Paul Mahder Gallery

I’m so happy with the framing that was done. Did it end up being more than I wanted to spend? Yes but that was because I was really clueless about the cost of good framing. I did get a second opinion and for the quality of products used and how well they went with the art pieces given Paul Mahder Gallery was well worth it. Now the simple pieces I picked up in Europe while traveling look very nice and dramatic. I love, love, love the way the frames go with the art inside as well as the materials used. makes what I did before look sophomoric. Take your pieces to these guys to get framed and trust their decision to make what you have look GREAT. My only regret is that I didn’t purchase these panels that I saw on the wall for sale when I was there. I dreamed about them being in my dream house but by the time I got my dream house they were long gone. A groupon brought me in the first time but I’ve gone back without one to get subsequent pieces framed. They do good work.

I needed to get a Proclamation framed and got a Living Social coupon for Paul Mahder Gallery. I walked in with a general idea as to what I wanted and Richard offered his talent and expertise to help refine my general idea and turned the Proclamation into a really fantastically beautifully framed work of art. He predicted the job would take 2−½ weeks and it was done spot-​on in 2−½ weeks! Many thanks to Richard and the Paul Mahder Gallery crew!

I wish I could visit Paul Mahder Gallery every day. Not only did I have wonderful experiences choosing frames with Paul and Rich, but they have the best fine art gallery in SF. Every time I visit, I leave feeling inspired.
Besides their exquisite taste in art, they are lovely people to work with. I bought some Living Social deals and showed up at their gallery with some vintage Bollywood posters that I had bought in India years ago. I was really worried about handing them off because they were deteriorating. Paul and Rich took such good care of them and me. They were meticulous about choosing the frames with me & I believe don’t settle for anything less than what would look amazing. When I got my posters back, I was ecstatic. They had used an archival process which means the creases had been removed, the adhesive wouldn’t damage the print, and the glass reflects UV rays so that the posters won’t fade. When I look at the posters in the frame, I get a huge smile across my face. It was a bit pricey, even with the deals, however the whole experience was very worth it.

Because I have a tendency to get verbose in my Unilocal posts, I’m going to just call out the worst offenses IMO. Here they are and they are not in order of which sucked the most:
1. I was told the framing job would take 3 weeks. It took two months. To the day.
2. The first time the piece was «ready», the wrong materials were used. Time, energy and tremendous detail had gone into choosing the right frame for this mixed media lithograph and everything was noted in the work order. What came back was a completely different frame. Add to that, the mat was the wrong shade. NOT what I’d chosen.
3. The fine rice paper had been mounted on foam board and attached all the way around so that the movement of the piece was lost. It wasn’t «floated» per my request — it was literally flattened so that any of the subtleties in texture and design were removed and homogenized.
4. The second time the piece was «ready», another mat had been substituted for the color I had chosen. It again had to go back to the framer.
5. I had to phone the gallery in Boston that sold me the piece to have them walk the framer through «how to frame this piece of art.»
6. An apology was never uttered — not by the «designer», not by the framer and not by the owner who was actually present on the day I finally picked up my piece. I got one «thanks for your patience» but somehow that felt weak against the mountain of muck-​ups.
Anxiety producing? Check.
Exhausting? Check.
Worth the $ 76 I «saved» by getting a deal through Living Social? Nope.
Lesson learned the hard way.

We had a living social deal here and brought in one canvas to have stretched and two pieces for framing. Our canvas has been folded in half by someone to ship it to us and was in terrible condition. They stretched it and you can hardly tell that were bad crease lines all over! He also took a LONG time with us to go over framing options, and showed us options to compliment and really make our pieces pop. They look amazing. I never felt like he was rushing us at all, and really took our questions and pieces seriously. I will be taking anything we need framed here.

When I came there, they were late to open and did not answer the phone as they were delayed on another job. However, their work was good looking and professional. Once in the store, the service was attentive.

I bought a Bloomspot deal for Paul Mahder Gallery and had quite a visionary task in mind when I walked into the door. I was part of an opera performance that was a world première in San Francisco and I wanted to commemorate the event with lots of mixed items from the show — like ticket stubs, a program, a piece of hand-​written music from the composer, etc…
I knew when I walked in that the exchange could go either really well or really badly depending on whether or not the Gallery was on the same page as myself.
The entire «round-​table» collaboration took about 10 minutes in the capable hands of Rich, the designer that worked with me. He «got it» immediately and the result… after three weeks of matting and stitching and ironing and placing and whatever other magic he did… is simply stunning. This piece will be center in my home for the rest of time and I look so forward to explaining it and telling the story of how we put it together.
Thanks to Paul Mahder and his phenomenal design team.

I bought a Groupon and they were so wonderful helping me frame a piece of my artwork. They have a great eye and had it ready very quickly. It is also a great neighborhood and parking wasn’t too difficult on a Friday afternoon. The artwork in the gallery was fantastic! I was impressed and inspired.

Rich helped me with class project for our auction. Couldn’t have done it without him! Friendly, professional, and they have EVERYTHING you need. You want a knowledgeable person to frame your art. I’ll use them again.

This a great art gallery in a very nice neighborhood. They also do a wonderful job of framing artwork. Paul and Richard are both very personable and make you feel at ease right away. A beautiful gallery to see very interesting art by local and international artists.