Established in 1955 as a craft shop to fabricate unique and distinctive picture and mirror frames, APF Master Framemakers is now a leader in producing high-end ,custom frames for fine art and mirrors. Many of our frames are reproductions of the finest antiques in museum collections. Our customers include the Metropolitan Museum of Art ,Museum of Modern Art, The Smithsonian Institute, The White House Collection and many other fine public and private collections.

Manufacturing begins with the selection of the frame’s design and embellishments,
Staff designers work with the customer, who maybe an interior designer , museum curator, a gallery, or a private collector to create the basic design of the frame, Customers select any combination of elements from the Company’s library of approximately 1,500 designs or can request a new element created by one of the Company’s master carvers to generate the frame style best suited for the picture and/or their decorating needs. New carved elements, which are typically copies of an antique frame, become part of the Company’s permanent library.

Manufacturing of APF’s premium picture frames is a unique craft requiring exceptionally skilled workers and specialized tools and materials. The process begins with the careful selection of the materials, primarily domestic hardwoods. Craftspeople cut size, shape and carve using APF’s proprietary tools, dies and molds. If appropriate, steel embossing wheels are used to press repetitive, detailed patterns into the wood. The frames are then sent to the finishing department where crafts people apply 22 karat gold leaf and then burnish the leaf using agate stone. To create the effect of a great ,the frames are “antiqued, ”which involves drilling “worm holes,” denting and nicking the surface and bleaching and rubbing away some of the gold to simulate years of handling. The resulting frame is very difficult to distinguish from a true antique, yet the frame can be as little as 10% of the cost of the original.

The elements of the APF tradition:

CREATE: Simply the finest exquisitely handcrafted, custom mirror and picture frames; we have nurtured the craftspeople and developed the finest resources so that you can crate the perfect frame for any setting. Elegant traditional frames, refined contemporary frames, any frame you can imagine.

STYLE: Image any period; frames for mirrors or fine art from the 15th Century to the most contemporary works. Our craftspeople will recreate a gothic tabernacle, a Louis XV masterpiece ,a Stanford White design, or a 6 inch wide, corner resolved contemporary lacquered frame; all to your specifications.

QUALITY: The best 22 karat gold leaf, the finest hardwoods, archival matting and skilled hands; we appreciate fine art and fine decor’s demands. We also welcome the opportunity to restore antique frames. Your design and your specifications, our craftspeople, our materials and our sense of purpose create the finest quality frames.