We want collectors to be able to protect their artwork in high-quality, archival frames. We've never found any to our standards at an affordable price, so we make our own.

We begin with a slab of premium, barn-aged timber, sourced from a man saved in our contacts as “Walnut Dave.” We found Walnut Dave in 2009 when Shawn was building a remote cabin in upstate New York. Dave had walnut he had removed from an estate, where the massive and historic trees were "blocking the view." This is a man who knows his timber, stores it carefully, and will give us a call anytime he finds something special or just wants to chat about wood.

The beautiful wooden slab is tied to the roof rack and ferried to Brooklyn, where we mill it in house. It’s planed, joined, cut into profile, and then pieces are cut into specified lengths.

Our frames are so massive we couldn’t find existing clamps to join the four lengths, so we custom built a set - consider it a trade secret. Once we join the corners, it’s just 

beginning to look like a frame. Corner splines are added for strength and trimmed with one of three Japanese saws, providing precise cuts without harming the wood.

Home stretch - we sand the frame until it’s perfect. To protect the wood, we treat it with a water based, non-toxic hand oil. This special oil showcases the wood’s natural features, but doesn’t add a cheap-looking finish.

We make spacers from small strips of the original wood to place between the glass and artwork to give the illusion that the artwork is floating in the frame.

The frame backs are designed separately, to keep our frames square. They’re constructed from half-inch oak and reinforced by walnut dowels. The cross bar allows the frame to be hung horizontally or vertically. We include the most well designed hanging hardware we can find, which even comes with a built-in level.

Preparing Timber

The wood used for framing is stored in a barn in upstate New York and aged anywhere from three to fifteen years, depending on the bundle. Once transported to our in-house woodshop in Brooklyn, the wood is run through a jointer and planer to create the precise, square bases required before starting construction. Next, the profile of the frame is milled, meaning material is removed to create space for the glass to be inserted and secured later on. The wood is then cut into lengths with precise 45-degree angle corners, and clamped together to cure and keep shape.

Corner Spline

Once the wood has cured as needed, the corners are cut either across a plane or horizontally. Another piece of the same timber is placed in the corners for aesthetic affect, but primarily to reinforce the frame structure and prevent damage. After the corner pieces are glued in, a Japanese carpentry sword is used to level the splines with the rest of the frame. The frame is then sanded by hand to create a smooth surface.

Oiling

A natural oil product is applied to the frame to help seal and protect the wood. Repeated application produces a dark, rich finish, giving the final product a refined touch.

Print

Each image is printed using Epson's UltraChrome K3 ink technology. The ability to use high-density pigments with a wider color gamut results in prints with unmatched color fidelity, as well as a tonal range that develops shadows, enhances midtones, and preserves highlights. This process coupled with Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper results in prints with the finest pictorial depth, and guarantees the truest reproduction of its digital source file.

Mount & Frame

The finished print is cut to size and placed into the frame, followed by glass. All prints are mounted using a di-bond treatment to ensure they stay flat and prevent long-term issues such as bowing. Spacers matching the frame timber are placed within the frame to hold everything together. The finished frame is cleaned many times to achieve the highest quality.

Glass Options

We offer museum glass, plexi and museum-plexi.

Back Frame + Hardware

We designed our own backframe to be rigid yet lightweight. The walnut dowels in the joints and cross bars keep the frames from bowing. 

The hanging hardware is included with each frame, and includes a built in level.