Liam Ebbs, a 44-year-old father of two from Grimsby, has launched GameFrame, a new business offering a three-dimensional football shirt display that turns treasured jerseys into sculptural keepsakes. The venture, run with his family, has already attracted interest from professional football clubs and retailers as far away as Brighton less than a month after its website went live.
From construction to sports memorabilia
Ebbs spent two decades in the construction and housebuilding sector, working in procurement and quality control, before deciding to fully commit to his new enterprise. He said the skills from that career provided ideal groundwork for developing a physical product: "The skills I acquired in that previous career—the quality control for building houses, making sure everything is good for customers, and the procurement side—that's really helped with the development of this business."
The idea for GameFrame came from Ebbs's own frustration with traditional shirt displays. "I've always felt that traditional framed football shirts can look a little flat and lifeless, and I wanted to create something that actually brings the shirt to life," he said. "I had a real prize shirt selection that I wanted to frame, and I was looking around at what was out there, and it just wasn't really doing it for me."
A sculptural alternative to flat frames
GameFrame is a three-dimensional display unit designed around the shape of the body, making a football shirt or sporting jersey look more sculptural and personal. Unlike conventional framing, where fans send their shirts away to be sealed in corporate frames, GameFrame is manufactured in the UK and delivered directly to the customer's door. Buyers can hang their own shirts and change them in under a minute.
Ebbs emphasised the reassurance this offers to collectors of valuable items: "A lot of times, you just send your shirt off to a company, they frame it in a black frame, fold it, and send it back. And if they're signed they could be worth thousands of pounds. Our concept is that you buy the frame, and you do it yourself."
Early interest and family ambitions
Since the launch earlier this month, Ebbs has been in discussions with professional football clubs about heritage products and has spoken with local teams. "I've spoken to the local clubs as well. I meet the chairman at Cleethorpes Town tomorrow, and the immediate dream is to get into Grimsby Town, they're my local team," he said.
This is not Ebbs's first entrepreneurial venture. In his early 20s, he ran a vintage clothing outlet, selling imported Levi's and other garments through market stalls and shops in Lincoln. "I've always had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit, but life got in the way—house, kids, things like that. Now, at this stage of my life, I decided to take the leap and go for it," he added.
The business is currently run from home, with family members—wife Amy, 44, daughter Leila, 18, and son George, 13—helping with TikTok and social media. Ebbs's goal is to build a family brand: "They have been helping me with the TikTok and social media side of things. I'm just trying to build a family brand. I'd like to try and hopefully develop it as a family business—that's the goal."
The website is now live and GameFrame has launched for pre-order, with the first products due to be dispatched towards the end of September.
