This is Chad Weinberg:

He is the son of the famous Artie Warren. If you are unfamiliar with Artie’s name, it may be because you are not particularly knowledgeable concerning the best framing businesses in Brooklyn. Artie Warren opened “Artie Warren’s Custom Framing” on Coney Island Ave and Kings Highway in 1979 and his name has been around even longer due to other self-named businesses. When Chad’s father noticed he was not succeeding in his previous entrepreneurial endeavor of selling technology, he switched over to framing and photography and the business has been thriving ever since.

Chad has been working in the shop since he was 15 years old and officially took over the business at 21. He has been the owner for over 14 years now and has continued the legacy his father started.

When I asked Chad about the demographics of his customers, he explained that there was no one ethnicity, class, or type of customer in Artie Warren’s Framing. This seemed odd to me because of the fact that the neighborhood was largely segregated based on religion, country of birth, and ethnicity.  There is a Syrian Jewish community, a Pakistani community, a Slavic community, a Hispanic community, and an Asian community, all within blocks of the store, so it seemed logically that the store would attract a specific type of costumer. But, as Chad explained, these various communities created the multiculturalism present in the store. The following image demonstrates the population of the areas by race. This image alone shows the variety of people that inhabit the area only with the criteria of Latino, Asian, White, or African American. The total population is represented by the green dots, the Hispanic/Latino population is shown by the yellow dots, the Asian population is represented by the red dots, the white population is portrayed by the purple dots, and the African American population is seen by the light blue dots. As you can see, there is a mixture of ethnicities and cultures. 

To more clearly observe the diversity of the neighborhood as well as the differences that have occurred in the last 10 years alone, we can view the following comparison map:

These two images show the foreign-born Eastern Europe population in the neighborhood. The Czechoslovakian, Russian, Ukrainian, and other Eastern European communities, which are prevalent in the area, are shown in the image. The communities show that even within what seems like a unified Slavic community, there is great diversity. This multiculturalism extends beyond the Slavic community. As seen in the left image, which is the census from 2000, there are lightly shaded pink and pale areas, which demonstrate the lack of Eastern Europeans in those regions. These light blue, pale, and pink regions can be seen even more in the 2010 census. This diversity increased. The store itself, which is on the corner of Kings Highway and Coney Island Avenue, is in the middle of three widely different communities. The blue region, just west of the store, is over 62% Eastern European and foreign-born. The percentage of the population that is Ukrainian, Russian, Czechoslovakian, and other European is 19.5%, 32.48%, 0.76%, and 8.95%, respectively. On the other hand, the region northwest of the store is only 10.6% Eastern European. These drastic changes account for the other nationalities that live in the region. These people interact, which results in the assimilation of the cultures present in the area. This multiculturalism and diversity allows for the diverse and extensive clientele that Chad encounters. The store is a perfect platform for this mixing to occur.  

Chad Weinberg grew up in Brooklyn and Staten Island. He told stories of how when he was growing up things were harder because the internet was not as extensive and accessible as it is today.  He recalled having to drive to Staten Island and paying sixty dollars for school papers that he did not want to write because “they were stupid”. Of course he would usually change a few words in order to make it less perfect and he would be satisfied with his B+. He explained that that’s how you had to do it before the internet and all these new methods of cheating and plagiarizing.

As a matter of fact, he has learned to use the boom in internet-use to his benefit. He said that learning how to manipulate social media and the internet is the best form of advertisement. He explained that as long as you hashtag on google+ or Facebook, it automatically comes up when you google a similar search (#framers #Brooklyn #ArtieWarrens). He explained how social media, such as Facebook or Instagram, reaches so many people, even those people “who don’t do anything except take pictures of their food”. Chad uses all these sources of free advertisements instead of paying the ridiculous prices that Yelp and other companies like Google demand. This internet advertisement, since it is so wildly used, has led to customers coming from all over Brooklyn, and the other boroughs, to the shop. This is in part responsible for the cultural diversity of the store.

In addition to attracting new customers easily through social media, he said that personal recommendations are very necessary in this line of work. Because certain cultures and people are less likely to go online and look at reviews, many Jewish and Russian people tend to hear about the company from friends and family. The scenario that Chad told is that people see photos and paintings hanging in their friends’ houses and ask about the framing. In order to get these type of positive recommendations and to get repeat business, Chad said the key is customer service. He stated “with small businesses, that’s what people look for”, regardless of ethnicity or culture. I noticed some of this specialized attention when what seemed like a regular customer came in for her framed piece. Chad started a casual conversation about her kids and made sure the piece was carried to her car, despite her insisting she could do it herself because it was right outside. This type of customer service, along side “being OCD with everything”, has ensured that the business has returning customers. He proudly stated that some people have been coming there for over 40 years.

To ensure that the quality of the work does not decrease, Chad and his father made it a very tight-nit business. The store currently has four employees: Chad, who inherited the business from his father, Chad’s mother, who comes in once a week, an older gentleman, whose been working there for as long as Chad has, and a new employee that Chad recently hired. He emphasized that hiring new people is difficult because finding good people can be hard, let alone good workers. When a customer came in, it was clear to see that the particular skills necessary for this type of work were acquired over time. When a woman raved about how well the frame color matched the tones of the picture, she thanked him for choosing that color. She said “I can never make those decisions”. Chad explained that he is not good with decisions either unless they have to do with color and framing because he has over 20 years of experience. He explained that in addition to knowing color schemes, you also have to know people and what they like. People’s preferences tend to vary between cultures, but by dealing with diverse customers everyday, Chad and his employees have learned these preferences.

Part of a successful business is the location. Chad explained that the location is favorable because of the transit and the people. Due to the variety of buses and trains that lead to Kings Highway, it is a sort of bazaar for people of all kinds. For this reason, Chad stated that there is no particular ethnicity or culture that the store attracts. He gets customers of all kinds ranging from “African Americans to Jewish to Russians to Pakistani”. He said that most of the people that live in the neighborhood are Middle Eastern Jews and Eastern European Jews, but his customer demographics are broad because of the different types of people that gather on Kings Highway. Due to this wide spectrum of cultures surrounding the store, Chad and his family donate to a variety to charities and organization. He participates in community affairs by donating money or framing to Jewish establishment, Russian organizations, rehab centers, and more.

According to Chad, the diversity of his customers stems from more than just the communities of the neighborhood. Chad attributes the business’s success to the transportation of the area. Chad referred to Kings Highway as a social hub for people of all kinds. He attributes the foot traffic along the streets to the variety of transportation and variety of businesses in the area. He explained that the various buses and trains that travel to the area account for the demographics. The bus, train, and bike routes are shown in the following map.

Public transportation has always been a large part of the community. The following map depicts the mass use of public transportation from the 1960’s to present day. The left map shows the regions around the store in 2015. The map shows the forms of transportation used in the area. The green dots, representing public transportation, outnumber the orange dots, representing car drivers. The regions around the store vary in percentage, but in all of the surrounding regions, the residents marked public transport as their main mode of transport, with percentages going as high as 60.3%. This has always been true in regards to the area. The map on the right, which is made using the data collected in the census of 1960, depicts the use of subways, buses, and streetcars by residents in the region. The green dots, which portray subway use, the orange dots, which portray bus or streetcar use, and the red dots, which portray private auto or carpool use, demonstrate the prevalence of public transportation for the residents of the area, as well as those who travel to the area for business and commercial purposes.

According to Chad, being in the center of a social hub, created by the various ethnicities, transit, and variety of businesses, is the perfect environment for his shop to prosper. The multicultural environment allows Chad’s business to attract and accommodate a wide array of customers. In this multicultural environment, in order to attract more customers, Artie Warren’s Framing has had to adapt over the almost 40 years it has been open. Chad spoke of how each culture has their own preferences as well as traditions. Most of his Syrian Jewish customers are referrals from their families and friends. Word of mouth is the main advertisement for that community. Chad also emphasized that in order to stay relevant with the various social changes that have occurred in the last 38 years, the internet is a large advertising source. The diversity in his shop does not only stem from the transit and neighboring communities, but also from customers traveling there because of Yelp, Instagram, and the store website. The neighborhood, especially the block on which the store exists, has been known as a commercial shopping and entertainment center for as long as the store has been open.

Talking to Chad Weinberg allowed me to better understand him as well as his family business. His business is thriving due to his attention to detail, experience, and ability to keep up with the times. The charisma and customer service came out despite the fact I was not a customer. When I asked for his photo and photos of his shop, he was not at all reluctant to help. As a matter of fact, he gave me directions on how to take the pictures and even took a panorama himself. This willingness to help made sure that if I ever need any framing done, Artie Warner’s Custom Framing will be my first destination, as it is for a variety of people.

References and Credit

“Foreign-born Easter European Residence (2000 and 2010).” Map. Social Explorer. Social Explorer, n.d. Web. May 31,2015.

“Total Population Ethnicities.” Map. Social Explorer. Social Explorer, n.d. Web. May 31,2015.

“Working Population Transportation 1960 and 2015.” Map. Social Explorer. Social Explorer, n.d. Web. May 31,2015.