Inexpensive Frames?

Llywellyn

I have my very first showing of my photography coming up soon and have everything except the 8 x 10 frames for the larger photos and mattes. I need 30 black frames, and I'd prefer not to spend $300 getting them. :huh Perhaps that's the best it'll get--I certainly don't know. I've never had to matte and frame on such a scale before. Any recommendations on where to get some inexpensive frames?

Note, this is not a gallery show (I am nowhere near that good at this point). I will be displaying several of my photos at a local business. (Which is still pretty durned cool to me! :ivar) Thus, the quality of the frame doesn't have to be super luxe. :wink

gus

It may not be what you need but last week i bought 25 great old wood frames with glass for $38 at my local salvation army shop. I am always in 2nd hand shops looking for stuff like this. I just resize my photos to fit the size of the frames. I try to keep each frame to $1 or $2 for a good one.

They are certainly not new condition frames but i like them to look a bit aged & all different sizes & styles. I try to buy hardwoods & always get ones that are in ok shape & have glass. Sometimes i have to cut a new bit of backing board out of strong cardboard.

Just a thought. Im pretty big on re-cycling.

sirsloop

I suggest going to ac moore for the matting. At least at the one I go to in Jersey, they cut any board you buy for free. So if you get one of the huge 24x36 boards (~$5), you can knock that down into quite a few 8x10s, cut. You can put whatever matting you want on there too.

As far as frames... idk what you're lookin for but $10 a frame sounds about right. ACMoore/Michaels commonly has frames on sale for 50-75% off...
scope it out. You can't expect $100 frames or anything, but matted up I think even cheap frames look pretty darn good! All the stuff in my apartment is from ac moore/michaels frames and matting done at ac moore.

Llywellyn

Thank you so much! These are both great ideas. Cheap frames are fine with me, as I figure the matting and my prints will add to the effect of a nice piece and a cheap frame won't be detrimental.

claudermilk

A couple of popular online places are americanframe.com and framedestination.com. They have lots of choices & good prices on stuff. I've used americanframe several times and have heard good things about framedestination.

entropysedge

I go to both Michaels/AC Moore and americanframe.com; just depends on where the pictures are going. All are great places to get fromes from.

Cuong

My suggestion is to try Costco. They have really nice 11x17 frames that include 8x10 mat. Southern California Costco warehouse sells them in 2-pack for less than $20 (that's 8.25% sales tax included). Hopefully, the Costco near you also carries something similar. Good luck.

Cuong Nguyen.

dangin

i usually stop in at marshalls and/or TJ max to find inexpensive frames. selection is hit and miss at times, but sometimes some real deals can be found.

Llywellyn

I just wanted to give everyone here a big THANK YOU! I chose A.C. Moore because it had a store near me, and I was met with some fantastic customer service. I was about to buy a lower-quality frame because they had the quantity I needed (30) in stock. As I was waiting at the desk to ask about something else, I opened their little sales flyer and saw a nicer looking frame listed as being on sale.

I wandered back through the aisles, found where the frame should have been, and saw only one silver frame sitting there. The rest had already been cleaned out!

I asked with very little hope if they had any in the back, knowing my chances were nil that they'd happen to have 30 sitting back there. As I spoke with one of the employees and revealed I needed 30 frames within the week, he didn't bat an eye. He started calling all the other A.C. Moore stores in the area and asking them to ship a few of their stock to his store.

In the end he got me 30 frames in three days. And I saved more than $150 because of the incredible prices.

They rock!

rdlugosz

Sounds like you've got it figured out, but thought I'd mention that I've had a good experience with frameusa.com

sirsloop

Awesome!! Did you get any matting done there? AC Moore ALWAYS has frames on sale... its the best!

Llywellyn

sirsloop wrote:

Awesome!! Did you get any matting done there? AC Moore ALWAYS has frames on sale... its the best!

I didn't. I'd found a bunch of precut mattes on sale at one of the better local camera shops, so I got all my mattes beforehand. After the great customer service and pricing, however, I will definitely go back to A.C. Moore to investigate custom framing options.

A woman receiving an order ahead of me had gotten one of those complicated family photo mattes--you know, the ones with several different sizes and shapes cut into one matte for a sort of structured photo collage look? I think they'd do fabulously with my simple rectangular mattes in the future.