Silver Lining ends sterling service; place last orders by Dec. 14
JORGE RODRIGUEZ and Gary Fuss in front of A Silver Lining.
OWNER GARY FUSS with framed baseball memorabilia.
The busy frame shop A Silver Lining is closing the first week of January 2025, after nearly 29 years of sterling service on the Boulevard. Customers travel from all over Los Angeles to have their treasures preserved by owner Gary Fuss and framer Jorge Rodriguez, and many local businesses and nearby homes display photographs, paintings, certificates and memorabilia framed by the skilled duo.
“We framed a good amount of stuff for Village Pizzeria. At least 70-80 percent,” Fuss recalls. “If I went to different houses around here, I probably framed 90-100 percent of their stuff. When Antonio Banderas lived here with Melanie Griffith, we framed probably 90% of the house.” A Silver Lining framed many items for actor Brad Garrett’s home and his comic book store in Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. They also put a plexiglass cover over a painting of Jesus at Christ the King Catholic Church. Fuss explains, “Pope John Paul had come and blessed the painting, so everybody went there to touch it. It was being worn down.”
Art and framing
Although Fuss has been practicing the art of framing for 40 years, he first aimed to become a fine artist, and some of his works are hung in the store. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Fuss faced a dilemma while at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan: his work needed to be framed for his final presentation. “I took a class at the Brooklyn Museum on how to make picture frames,” Fuss explains. “I bought a mat cutter, which was $600, and started matting my stuff, then matting my friends’ art, and they started paying me. So, I was actually in business a year before I graduated.”
While in college, “I did art history as a minor, which I fell in love with. I became a Christian after that because I studied all the paintings of Jesus.” Fuss credits his faith for his success. “Yes, I’m creative. Yes, I’m a good salesman. Yes, I’ve been doing this for years. No matter what’s been thrown at us, we have been blessed.” He points to their post-pandemic business boom. They average 5,000 framing jobs per year.
In Los Angeles
Fuss moved to Los Angeles, following his pediatrician brother, who now works at the National Institutes of Health. In 1991 Fuss took a job as manager of Grey Goose Custom Picture Framing — which was then on La Brea Avenue, and now on Hillhurst Avenue — where Jorge Rodriguez was a framer. Five years later Fuss was ready to start his own framing business and wanted Rodriguez to join him. He discussed possible store names with his brother, focusing on the word “silver,” and states, “Originally, it was going to be The Silver Lining.” His brother vetoed that, pointing out that he should have a name that was higher in the telephone directory listings, so he changed one word and selected A Silver Lining because of its alphabetical superiority.
A Silver Lining opened on Larchmont Boulevard in 1996. Its current store is its second location on the Boulevard. “I’ve been blessed by being in a community that supports small businesses. When I first started, a lot of people told me parking here is not easy, the rent is not easy, but when you have a relationship with your customers, which I do, that’s the most important thing. Without the community, we would not be here this long, there’s no question.”
Jorge Rodriguez
Rodriguez is quick to say that Fuss is the owner, he’s the framer. Fuss says simply, “He’s my brother.” Because they’ve worked together for more than 30 years, many expect that Rodriguez will take over the business when Fuss retires in January. However, Fuss is not closing the store because he turned 67 in November. It’s because he’s losing his “brother,” Jorge Rodriguez.
“I cannot continue because my wife has Alzheimer’s,” Rodriguez explains. Four years ago, he sent his wife of 30 years back to El Salvador to live with her mother. Now 86, Rodriguez’s mother-in-law can’t handle the responsibility anymore. “I’m going back to El Salvador to take care of [my wife]. That’s the real, true story of why we’re actually closing. She enjoys when you take her out, even if she does not remember the next day where you took her. I want to give her a few more years of happiness.” His daughter, who graduated from college in San Diego two years ago and is a therapist for children, will stay here to continue her own career.
Fuss and Rodriguez are too busy getting their orders finished to consider throwing themselves a goodbye party before they close — and a women’s clothing store moves in. Those who have put off their custom framing have until Dec. 14 to place an order. Fuss may do some framing out of his home in Sherman Oaks, and he hopes Rodriguez returns someday so they can continue framing together. In the meantime, Fuss might take a long-needed vacation. “I would like to visit Europe to see all the beautiful stuff I studied in college.” He is also contemplating writing a book about his experience.
Gary Fuss looks up while framing baseball memorabilia. “Someone once told me, ‘Your brother is a doctor, but don’t think that what you do isn’t important.’” He pauses to the sound of Rodriguez sawing wooden frame pieces, before adding, “We create happiness.”
Place your frame orders by Dec. 14 with: A Silver Lining, 115 N. Larchmont Blvd., 323-464-8284.
Category: People