Any thoughts on gel mounting?

[erik1925]

Good pic there, Brandon. 

[Starling]

None of my gel-backed items look or feel like that either.  Mario sucks.  AVOID AVOID AVOID.

[Charlie]

None of my gel-backed items look or feel like that either.  Mario sucks.  AVOID AVOID AVOID.

Quick draw???

[archstanton]

None of my gel-backed items look or feel like that either.  Mario sucks.  AVOID AVOID AVOID.

Maybe I got lucky but my Mario gel backed insert doesn't have this starchy look or feel.  The last thing I'd say is "Mario sucks", the guy does great work at fair prices.

[Starling]

Maybe your experience was different. I was relaying MINE.

He:
1. Did not return emails and phone calls
2. Completely lied about the time line the piece would be finished by 4 months
3. Utterly ruined a window card from the 1920s by airbrushing over the whole thing a different color than the original, and the piece wasn't even correctly attached to the paperbacking, it was cracking and falling off the backing.
4. Did not respond to my lengthy email and pictures detailing how he ruined the card.

But sure, he has fair prices, so by all means keep using him. Good luck!

[erik1925]

I do recall, Brian.. he did wreak havoc on that WC.

 

[Starling]

But on a more positive note (and sorry for being so harsh, but he butchered that card. I had to sell it), I have had wonderful experiences with Dario, poster mountain, and the ladies at fourth cone restoration, who have interesting stories about other customers having awful experiences with Mario. Just a heads up!

[Charlie]

Ok that's not a quick draw.  This is the first I've heard of any issues with him.  Since you mentioned the other Three, Dario is probably the only one I would trust with anything.  The other two were all born from the same family tree where restoration is more important than conservation.  I hope I am wrong and everything is still peaches and cream 50 years from now...

[Mirosae]

@ Charlie Good points. I trust Dario. Incidentally I always hope that a restorer gets the right balance between conservation and restoration. In Europe the conservation approach is a bit too  one sided.

@ Brian I am with you on this one. To me customer services is very important. Mario is not good at it. Dario to me is the one. I might try some of the others you have recommended tho.

[Starling]

Ok that's not a quick draw.  This is the first I've heard of any issues with him.  Since you mentioned the other Three, Dario is probably the only one I would trust with anything.  The other two were all born from the same family tree where restoration is more important than conservation.  I hope I am wrong and everything is still peaches and cream 50 years from now...

Yeah, I have thought about what you have wrote on the subject, and  you might be right about it Charlie.  I just need to take comfort in the fact that in 50 years, I will be a feeble old man, and if John and Jaime (who are both part of the tree you speak of) used practices that will corrode or destroy the paper they worked on, the high end of this hobby would probably collapse.  They both have worked oh the best of the best posters.  All the universal horror, all the high-end stuff they sell at HA.  So in 50 years, if all these posters turn to dust, my Bette Davis collection will be in good company   Sorry, this helps me sleep at night.  I'm neurotic, a little haha. 

[jedgerley]

@ Charlie Good points. I trust Dario. Incidentally I always hope that a restorer gets the right balance between conservation and restoration. In Europe the conservation approach is a bit too  one sided.

@ Brian I am with you on this one. To me customer services is very important. Mario is not good at it. Dario to me is the one. I might try some of the others you have recommended tho.

Hey how did ya decide to ship all the way from the UK to California? 

[Neo]

Good pic there, Brandon.  

Thanks.  The gel restoration that Poster Mountain does is a beautiful thing.  

Maybe your experience was different. I was relaying MINE.

He:
1. Did not return emails and phone calls
2. Completely lied about the time line the piece would be finished by 4 months
3. Utterly ruined a window card from the 1920s by airbrushing over the whole thing a different color than the original, and the piece wasn't even correctly attached to the paperbacking, it was cracking and falling off the backing.
4. Did not respond to my lengthy email and pictures detailing how he ruined the card.

But sure, he has fair prices, so by all means keep using him. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing your experience here.  There were a few things similar in my experience with Lumiere/Mario.  

With the work he did on my poster, he missed the deadline we agreed on.  When I first talked with him, I told him it needed to be done in almost 3 months, and I sent it off and it was pretty much down hill from there.  I emailed and called a few times to check on the status, and the only clear answer was about 5 days before the deadline.  He told me it was ready but just needed some final touches, and if I wanted it by the date we agreed on, I could have it overnight shipped to me, at my cost.  There was no apology or anything.  Of course, I wasn't going to pay for overnight shipping when he had almost 3 months to complete the work.

Although he didn't completely butcher my poster, the overall work was really half-hearted.  I don't expect things to be perfect, but the final product had a lot of issues.  

Lumiere's prices are just slightly lower than Poster Mountain's.  Sometimes, spending a few extra bucks is well worth it in the long run.

So in 50 years, if all these posters turn to dust, my Bette Davis collection will be in good company  
  

As well as my Ferris Bueller's Day Off video poster, etc.  

[Starling]

Thanks.  The gel restoration that Poster Mountain does is a beautiful thing.  



Thanks for sharing your experience here.  There were a few things similar in my experience with Lumiere/Mario.  

With the work he did on my poster, he missed the deadline we agreed on.  When I first talked with him, I told him it needed to be done in almost 3 months, and I sent it off and it was pretty much down hill from there.  I emailed and called a few times to check on the status, and the only clear answer was about 5 days before the deadline.  He told me it was ready but just needed some final touches, and if I wanted it by the date we agreed on, I could have it overnight shipped to me, at my cost.  There was no apology or anything.  Of course, I wasn't going to pay for overnight shipping when he had almost 3 months to complete the work.

Although he didn't completely butcher my poster, the overall work was really half-hearted.  I don't expect things to be perfect, but the final product had a lot of issues.  

Lumiere's prices are just slightly lower than Poster Mountain's.  Sometimes, spending a few extra bucks is well worth it in the long run.



As well as my Ferris Bueller's Day Off video poster, etc.  

I think Ferris and Bette would be in good company, that's for sure.

And it continues to amaze me that Mario has completely got off scot free for doing half-assed work and being completely unresponsive, while Posterfix gets dragged over the coals (rightly so, btw) for being only slightly more awful.  Hopefully we can spread the word!

[Mirosae]

Hey how did ya decide to ship all the way from the UK to California? 

And i have shipped them to Canada too!

[archstanton]

Bruce from emovieposter recommended Lumiere to me as he said that's who he uses.  I find it odd that Bruce would choose someone who does crappy work.

I of course understand if you had bad experiences with Mario then your particular opinion is somewhat justified, but I've had nothing but great work come back from him and he has always gotten everything back to me in a month or a little less.  I was having communication issues via email with him but then it turned out all me emails were going to his junk folder, and once his wife rectified this, they would respond to me very quickly.

I wonder, does Mario have underlings who also perform restoration, and maybe do less quality work?  If so, there should be some more quality control and training before letting pieces go out the door.  That's just a guess, I don't know that much about how he runs his shop.

[erik1925]

Bruce from emovieposter recommended Lumiere to me as he said that's who he uses.  I find it odd that Bruce would choose someone who does crappy work.

I of course understand if you had bad experiences with Mario then your particular opinion is somewhat justified, but I've had nothing but great work come back from him and he has always gotten everything back to me in a month or a little less.  I was having communication issues via email with him but then it turned out all me emails were going to his junk folder, and once his wife rectified this, they would respond to me very quickly.

I wonder, does Mario have underlings who also perform restoration, and maybe do less quality work?  If so, there should be some more quality control and training before letting pieces go out the door.  That's just a guess, I don't know that much about how he runs his shop.

I'm sure a good number may have a story where something came back and was not what was expected. It was like Brandon's recent discussion about the work that Jaime Mendez did to his German poster. And HA still uses him all the time.

No one is perfect, and it really can sting when the work paid for is sub par. No question about that.

[Starling]

Ah, the old junk mail excuse.  That's a good one!

But in all seriousness, yes, I know many people that still use him.  And it seems to me that if the piece is more expensive, the work is often of better quality (from what I have heard).  If he thinks he can pull something over on you, like me and many many others, he will, by doing crappy half-assed work and not responding to questions.  OF COURSE he is nice to Bruce and probably does decent work for him, because Bruce throws a ton of work his way (like he did with you).  That's just good business, not to piss off your best clients.  I'm just saying beware, if Mario thinks you are a "nobody" expect to be disappointed.  I wasn't even THAT upset (as Jeff can attest, I was very understanding) with how long it took, since I was expecting the work to be done well.  But when I received a very butchered piece of work, I started digging a little further and found MANY horror stories.  Buyer beware.

[jedgerley]

And i have shipped them to Canada too!

hmm i may have to send Dario and Mario Jamio and Charlio four identical posters as a test  

[erik1925]

I can concur with Brian's example. The WC he worked on for Brian was far from what it should have been.

It made me  to look at it, too.

[archstanton]

Ah, the old junk mail excuse.  That's a good one!

But in all seriousness, yes, I know many people that still use him.  And it seems to me that if the piece is more expensive, the work is often of better quality (from what I have heard).  If he thinks he can pull something over on you, like me and many many others, he will, by doing crappy half-assed work and not responding to questions.  OF COURSE he is nice to Bruce and probably does decent work for him, because Bruce throws a ton of work his way (like he did with you).  That's just good business, not to piss off your best clients.  I'm just saying beware, if Mario thinks you are a "nobody" expect to be disappointed.  I wasn't even THAT upset (as Jeff can attest, I was very understanding) with how long it took, since I was expecting the work to be done well.  But when I received a very butchered piece of work, I started digging a little further and found MANY horror stories.  Buyer beware.

Ha!  Yes, the junk mail excuse is an old one, but I believed it because if I sent a message directly from the form on the website it was responded to quickly; but if I copied and pasted his email directly to my Hotmail account then those didn't get responded to until I brought it up to them.

As for being a "nobody", that is really what I am.  He's done 6 pieces for me over the last two years, and I always ask for a quote even though I know he'd give me one anyways (but I just want him to know cost is an issue for me).  

Anyways, I guess all we can do is speak to our own experiences.  Clearly some have had a negative (or at least less than great) experience; but many other (as I've read in the forums), have had great work done by him and are very happy with his services.  Maybe I'm just "special".  

[Starling]

Yup, so true, at the end of the day, if he works for you, keep using him!  His prices are very affordable compared to the others, that is for sure.

[Charlie]

Yeah, I have thought about what you have wrote on the subject, and  you might be right about it Charlie.  I just need to take comfort in the fact that in 50 years, I will be a feeble old man, and if John and Jaime (who are both part of the tree you speak of) used practices that will corrode or destroy the paper they worked on, the high end of this hobby would probably collapse.  They both have worked oh the best of the best posters.  All the universal horror, all the high-end stuff they sell at HA.  So in 50 years, if all these posters turn to dust, my Bette Davis collection will be in good company   Sorry, this helps me sleep at night.  I'm neurotic, a little haha. 

It would be interesting to know if their methods and materials change based on the value of the poster.

[Charlie]

hmm i may have to send Dario and Mario Jamio and Charlio four identical posters as a test  

I've wanted to do this.  Even thought about a fundraiser to send say 10 posters to the 10 most respected backers and analyze the results... It would probably be well over a grand...   

[jedgerley]

I've wanted to do this.  Even thought about a fundraiser to send say 10 posters to the 10 most respected backers and analyze the results... It would probably be well over a grand...   

I will admit I was going to send you one on magicians' paper that would dissolve when you went to wash it

[Ba517401]

Arch...
Lumiere did a gel mount for me:  A Fistful of dollars, some wear, discoloration on the white areas, slight crossfold seperation, and wrinkling (which I hate).  I instructed that I would like to keep the NSS stamp.  Poster returned and I am very satisfied.  Size will change slightly, so wait to get the frame until poster is returned and measured.