Handcrafted hardwood custom frames as well as complete design and framing services, including by mail order. Browse a portfolio of favorite custom framing jobs. |
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While all our frame designs make handsome mirror frames, we’ve created a special selection of more architectural mirrors especially well-suited to the Arts and Crafts home. |
By reuniting the ART of framing design with
the CRAFT of frame-making, we breath new life into
the ART and CRAFT of framing pictures
Holton Studio Frame-Makers offers a refreshingly sound alternative to conventional frame shops: all the frames we offer are our own designs and are custom made by hand and from scratch in our 3-man workshop. We offer not only a broad array of our established tried-and-true designs, but literally infinite possibilities for new designs to perfectly harmonize with your picture. Underlying our design approach is a belief that a picture can only be well-framed if it’s in a well-made frame. We are not only a full-fledged custom frame shop but a complete woodworking shop, where three expert artisans working with beautiful hardwoods make all the frames by hand, using classic furniture-making techniques adapted to the particularly refined and precise demands of picture frame-making.
By combining framing design and crafting of frames in one small shop we’ve returned to the older, sounder approach to framing pictures before it became a big business. Holton Studio has revived the venerable Cabinetmakers’ Frame Tradition — the oldest framing tradition and the original way that framing was done.
Because the old way was first revived in the 19th century by the Arts and Crafts Movement, we work in the Arts and Crafts tradition, specializing in frames and mirrors for craftsman bungalows and turn-of-the-century pictures and interiors. Our specialties include genuine through mortise-and-tenon frames in quartersawn white oak in the mission oak style.
But embracing the timeless unity of art and craft means our approach transcends particular styles, and breathes new life into picture framing. Simply put, we offer you the opportunity to place your picture in the perfect setting — a setting that will endure in both design and craftsmanship. Learn more about our frames and framing.
Testimonials
“These are the most beautiful and best made frames I’ve ever seen, and they really complement my sepia tone photographs.” — Richard Blair, photographer, Inverness, CA
“Tim Holton’s subtly framed mirrors hang, both in the cafe, and in the dining room. Their beauty, style and craftsmanship fit perfectly in the Arts and Crafts feeling of the restaurant.” — Alice Waters, Chez Panisse Restaurant and Cafe, Berkeley, California
“I received my frame yesterday and I must say it is fabulous. I could not be happier. I have hung it and am admiring it without the picture in it for now! Thank you so much.” — Kevin Rodgers, Seattle
“I've been gradually replacing all my old frame-shop frames with Tim Holton's solidly beautiful masterworks. After all, why should the artwork stop at the edges?” — Armistead Maupin, author, San Francisco
Read more testimonials...
We’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, near
Berkeley and Oakland. Our beautiful showroom and art gallery is just across the street from our frame-making studio:
Holton Studio Frame-Makers Showroom*
5510 Doyle St.
Emeryville, California - Google map
Showroom Hours
Tuesday–Friday: 10–5:30
Saturday: 11–4
Note: Hours are subject to occasional change.
If you’re going out of your way to visit us, we recommend
calling ahead.
*Our mailing address: 5515 Doyle St., No. 2, Emeryville, CA 94608
