Family Memories: Disneyland Paris 2025–2026

Bespoke Memorabilia Framing Project, Luton, Bedfordshire.

This special family memorabilia project brought together three generations of the Kitchener family and continued a relationship with ICAS that began approximately 35 years ago.

The grandfather was one of our established customers, initially coming to us for photographic equipment and advice. Over the years, we helped develop his interest in photography, from choosing his camera equipment to improving his understanding of how to take and present better photographs. It was therefore particularly meaningful when the third-generation grandson and his family contacted ICAS to create a permanent display celebrating their own family memories.

From a Disney holiday to a family keepsake

The family visited our gallery from Luton to discuss how best to preserve and present their memories from Disneyland Paris during 2025 and 2026.

Rather than designing the piece around photographs alone, we encouraged the whole family to take part in the consultation and talk about the moments, places and objects that meant the most to them. This allowed the finished frame to tell the story of the holiday rather than display a collection of items.

The memorabilia included eight family photographs, four Disney Newport Bay Club MagicPass room cards, two souvenir postcards, seven commemorative gold-coloured Disney coins and a selection of Mickey Mouse silhouette stickers.

Designing the composition

The first stage was to arrange all the photographs and memorabilia on the design table and establish a visual sequence. Because of the number of different objects, shapes and depths involved, a conventional single-level mount would have made the display appear crowded.

Instead, we developed a multi-layered, four-section presentation that allows the viewer’s eye to move naturally through the family’s story.

The main top mount was individually designed and cut with approximately 15 apertures, each sized specifically for the photographs, cards, postcards and dimensional memorabilia.

The photographs form the visual narrative, while the Newport Bay Club cards and Mickey Mouse silhouettes create smaller points of interest throughout the composition. The silhouettes were mounted individually onto approximately 90 × 90 mm off-white panels and raised above the principal mount surface, adding depth to the design and visually dividing the presentation into its four sections.

Choosing the mount colours

Colour selection played an important part in bringing such a varied collection together.

After studying the family’s Disney photographs, we selected 8643 Congo Green for the principal mount. The muted blue-green tone was taken from colours visible within the Disney photographs and provided a contemporary background without overpowering the images.

It also works particularly well against the warmer metallic tones of the commemorative coins.

For the coin displays, we introduced a contrasting soft ivory/off-white secondary backing layer. Each coin was individually spaced within its own recessed aperture, allowing the gold finish to stand clearly against the lighter background.

This combination of Congo Green, ivory and gold gave the finished presentation a strong but understated colour structure.

Creating depth for the memorabilia

One of the technical challenges was accommodating objects with very different thicknesses.

The photographs and cards sit relatively flat, whereas the commemorative coins require additional depth between the mount and glazing. The design was therefore constructed with separate mounting layers and recessed object compartments, preventing the coins from contacting the glazing.

Each coin was carefully positioned within its allocated aperture and secured to the backing support with a high-strength rubberised bonding system, providing sufficient support for the objects’ weight while maintaining their exact spacing within the finished composition.

The different levels create a subtle shadow box effect and give the finished piece considerably more visual depth than a conventional photograph frame.

Personalising the family’s story

We also asked the family to provide words that captured what the visits meant to them. These were incorporated as two individual title panels:

TALES OF MAGIC – 2025
Live in Magic
Pour une Vie Magique

and

A MILLION SPLASHES OF COLOUR – 2026
Paint the sky every colour,
Eyes full of wonder

These personal inscriptions transform the piece from a collection of souvenirs into a genuine family story and provide future generations with a context for the photographs and memorabilia.

Conservation and glazing

Because the frame contains photographs, printed cards and memorabilia that the family wishes to retain for many years, protection was an important part of the specification.

We recommended UV-filtering Museum Glass, providing very high UV protection while dramatically reducing reflections compared with ordinary picture glass. Its exceptional clarity allows the photographs, fine-printed details, and metallic surfaces of the coins to remain clearly visible without the distracting reflections normally associated with a large glazed frame.

The additional internal spacing also ensures that the glazing remains separated from the photographs and three-dimensional objects.

The finishing frame

To complete the presentation, we selected a contemporary Italian moulding with a metallic blue-pewter finish.

The subtle metallic surface complements both the cool Congo Green mount and the blue tones found throughout the Disneyland photographs. At the same time, its restrained profile allows the memorabilia rather than the outer frame to remain the main focus.

The result is a substantial bespoke frame that combines:

Photography • Family history • Travel memorabilia • Three-dimensional objects • Personal inscriptions

into one coherent presentation.

A family story preserved for the future

Throughout the project, workshop photographs were taken at different stages of construction, showing the positioning of the objects, the cutting of the apertures, the development of the layered mount, and the final assembly.

What makes this commission particularly special is not simply the Disney memorabilia itself, but the continuation of a relationship spanning approximately 35 years and three generations of one family.

A grandfather’s early passion for photography has now become part of a new generation’s family story, preserved in a bespoke frame containing the photographs, objects and words that will bring those memories back every time the family looks at it.

ICAS Bespoke Memorabilia Framing
Preserve. Protect. Present.