Left side, meet right brain.

Framing is where art and science come together.

We make beautiful things and we’re also good at math.  We know our color wheel and chemistry too!

We get to be around art all day and we often make our customer’s day when they see their completed project.  It’s often an emotional piece we’ve worked on. 

  • A portrait of a pet or family member that passed.

  • A deeply meaningful memento from someone’s childhood. 

  • A drawing by a favorite uncle (we have a surprising number of clients with extremely talented uncles)

What masterpiece do will you bring to us next?

Stop by the shop and start the process!

Any of these guys sound familiar?

  • Your piece was framed poorly in the past and now there is fading or damage/it fell or broke/was stored improperly/dog stepped on it, etc. etc. We’ve seen (almost) all of it. We aren’t scared!

  • Need the certain art supplies you need yesterday and want to browse in person.

    And last but not least, our personal favorite: You prefer to shop local, not at giant online retailers. Well, you’re in the exact right spot. Come into the shop and bring us whatever you’ve been procrastinating about framing. We’re ready!

  • Are you not the best at decorating your home so you’re super hesitant to commit to framing something? (We’re here to make it easy and dare we say FUN-and we’ve also been doing it most of our lives so you’ll be in good hands!)

  • You’re afraid that it’s too expensive.  The truth? It can be very expensive sometimes, but often doesn't have to be.  

  • It’s a gift and you’re super nervous to commit to a design for someone else (we have workarounds!).

What you really need to know about us?

We’re professionals and have a sterling reputation to live up to with every piece we frame.

Meet The Frame Dames Team

  • I’ve been framing things for people for more than 25 years, which means I’ve seen just about everything come across the design counter — fine art, family photographs, kids’ drawings, textiles, collections, sentimental objects and plenty of things that begin with, “I have no idea if you can frame this, but…”

    Those are often my favorites.

    I started managing a frame shop in downtown St. Johnsbury around 2000, and The Frame Dames came along in 2011. Today I own the shop and our building on Railroad Street, where you'll still find me at the design counter most days.

    My background includes photography and woodworking, along with degrees in Environmental Science and Environmental Law. It's an admittedly strange résumé for a picture framer, but knowing how things are made, understanding materials, solving problems and obsessing over details all come in pretty handy around here.

    My favorite part of framing is figuring out what something could be. Sometimes the right answer is quiet and simple. Sometimes it needs color, texture, layers and a little nerve. The goal isn't to make something look “framed.” It's to make it look like this was what it was supposed to be all along.

    After 25+ years, I still genuinely like doing this — especially when somebody walks in carrying something unusual and says, “I have no idea what to do with this.”

    • I will almost always choose the weird framing project over the easy one.

    • Animals are an extremely effective way to derail my workday. Dogs, cats — I'm not particularly selective.

    • I studied Environmental Science and Environmental Law while building a career in picture framing. Now I'm working toward my CPA license. Apparently I'm not very good at sitting still or relaxing.

    • I like photography, woodworking and figuring out how things work.

    • I've been framing for more than 25 years and still haven't gotten bored with it. That seems like a good sign.

    • The Frame Dames is in its third — and FINAL — location. I own this one. We're not moving.

    • If you bring me something and say, “I have no idea what to do with this,” you've come to the right place.

  • Flatlander turned Vermonter, artist, designer and all-around eccentric.

    I’ve spent more than a decade making art and trying just about every medium I could get my hands on. Eventually I found my way to design and printmaking — although I'm not particularly good at leaving other art supplies alone.

    That background comes in handy at The Frame Dames. I understand artwork from the artist's side of the frame as well as the framer's, and I love figuring out how color, texture, proportion and materials can completely change the way a piece feels.

    I’m especially happy when a project gives me an excuse to experiment, solve a weird problem or come up with something nobody considered at first.

    • I collect dead media and useless facts.

    • I have tried enough art mediums to have opinions about most of them.

    • I’m the reason Ann had to buy a 3D printer.

    • “What if we tried something weird?” is generally not something you have to ask me twice.

    • I moved to Vermont from away. They haven't kicked me out yet.

    • I make prints, design things and occasionally bring tiny green monsters to work.

    • If you don't know what you want something to look like yet, that's the fun part.

  • Hi! My name is Andrea and I enjoy cozying up at home with herbal tea, writing inspirational messages on rocks, and yoga.

    JUST KIDDING! I don’t like any of these things. What I like is art and framing!

    I’ve been a professional framer and designer at TFD for six years. My background is in art and design and amongst other things I’ve been a Children’s Librarian, a buyer for a large craft store chain in New England and I remain a visual artist and painter.

    What I do enjoy is helping people to get their art and memorabilia to look super cool and be well protected. I enjoy learning all the latest techniques to achieve the same. Seeing the art that comes through our doors is definitely the highlight of my work day.

  • I also love corgis, pet grooming videos, my own dog and cat, my family and slightly sparkling Portuguese rose’. Not necessarily in that order.

  • Liza came to The Frame Dames from the greenhouse world and quickly discovered that she could still work with color and beautiful things here — with the added benefit of air conditioning.

    She's now one of the faces you'll find at our design counter, where her natural habitat is color. Bold color, unexpected color, maybe-we-should-add-one-more-color color. If that's your thing, find Liza. If your idea of adventurous is a slightly warmer shade of gray, Ann will happily take it from here.

    Liza is the chocolate Lab of the customer-service world: friendly, enthusiastic, genuinely happy to see you and deeply invested in making sure you leave happy. Conveniently, she actually owns a chocolate Lab, too.

    She's also one of those people who can make things. Give her some supplies, a problem and possibly a glue gun, and it's generally best to get out of the way.

    She's been at The Frame Dames for just under a year, but she's one of those people who somehow feels like she's always been here.

    • I've spent enough years working in greenhouses to deeply appreciate both plants and air conditioning.

    • Give me a glue gun and some craft supplies. I'll figure something out.

    • I live off-grid. Yes, really.

    • I have a chocolate Lab and a tiny rescue cat. Personal space is mostly theoretical.

    • I've got the travel bug. If I'm going somewhere, the passport is getting stamped.

    • I've been married for 30 years. Apparently when I commit to something, I mean it.

    • Conflict is not my thing. Can we all just be nice and look at pretty colors?

  • Ann and I actually got our start in photography and framing at the same place — Hallmark Institute of Photography — back in the '90s.

    I spent years running my own photography studio before eventually trading that career for landscape design. These days I come back to The Frame Dames during my off-season, which means I've somehow managed to combine photography, art, design, landscaping and picture framing into one reasonably coherent life.

    Having worked on both sides of the frame gives me a pretty good perspective on what we're doing here. I know what it's like to make the image, and I know how much the right framing can add to it without competing with it.

    When I'm not landscaping or framing, there's a good chance I'm painting.

    • I paint. A lot. Oils are my thing, and subjects can range from blueberries to bulldogs.

    • I had four rescue dogs. I wasn't looking for number five. Oh wait. There he is.

    • Photography → framing → landscape design → painting → framing again. Apparently I have a type.

    • I spend my summers landscaping and my winters framing.

    • The male equivalent of a Dame is a Knight. Jamie has requested we respect the distinction.

Come in and work with one of our talented designers

“Recently I contacted The Frame Dames in St. Johnsbury to hang a very sentimental and emotional piece for my family and myself … it was a very large and heavy piece, which I did not feel comfortable hanging myself. We made an appointment to have The Frame Dames come to the house and do the job.

They showed up on time with all the tools necessary to do the job. They treated me and the piece with such respect, professionalism and courtesy I could not believe.

Thank you Frame Dames for such a “neighborly” treatment.”

— Mike

Scenes from the Shop