FAQ

Monday – Friday

10:00am to 7:00pm

Saturday/Sunday

10:00am – 6:00pm

**In home/office consultations available by appointment.**

The matting and backing materials should be preservation-grade & acid-free. In general, the best mat border width is determined by a number of factors, including the overall size of the piece, the width of the molding, and the particular hue and value of the mats and the art. In general, the goal is to attempt to give the art enough “space” inside the frame to allow the eye to rest upon the art without being distracted or crowded in by the framing. Feel free to bring your piece in to our custom frame consultant — FrameStore can help. The best designs are created based on your tastes, the hanging location, and the aesthetics of the item itself. This way, the framing is customized for your piece, rather than being a standard design.

There is no charge for design consultation, and our design professional will be able to show you samples and ideas, at FrameStore we provide individual advice and a custom quote.

We do not. The knowledge and craftsmanship that we bring to our custom frames thrive on personal dialogue with our customers. Come on down and see us in one of our seven stores throughout the Los Angeles area, or schedule an appointment at your own home or business.

Yes, we highly recommend it. If a piece of art is worth framing at all, it is worth framing with UV protection. At FrameStore, our framing glass incorporates museum-grade UV blocking, which offers 97% opacity in the ultraviolet waveband and near-100% transparency in the visible light waveband, so that the protection does not hamper you from having a clear view of your art.

All artworks, photographs, and other memorabilia will fade over time due to exposure to light. They may also experience yellowing and warping, and become brittle. There are two main causes of this damage:

Photodegradation is when the energy from light causes chemical reactions that transform the molecules that give an object its color.

Radiant heating is when light produces heat, and this heat causes chemical reactions that transform the molecules that give an object its color.

In both cases, the biggest threat to your artwork is sunlight. This is because sunlight carries far more energy than anything else your artwork is likely to come into contact with.

Indoor lighting will also damage your artwork, albeit much more slowly than the sun. Artificial lights still contain enough energy to cause noticeable damage over the years. Bright lights are more damaging than dim ones.

The best thing you can do to preserve your art is to avoid shining bright lights directly on your artwork. Many people like to highlight their art with track lights in the ceiling, but these should be avoided (except for brief viewing periods, if you wish). A better choice is to arrange lights so they do not have a direct line of sight with the artwork.

All types of light bulbs are hazardous to artwork: incandescent lights (including halogen bulbs), LED bulbs, and particularly fluorescent bulbs (as they produce more UV than the others).

No. With both sunlight and indoor lighting, the UV protection in our framing glass will block UV light. UV light is the more harmful light for your artworks, so this protection is very substantial. However, it is not absolute. There is no protection from wavelengths above 400 nanometers (i.e., visible and infrared light).

There’s no need to go overboard and live in the dark, but we do recommend that you:

1. Keep your artworks out of direct sunlight at all times.
2. Keep the lights near your artwork turned down or off when you don’t need them.

Always use picture hangers for strength, security, and to keep your art hanging straight. For all pieces, use two hangers instead of one. Two hangers keep your art level and share the weight. That’s why, for any artwork up to 150 lbs., our FrameStore professionals recommend using two hangers on the wall. Check the hanger package and make sure each one holds more than your art weighs. Hangers are always available at pickup at any of our store locations.

We never recommend adhesive strips like Command strips, a plain nail or screw without a picture hanger, or a single hanger of any kind.

Where to hang it: The middle of your art should be about 57 inches from the floor, which is average eye level. Above a sofa, table, or bed, leave 6 to 8 inches between the furniture and the bottom of the frame. Once you’ve found the spot, lightly mark the top of the frame on the wall with a pencil.

If your frame has a wire: Pull the wire up toward the top of the frame and measure how far below the top it reaches. Measure that same distance down from your pencil mark. Put your two hangers there, a few inches apart and level, and rest the wire on both.

If your frame has D-rings (a metal loop on each side, no wire): Measure how far below the top of the frame the D-rings sit, and how far apart they are. Mark both spots on the wall with a level, put a hanger at each mark, and hook each D-ring onto its hanger.

Picture hangers that use multiple, smaller nails rather than a single large nail or wall anchors generally leave less damage and are easier to fill and touch up later.

Have questions? Ask your design consultant when you pick up your art, or call any of our stores.

For multi-dimensional pieces, we at FrameStore typically use a very deep frame called a shadow box.

At FrameStore, we can frame most things, including but not limited to: photographs, fine art, certificates, canvas art, needle craft and cross-stitch, fabric artwork, sports jerseys, memorabilia and collectibles, multi-dimensional objects, posters, and more.

It varies, depending on the size of the piece to be framed and the materials you choose. Larger works of art and more ornate frames and mats will be more expensive, while smaller things, posters, and simple frames will be less expensive.

Due to various custom framing options, it is best to pinpoint a price by bringing the artwork in the shop and picking out a frame, and we’ll happily give you a free estimate when you bring it in.

Once you place your order, it should take us 7 days to two weeks to build it. This is considerably faster than the industry average of three weeks. If we have the materials in stock, we could possibly complete your frame even sooner.

We also offer a rush service, with turnaround in as little as 3 to 5 days.

That’s why we’re here! Our custom framing design specialists help you find the color, texture, and style of framing, matting, and type of glass that best enhances the artwork.