Frame shop expands in Westchester

For more than a century Ted Howell's family business, Heritage Frame & Picture Co., had depended heavily upon business it received from neighbors. Located on 170 Broadway in downtown Manhattan, some of the company's earliest clients included the New York and American Stock Exchanges.

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"We lost a lot of money the first few months," said Howell, who would not disclose figures. I am lucky that my business survived."

By expanding its Westchester operations, the Heritage Frame & Picture Co. was able to stay out of the red.

NEW SHOWROOM

Six years ago, Howell, a Scarsdale native, decided to move his workshop from New York City to Ossining, a decision he said that was a quality of life issue as well as financial. But the main showroom remained in Manhattan, and most of the jobs were coming from his New York City corporate clientele - until Sept. 11.

"In the beginning it was terrible," said Howell about the business his company was generating in the months following the attacks. His was one of the first 50 businesses near ground zero to apply for a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan. "It has since slowly picked up but it is not what it was. But things in Westchester are going really well."

In July, Howell opened a new showroom in Tarrytown at the comer of Route 9 and Main Street, something he admitted he most likely wouldn't have done if business were as usual.

"I wanted a stronger retail presence in the county," he said. "The Ossining location is more of a workshop than a showroom."

Howell has no plans to close his Manhattan location, which was founded by his great-grandfather, an art dealer from Washington, D.C., in 1878.

"We are working hard to bring in new clients," said Howell. "But the good thing is that I am diversified now. Before pretty much everything was in Manhattan; now I have a healthy mix."