Custom Frames
Hardwood frames cut, mitered, joined, and finished by hand, sized to the inch for paintings, prints, photos, and keepsakes. Custom engraving on the frame is available too.
Our story
From the Firehouse to the Workshop
John Planas has spent more than 25 years as a firefighter and paramedic. He is also a fire marshal and a fire investigator. At the firehouse, steady hands, patience, and doing the job right aren't optional. Those habits stay with him when the shift is over.
When he is not at the firehouse, John has always loved woodworking. Planing hardwood, cutting tight miters, and building something meant to last have long been how he spends his days off. These days, that craft has a partner.
He builds custom floater frames for the paintings of his fiancée, Laura Jurkowski. She is an established artist and the founder of MoonDoggy LLC, and the two of them work side by side at home, turning her paintings into finished pieces ready for a wall.
Laura has been an artist since the age of two, when her parents first introduced her to art. They were artists and fine-art conservators who restored valuable, often expensive, works of art, and she grew up watching that kind of care up close. The foundations they gave her became a life.
She works in oil and acrylic, creating original paintings of pets, wildlife, nautical scenes, and space exploration, along with hand-painted skate decks. In March 2024, she made painting her full-time work.
Each piece begins in Laura's studio. When the painting is finished, it travels to John's workshop for the last step: a hand-built floater frame, cut and finished for that canvas, then packed and shipped to the customer.
Working together as a couple, making these pieces under one roof, has been an amazing adventure for both of them. For John, building beautiful work with the one he loves makes the craft even more special.
You can see Laura's art for sale, and commission a custom painting of your own, on moondoggy.org. Framed originals are sold only there. When the artwork is ready, John will finish it with a custom floater frame. He delivers anywhere in Connecticut, or he can ship the piece to you.
- StudioLaura paints
- WorkshopJohn frames
- Your wallReady to hang