Editor\u2019s note: Bucket Baker, the popular shop cat that kept watch over the happenings at John Baker Frames in Ocean Beach, passed away May 22. The Bakers buried Bucket under a pepper tree in John’s yard in Point Loma. The following story, written just days before her passing, is in memorium to Bucket.<\/i> Are you longing to update your interior, but can\u2019t quite stretch to redecorate your home or office? With a modest investment \u2014 and perhaps a little guidance from No. 1 “saleslady” and shop cat Bucket Baker and “director of security” Murf, a lovable rescued Bernese mountain dog mix \u2014 you can freshen your interior\u2019s look by reframing your artwork or purchasing something new at John Baker Picture Frames, located at the foot of Point Loma Ave. in Ocean Beach. A framer for more than 45 years and self-confessed sucker for any animal in need of succor, Baker, who grew up in Ocean Beach and now lives in Point Loma, offers all types of custom framing and matting. He draws both locals and customers from throughout the region for his expertise in building Mission and Craftsman-style frames. Baker\u2019s shop, just east of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, offers a full line of photo and small picture frames, as well as original oil paintings, watercolors and prints. His associate, Mary Maslanik, provides art restoration and touch-up services. Baker began as an artist, supporting himself through painting.\u00a0He bought his art supplies at Aaron\u2019s in La Jolla. “They talked me into working for them part-time and then full-time,” Baker said.\u00a0Later, as founder and friend Len Aaron was set to close the store, he took over as manager. Baker\u2019s innovations increased the store\u2019s receipts five-fold. “I put in a lot of picture frames and art supplies. Those were selling, when the art wasn\u2019t selling. The picture frames sold like crazy. Then, they [Aaron\u2019s] didn\u2019t want to close the store anymore,” Baker said. Soon, Aaron visited from Los Angeles and handed him keys to a former furniture store on Point Loma\u2019s Midway Drive. Baker reopened it as a frame shop within two weeks, turning it into Aaron\u2019s first million-dollar location. Over the next 11 years, he opened new shops in La Mesa, Palm Springs and Las Vegas, with Baker travelling constantly.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “It reached the point where I didn\u2019t know where I lived. I decided to open my own store,” he recalled. Hillcrest hosted his first frame shop, followed by a larger space on Midway Drive. He relocated to his current Ocean Beach store about 13 years ago. “I moved over here because it\u2019s quieter, slower and a much happier place to work.\u00a0I really love the location, this neighborhood and the people here. It\u2019s such a relaxed neighborhood,” Baker said. It\u2019s also a community that\u2019s animal-friendly, an attribute that\u2019s important to Baker, who\u2019s never met an animal in distress he won\u2019t stop to help. “I like all creatures.\u00a0 If I see a snail in trouble, I\u2019ll save it,” he said. Baker has always had a shop cat at his Ocean Beach store. Bucket, a friendly tabby Norwegian Forest cat adopted through Sunset Cliffs Animal Hospital eight years ago, reigned over the frames. Until her recent decline in health \u2014 she suffered from diabetes, kidney failure and arthritis and had been given only a short time to live \u2014 she patrolled Point Loma Avenue, guiding customers into the shop and begging treats up and down the street. Now, she maintains her position as head of the public relations department from atop her favorite perch by the shop entrance, a furry leopard-spotted cat bed flanked by stuffed teddy bears. John Baker Picture Frames is located at 4735 Point Loma Ave. For more information, call (619) 223-5313, or visit www.sandiegopictureframes.com.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Editor\u2019s note: Bucket Baker, the popular shop cat that kept watch over the happenings at John Baker Frames in Ocean Beach, passed away May 22. The Bakers buried Bucket under a pepper tree in John’s yard in Point Loma. The following story, written just days before her passing, is in memorium to Bucket. Are you […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":257434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11561","_seopress_titles_title":"Choose your new frames in a pet-friendly environment","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11561],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-peninsula-beacon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}