Help finding DIY Art Framing Kits, Please

May 1, 2024 7:32 AM

Can you help me find the extruded aluminum do-it-yourself art frame kits I used to be able to buy in brick-and-mortar stores?

Before they went out of business AC Moore used to sell these do-it-yourself framing kits that came two pieces in a package. You would buy one set for the sides the approximate and another set for the top and bottom I that they came in sizes as little as 9 inches (maybe smaller) all the way up to 41 inches (maybe more). They were attached by a right-angle bracket that you tightened with a regular screwdriver. Your piece was kept flush to the front of the frame by bar springs. I only used the black ones, but they also came in silver and gold.

AC Moore has been closed for years, and I occasionally would get them at Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Both had them until about 2 years ago, but not any longer. In fact, both have told me that what I am looking for doesn’t exist, or never existed :-) So no help there. I went into two custom framing shops and obviously they've never heard of them either, but that one I understand :-)

I'm having a hard time Googling them because anytime I'm looking for them, I end up getting structural construction parts. This product seems to have gone into a black hole. Does anybody have any insight as to a brick and mortar store that carries them? Or even what they're called? Or even a manufacturer that makes them? :-)

Thanks in advance, gang!

posted by sandra_s to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Best answer: Looks like Blick still carries Nielsen Bainbridge Metal Frame Kits which they do seem to carry in stores. So if you have a Blick (or an independent art supply store that competes with Blick) that would be a good place to check!
posted by mskyle at 7:39 AM on May 1 [4 favorites]

My dad (a fairly serious photographer with a fine arts background) exclusively frames his work in those exact Neilsen kits mskyle points out and he buys them at Blick, and he would have complained extensively to me if they'd been discontinued or were no longer available. I suspect your difficulty in searching for them may be due to using the word "extruded" because they absolutely are extruded aluminum but I don't think the art world would think of them that way. At any rate, that's the brand and product I'm familiar with and if it's not the one you used to buy, I suspect you'll be satisfied anyway; it's a fantastic inexpensive DIY framing option.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:38 AM on May 1

The first two commenters have it. I have ordered those frames through Blick's website. (I can also confirm that Michaels did sell them back in the day, your memory is correct!)
posted by mersen at 8:58 AM on May 1

American Frame also sells the same product, custom cut to order.
posted by backseatpilot at 10:00 AM on May 1

In Canada, Opus Art Supplies has their own brand of pre-cut frames for this use case. If you go to their shop on Granville Island, you can use their tables and tools for DIY assembly (with tips from framing staff).
posted by shock muppet at 11:44 AM on May 1

Jerry's Art-A-Rama seems to call that item category sectional frame kits.
posted by fifthpocket at 2:29 PM on May 1

Also FWIW a lot of frame shops do use this type of frame stock and some of them will sell you the pieces and hardware. They wouldn't necessarily call it a kit, and they'd likely be cutting the pieces to order, but it works basically the same way.
posted by mskyle at 4:50 AM on May 2