From branded meter sticks and holographic stickers to a Polaroid selfie station, Framers’ Workshop brought the community together Sunday to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
The independent framing store has been doing just that since April 1976, offering professional custom and do-it-yourself framing to Brookline Village.
Framers’ free community event drew neighbors, longtime customers and employees. The shop was decked out with balloons, hand-painted murals and a performance from Professor World Band.
“Our store is a little bit unique because people have the option of coming in to assemble their own frames, or at least install the art in the frame,” said Justin Lampka, owner of Framers’ since 1997.
But Lampka’s connection to Framers’ goes back long before he owned it. He first came to the store when he was about 10 years old. His father was a painter who framed his own art in the shop, and Lampka would tag along to help.
“He knew I was interested in art and thought it would be a fun thing to do together,” Lampka said.
Stories like Lampka’s is what Framers’ Workshop has been seeing for half a century.
“I have no doubt that I have at least 60 to 70 things I’ve framed here over the years — maybe even close to 100,” said Katherine Ingraham, a longtime customer.
Ingraham, who started coming to the shop as a MassArt student in the late 1990s, said she credits Framers’ with making her a better framer.
“What I’ve always really appreciated about them is they themselves do super high-quality work,” she said. “They don’t ever act like they’re hassled to be teaching you — they’re just very generous with their time.”
Dawn Jones, an employee since 1976, says she has watched generations of customers like Ingraham walk through the door.
“There’s a lot of people that have been coming over the years,” Jones said. But what keeps people coming back and what sets the shop apart from others, she said, is its creativity.
“We frame everything,” Jones said. “You bring some crazy thing in that you want to frame — like an old shoe — and Justin will figure out how to make it work.”
Lampka said the DIY experience is a big part of what sticks with people and said it feels good teaching customers the skills to frame their art.
“I think people have fun at the store, they just like the energy and I think doing your own framing connects you to the art more,” he said. “It’s a memorable experience — it’s more than just buying something.”
Ciara Scales, one of the shops’ six employees, said this is her favorite job she’s had.
“Everyone that works here is super talented, very passionate about their job, and I just love the community of working here,” she said.
Scales said it’s hard to see brick-and-mortar stores in Boston closing but added that working somewhere that’s been in the same neighborhood for 50 years means a lot to her.
“There’s so much history to the people that come in here — I feel like I’m not even close to scratching the surface in terms of what it really means to them,” she said.
Fellow shop employee Sonny Burke said he’s got a good gig working at Framers’. “I get to have a party every 50 years,” he laughed.
For Jones, who has been at the shop since it opened, the anniversary event felt like a natural expression of what Framers’ has always been.
She said it’s a super busy place but is consistently fun and creative. “It’s just — it’s home.”