, preffering to see and touch the frame before buying it. But a new breed of collectors, including Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn, have quickly settled into the habit of purchasing frames based solely on the Lowy Scan images.
For Mr. Shar personally, the system has brought a number of benefits. "Four years ago, I couldn't hive imagined I wouldn't be climbing up and down six flights of steps mannaIly scarching, out frames,""says Mr. Shar, whose father bought the business from Julius Lowy in the 1940s. More important, with a virtual inventory, the wear and tear that results from handling antique frames is significantly reduced, and no frame is ever forgotten in the dark recesses of Lowy's home base. |
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Quadrupled output
Generating a photographic portfolio for clients isn't a revolutionary concept. Some of Lowy's rivals create such mock-ups with Polaroid shots or a commercial image-manipulation program. Using Adobe Acrobat, Eli Wilner and Co., for example, can wed a frame to a painting in 10 minutes. "Larry can create that marriage in seconds," notes Mr. Wilner. As a result, while Mr. Wilner's company averages eight portfolios per week, his competitor is able to turn
out about 32. "I'd love to have it,"
says Mr. Wilner of Lowy's system. Meanwhile, Lowy is moving further into the digital age. Brad Shar 28, is refining the Web site, at www.lowyonline.com, to enable password armed clients to view portfolios.
"the progresssion (into e-commerce) was in many ways a no brainer" says the younger Mr. Shar. With infrastructure in place, enhancing the site involved a realively small investment of time and money. he says. And the benefits are clear:" It gives us one more venue by which to bring the benefits of Lowy Scan to a wider audience.
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