installation in San Diego, CA

I’ve been making  art and working in the arts since my first job, when like many aspiring artists, I found my way into custom picture framing. Its  a natural way to earn a living while still being connected to what I loved most– not to mention getting a good deal on your own framing!

Like most kids, I started out at Aaron Brothers and then gradually worked my way into framing at a higher level at a more highly skilled, truly “custom” frame shop. At The Frame Maker in San Diego, I grew as a craftsman and was trained specifically to handle their art installation requirements.

In 1998, Steve Atlas, (owner of The Frame Maker) helped me establish my own business to work together with his, and Installation Specialists was born.

Over the last eleven years I’ve grown from project to project and from basic art installations to design, specification and installation of “high-tech” cable tensioning and standoff display systems, as well as into specialized custom fabrication and finishing services developed with Alan Clark, who joined me  full time as assistant and installer in 2004.

Having known Alan for many years prior, I knew he was perfect for the business. Five years later, Alan proves himself invaluable as we regularly take on and complete much larger and more complex projects than I could handle on my own.

At the end of 2006, I renamed the company Level One Art Installation. The old name, Installation Specialists, while well known, had always seemed too generic and limited, and we now had an established track record of providing premium, hassle-free services to a variety of art professionals in San Diego and beyond.

At the beginning of this year (2009) I committed to building a better set of tools for communicating with our audience and the larger art and design community as well with this site. Part of this is finally building a usable reference for all of us of all the photos documenting eleven years of professional art & display installation projects in San Diego and southern California.

You can also find us on yelp! and kudzu.com, and I’ll be posting comments and testimonials from my terrific clients in the blog posts here as well, which brings me to the rest of my story: you.

I want to thank all of our clients, old and new, past and present, everyone I’ve personally worked with over the past twenty years, and everyone who has utilized Level One over the past eleven. We are incredibly fortunate to have the strong network and community that we do here in San Diego, and I thank you for nurturing me and embracing Level One.

So whether we’ve worked together since The Frame Maker days, or you’re coming to Level One for the first time, know that our goal is, always has been, and always will be, to provide you with unparalleled, hassle-free installation services. We wouldn’t be here without you, so you know you can count on us

Thank you!

-Eric Gilliat, April 1, 2009