Publications & Sites 
From photos to DVDs to Fraimz
Valerie Moody, who lives in Western Springs, is moving her business Fodeo from the Grant Square shopping center in Hinsdale to Burr Ridge. | Kimberly Fornek—Sun-Times Media
Fodeo
What they do: Transfers videotape, photos, slides and negatives to DVDs and CDs. (minimum order: $100)
New product: Fraimz, self-sticking frames with borders that can be customized for birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, sports teams and holidays
Cost: From $3.49 for a single 4-by-6 inch frame to $11.99 for a package of three designer frames. (available in two sizes)
New address: 7700 Brush Hill Road, Burr Ridge.
Telephone: (708) 579-1360
Website: Myfraimz.com
Article Extras
Updated: September 4, 2012 7:54AM
Hinsdale — Since Valerie Moody started her own business in 2005, she has changed its name, location and focus to sell the public what it wants.
Moody, who lives in Western Springs, has moved her company, Fodeo, from Countryside to Hinsdale’s Grant Square and soon to Burr Ridge, where she will sell “peel and stick” photo frames. Her “Fraimz” come in solid colors, patterns or with custom printing.
“The adhesive is only in the frame area,” Moody said.
A clear non-sticky sheet protects the photo.
“There are a lot of components to this simple little product. I had to learn all about the process and the adhesives to make sure they’re made correctly,” she said.
Moody’s first business, called Reel Life, transferred individuals’ videotape, photos and slides to compact discs and DVDs.
But she discovered a market for higher end “digital scrapbooks.” Corporations that sent employees on incentive trips used Fodeo to create personalized photo and video montages they could give to their employees or guests as souvenirs of the trip.
Fodeo provided disposable cameras for the guests to use and then transferred the images to DVDs, adding music, special effects and the company logo.
“We did the editing to make it look good,” Moody said.
About 2007, the company named changed to Fodeo and moved to a bigger location in Countryside to have room for more editors.
But when the economy shrank, so did her business.
“Companies stopped spending that much money on incentives,’ Moody said.
She realized she needed to develop a lower-cost product.
Disneyland in California, for example, hosted a Grad Nite in June when the park is closed to everyone except that year’s high school graduates. Companies hand out free “giveaways” to promote their businesses to the young consumers.
“They wanted 25,000 units of something with a $3 price point they could give to high school graduates,” Moody said. “I didn’t have anything I could sell them.”
So she put together a focus group of teenagers to uncover new ideas and came up with the concept of decorating computers and laptops with personal photos. The problem was finding a way to get photos to stay put, but be able to change them without damaging either the photo or the laptop.
After extensive test marketing of materials and processes, she came up with Fraimz, frames with adhesive borders that are repositionable and removable. Besides photos, the frames can be used to post a sign or any standard-sized printout from a printer.
“The opportunity for these frames is unlimited,” Moody said.~.
