PPB December 2018

safekeeping. “We’ve embedded a lot of pins and medals, bugs, police badges and skeletons,” Plummer says. “We embed a lot of bizarre stuff,” her father adds. “I think when the Berlin Wall came down 28 years ago, we had half of the wall in our plant.” But Clearmount’s willingness to experiment with such unusual materials is what draws new and repeat customers to the company. “Because everything is custom and unique, when people come to us it’s often because their concept has been rejected,” she says. Plummer spent much of her childhood involved with Clearmount, so she knows what it takes to offer top-notch service. At the sprightly age of 6, she started helping her parents stuff catalogues. “I like joking that tiny hands stuff catalogs very well,” she says. As she grew older, her father would ask her to collect materials for orders, from the likes of fan-shaped seashells and maple leaves the perfect shade of crimson red. And whenever her parents experimented with new embedments, they brought them home for her—the “official” product tester—whose eyes would fill with wonder. Plummer specifically recalls a triangular jewel embedded in acrylic, reminiscent of a plastic bead. “I used to think, ‘Oh my gosh, a fairy made this!’” she says, referring to her 7-year- old self. “I grew up knowing that what my parents did was cool. It was really different.” Now, Plummer’s the go-to gal for creating these hyper- personalized products, which are all crafted onsite in Clearmount’s plant. This includes the casting, embedding, mixing and color matching of the Lucite, as well as the sandblasting, polishing, engraving and assembling of the final product. “Because of the acrylic side of things, everything we do is unique,” she says. “We have people come to our booth [at trade shows] and ask, ‘What’s new?’ Well, everything is new. It’s about what you’re trying to build. We’re always experimenting with new technology.” Clearmount’s eco-friendly frames are also something Plummer works closely with— and something the company is particularly proud of. In efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, all Clearmount’s packaging and paperwork associated with the frames is 100 percent recyclable. The wood used is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), meaning the materials are gathered from responsible forests that are monitored by a third party. The glass plates used for the frames are also recyclable, as are the aluminum plates and the water-soluble ink. “We found that a lot of people have been wanting to do frames with plastic,” Plummer says. “Unfortunately, there’s a stereotype that plastic is cheap. Actually, it’s more expensive, especially when you’re trying to do custom work, like us. We’re trying to be as clean as possible.” Clearmount continues this effort through its personalization of SIGG water bottles, an eco- friendly product designed in Switzerland that is durable, 100 percent recyclable and offers a lifetime guarantee. “People keep these bottles for about 20 to 30 years,” she says. “Our product is a skill, and it’s the same with SIGG. They’re not just coming off an assembly line.” Clearmount’s relationship with SIGG began unexpectedly, Plummer recalls. “My youngest sister Nicola was a rower, and her coach, who was teaching the high school team, was also teaching the Olympic team. My mom said, ‘We can get you team swag—jackets, hats, water bottles.’ But the coach said, ‘If it’s not a A member of the Clearmount team sets the shape of a soon-to-be Lucite award. All of Clearmount’s creations are handmade on site. | DECEMBER 2018 | 89 CONNECT