A frame can make or break a piece of art.

The perfect frame can bring out certain colours and help evoke a certain mood, while the wrong one can make art seem incomplete.

That’s perhaps why Frameworks takes its job so seriously.

It’s hosting “Custom Made”, an exhibit that opens tonight at the Bermuda Society of Arts and runs through December 10.

The event is a fundraiser benefiting four charities — BSoA, Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, the Bermuda National Gallery and the Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard.

It’s the first of its kind, according to framing specialist Anita Belvin.

“This is a collaborative art show where we have invited 43 artists to submit one of their pieces of artwork to us,” she said.

“We have designed their pieces and our framers have framed it. The artist had no choice in the frame. The finished piece will be unveiled to the artist and the public on Friday.”

Q: What inspired Frameworks to host its first exhibit?

A: We just wanted to be able to give back to the artists in the community and give a big “thank you” to everyone. Most artists featured in this show are artists who have framed with us before, including some who have worked with us since we opened in 1978. It’s a show that we are completely funding ourselves so it wasn’t financially possible [previously], but this year we were able to do so. It’s a fundraiser and we are not making anything from it. It’s supporting the artists. They give us an asking price for their piece and they will receive that if it sells. Anything extra will be divided among the four arts charities we have chosen.

Q: What goes into picking the perfect frame to go with a piece of art?

A: In some cases it takes a lot. It involves pulling out a thousand sample frames and choosing the best one from there. Some pictures take us weeks to design and frame, others take us like an hour because we know straight away what will work with that piece. You have to try and feel out the art work and get a complementary frame that goes with the colours and feelings of that piece. We work a lot with how the artist was feeling when they were painting so we can try and find a frame that works properly.

Q: What do you hope people get from seeing this show?

A: We want them to see how much work goes into frame design and how beautiful and complementary it can be. Frames are almost like a piece of furniture. It’s such an investment to do beautiful, custom framing like we have done. It’s a huge cost to the artists, like buying a piece of furniture for their home would be. I just hope people can see how different and beautiful framing can be, as opposed to just having a traditional matte white with gold frame.