Astoria Art & Custom Framing

«We make your dreams come true!» No, this is not La Grand Prospect Hall and Alice is not making that arm gesture in her glittery burgundy ensemble, but Astoria Art & Custom Framing comes darn real close. I’ll tell you why.
Years ago, before the Astoria apartment that I lived in erupted in flames, I dropped off a job at Astoria Art & Framing. The piece itself was custom made for me, and the artist dedicated the work to me. After the fire in Astoria, we moved. I suffered an injury related to our rapid move from the building. I had an extensive recovery. Long story short, one year became two, became three… you get the idea. Then I saw a film on the big screen, and lo and behold, the artist who did the work is in it. The end film credits mention that the artist’s work was now at the Smithsonian. I call up Astoria Art & Custom Framing.
«Do you still have my piece? I’ll pick it up.»
What’s your ticket number?
«I don’t have a ticket.»
What’s your phone number?
«The old number doesn’t exist anymore, I am sorry, we moved due to a fire in our building. We lost a lot of our stuff. No tickets, and our phone number changed. I can’t even remember it. Please, can you help?»
Steve, who answered the phone, I could tell, might have been a little frustrated with my request.
Three days later, the phone rang. It was Steve.
I have your artwork.
«Are you sure?»
Your name is right on the art. It took me three days to find it in the warehouse. I deserve a medal.
«I’ll bring you a bottle of wine.»
I arrived a few hours later, bottle of wine in hand for our lionhearted Steve, and I picked up the work. The piece was expertly framed. It looked beautiful, expertly matted and framed.
I appreciate you, Astoria Art & Custom Framing. I appreciate you.
[This should be a lesson to everyone: If the person on the other side gets really flustered or upset with your service request, it’s usually a sign that the person has the integrity to follow through, and understands what a beast of a job they now have to complete it. Otherwise, they would just say «No.» Steve, I would find out, is such a person with major integrity Thank you again, Steve.]

Claude did a really lovely job with a 4-​foot poster I brought in. Turnaround time was even quicker than he’d quoted, and the price was reasonable. He gave us good insight into the best way to carry our framed art home and how to hang it up properly in our place.
You can tell he takes pride in what he does.

Rude, unprofessional and overpriced!

Claude is the best most professional business owner ever. Try to stay away from the cranky old guy. He lacks tact intergity he greed gets ahead of him blocks his ability to render decent service, wait for claude.
We have had tons of things framed by him. He is the ultimate professional

I went to Astoria Art & Custom Framing for a few jobs before the most recent one, and they were satisfactory. However, in April of 2014 I took a large piece of art to have framed in 3 separate sections (a $ 400 job). The piece took a few weeks longer than expected, and when I got it back the art it self (a 3 piece poster) was peeling off the back, and the posters were misaligned. I returned it for a re-​do in November of 2014.
The poster took 4 months to get done and the matting is still off center, the poster still sticks off the back in some places, and it still seems like it was a rushed job after having 4 months to complete it.
I am so happy to finally have this expensive piece back in my possession that I will not be returning for a third time to have it fixed. I will be taking this, and all other future pieces to be framed somewhere else.
I wanted to leave a nice review, the owner and other gentleman could not be nicer, but the service and most recently quality is unacceptable.
I do not recommend using Astoria Art & custom Framing. I am very unhappy with the service and product.

This place is expensive & slow (40% more $$$ and a 3 weeks turn around, plus attitude) … I’ll take my pictures back to the city to be framed thanks

I have been very happy with all of the work done here. As mentioned in some other posts, it is a bit pricey, but the work and service is great. Along with quality work, the people here are helpful with suggestions for how different things could be framed. I would definitely bring items that I care about displaying nicely back.

Had a photograph framed here and was thrilled with the results!
The owner was very helpful in discussing possible frames and the best/​cheapest ways to preserve the picture. He was also respectful of my time; he promised I would have the picture in two weeks, and I got a call that it was ready in under a week. The photograph looks beautiful, and I found the price he quoted to be reasonable for the quality of work.
Just so you know, they don’t charge you the sales tax for your order if you pay in cash. Be aware that if you choose this method, you’ll have to pay 40% of the total price (in cash) up front.

The first time I came here on a Saturday (an entire hour before they were supposed to close) I found a man painting who told me that they had closed early. My second attempt was much more successful — I brought an article I had written to be framed which had a strange shape to it. The man who helped me understood I was on a budget, and didn’t try to scam me with the options that I usually find pushed on me for newspaper articles (UV protected glass, etc).

Top-​notch work but at a price. This place does framing for alot of professional art galleries and it shows. The owner knows his stuff and will give you advice on which frame to go with based on the subject matter that you are getting framed. The only reservation I have is the price. If they were to drop their prices by about 20% then I would be happy to give them more of my business!

I had a great experience here, the owner is very knowledgeable and friendly and does a great job. I brought in two art prints that I bought in Barcelona. They were very important to me, he treated them with a lot of care and complimented them. He also gave me great advice on the frame selections to help get the most flattering frame I could. This place Did cost more than I figured I would spend but I used the discount you can print on their website and I originally asked for white matting but he advised he could just use the white border around the picture to make it larger, it was clear he wasn’t looking to take advantage and was very respectful of my pieces and wallet.
He quoted me 2 weeks, but it was more like 3. It was fine since I wasn’t in a rush but if you are, either tell them or maybe find a speedier solution. When I went to pick them up, they came out amazing, I am very pleased. The artist that paints in there is also very talented. I wasn’t super impressed with their selection of ready made framed art, they had some decent stuff, but check it out and see if something grabs you!
I will be back!

This place was an absolute joke. Came here yesteday to get a picture framed and the employee was the rudest person I may have ever encountered in a retail store. I was asking about sizes and prices and he provided absolutly ZERO help. It was like he didnt want my business. I would not recomend this place to anyone. I will be sure to tell anyone i know not to go here. Customer service goes a long way, and this rude old man provided zero. I Have no idea how they are still in business.

I took my Ketubah (a Jewish Marriage document) from my wedding here to get framed. When I first dropped it off to get framed in the store, the owner Claude was nice and very helpful in advising me on which frame to choose. I told him that my aunt was buying the framing for me as a a wedding gift so she would call in with her credit card info once the frame was completed. He said «no problem» and that the frame would be ready in about a week. I waited two weeks until I called them to see what was going on. I was not in any rush to get the piece. However, after waiting double the period of time they had quoted me and not hearing from them, I began to worry that they had either damaged or lost the Ketubah. I spoke to his assistant who told me in a brusque manner that he could not check on the status of the framing himself and that I had to leave a message for the owner Claude. I did as he said and left a message for Claude. I never heard back so I called again a week later. This time his assistant was very rude to me. I left another message asking after the status of my order and never heard back. Finally 5 weeks after dropping off my piece, the owner Claude leaves a cheery message on my voicemail with no acknowledgement that he he has received either of my messages that the Ketubah is ready. At this point I was just relieved that they hadn’t lost my Ketubah. When I finally go to pick up the Ketubah, the assistant is there again and was full of attitude and incompetence from the beginning. He kept me waiting 20 minutes to pay and made a big issue out of taking the credit card number from my Aunt on the phone. When he does start writing down her credit card number, he starts writing it down on a permanent looking piece of paper hanging on their bulletin board for all to see. In the end, I just ended up giving him my own credit card to run through the machine because he refused to write it down on a regular piece of paper. The kicker in the end is that I just checked my credit card bill online and he overcharged me by $ 90. The framing job it self was fine though the frame itself is a lot golder and more dotted than the sample he showed me in person.

All in all, I recommend this place. The place is very nice: the aura of the store is very workplace-​like, which makes you feel like your painting is in good hands. When the man first saw the painting I had, he smiled and made me think it was special (even though this guy has seen every kind of artwork there is). I appreciated that.
The place is a little pricey: I paid $ 86 for a medium sized canvas (basic black frame). I could’ve swung $ 20 cheaper than that, especially since the bottom panel of the frame was a little scuffed. But it wasn’t bad enough to complain, and structurally, the frame is great. They even give you a complimentary nail.
I love getting nailed for free.

Best framers in Astoria! I dropped of a newspaper page from 1890… it was brittle and very delicate. They framed it up gorgeously, in a custom frame with a great matte and UV-​proof glass. Any time I need something framed, I’m going here.
They do great work, but because of that, they do a lot of projects and take their time. Don’t expect anything to be a rush job, but expect it to be museum quality.
Also, they honor the 10% discount if you tell them you heard about them from Unilocal!Just be prepared to leave a deposit on the original price, and the discount is applied at final checkout.

My organization needed a photo framed for a charity event on Wednesday and I had only one week to get it. Not only did Claude promise to have it done for my event, but he gave it to us at a winning price… He donated it! One of our board members and local leaders in the community referred us to his shop, and I am so glad he did.
Claude was eager to support the community and give back to a great cause, and I only have rave reviews for his efforts and support!
His service is professional and detailed, and I can’t wait to recommend him to everyone!

I’ve been coming here since 1998, at Claude’s old location, and I cannot recommend this place enough. Claude always takes a small piece he framed for me when I get new art framed, and matches the color of the finish on the wood exactly, and it’s always perfect.
I dropped off some things I bought for my husband as a gift, and when I picked them up, on the back Claude had mounted all of the information about the prints and the series that had come separately with the artworks, without me even asking.
He’s not cheap, but if you want cheap framing go to Michael’s and you’ll get what you pay for. He is, however, incredibly reasonable considering the care and attention that he gives his work.

I really like this place overall. They always work with me on finding something in my price range and they accept the Unilocal 10% discount as well. If you pay in cash you can avoid paying the sales tax. (Maybe I shouldn’t state that on here).
I’ve had multiple frames done by them and they always do a stellar job. My two gripes:
1) They take their time… I don’t know if they send it out or order materials in, but they DO NOT rush order. So as long as you have no time frame, you are good. I’m talking two weeks +, especially around holidays and gift giving seasons.
2) Make sure they write EVERY detail down. I went to have a photo framed and they asked me if I wanted the white border of the photo to show. I didn’t because I had a white matte. Well… they cut the matte to show the white on the photo to. I complained and he said something about it not being on the ticket. I told him «But you asked me!?» and he apologized and redid the job, free of charge. Which is why they kept their 4 star status.
I will definitely be back.

The work done is here quality and professional. The prices are really steep, but if you want a good framing and want to support a small, family business, this is the place to go.
Beware that the location has moved, so if you run into a dead store front that used to be the shop, go one block west and you’ll find the new location.
Also, pay in cash and they wont charge you tax.

Just picked up three prints I was having framed, and I have to say — they look beautiful! I’ll admit, I’m not totally familiar with the world of framing, but I had three blueprints that are of particular emotional value to me, and I wanted them to be framed and matted nicely — not just shoved into an Ikea frame, as per my usual style.
I walked in a little worried that I would not get a good finished product, because I wasn’t sure what to ask for. However, everyone was incredibly helpful, and made excellent suggestions. They seemed to know exactly what I was looking for, and helped me achieve just the look I wanted. They gave me a deal because I was having three items framed, and though I’m sure you could get it done cheaper elsewhere, I wasn’t taken aback by the price.
I picked up the prints yesterday, and everything is exactly as I’d asked. They opened each package for me to approve, then joked with me as they bagged everything up for my walk home. They seem like a really nice, family run business, and I’ll look forward to the opportunity to use their services again.