For the love of god do not, I repeat, DO NOT take your art to be framed here. You wanna pick up some pipe cleaners and glitter from Michaels - fine - but run like hell from their so-called framing services. These people don't know what they're doing. In the past I have used a wonderful local framer in Sherman Oaks, but I confess I thought perhaps I'd try the framing services at Michaels in the hopes it might save me some money and the turnaround would be quicker. BOY, DO I REGRET IT. Yes, the turnaround was slightly quicker the first time (more on that later) but I'd rather wait than deal with the hatchet job they did on my piece. And as for being cheaper? Nope. Prices are on par with most professional framers, you just don't get an actual framer who knows their head from their ass working on your piece. First off, I asked for a standard mat and regular glass. When I went to pick up my piece they had decided to upgrade it (without my permission) to a double mat and museum glass. Did they not think I'd notice? The person behind the counter pretended not to remember me and tried to blame it on a co-worker, but I remembered them. After telling them they needed to fix their mistake and change the price from the inflated one, I got attitude (instead of an apology) and now had to wait again for my piece. When I went to pick it up a second time they now had the right mat and the right glass but they had cut the mat too close to the wording on the art. Instead of arguing with these fools again, I decided to take it to a REAL framer and have them open the piece up and cut me a new mat (keeping the glass and frame, since I had already spent a bundle on that.) THIS IS WHAT WAS DISCOVERED WHEN THE FRAMER AND I OPENED THE PIECE UP. (See photos.) These incompetent fools had PUT TAPE ALL OVER MY ARTWORK to secure it to the mat. Any professional framer knows you use the hinge method. NO ONE should EVER put adhesive directly on a customer's artwork! WTF?! Thank god this was just a print and not an original... since it was impossible to remove it from the mat and foam core they had practically glued it to and it ripped when we tried. I was goddamn lived. So, in my foolish attempt to save some money framing this print, I wound up having to buy a replacement print, and then spend additional money at a REAL framer to mat it correctly and put it back in the frame. Setting me back more than what I would have paid in the first place taking it anywhere else. Jesus Huckleberry Christ don't make the same mistake I did. If you care one iota about your artwork - whether it's just a snapshot, or the Mona friggin' Lisa, you need to take it to a REAL framer and stay the hell away from the morons at Michaels.
(NOTE: Despite the date of this review, this incident happened pre-pandemic, lest anyone think lack of staffing is what led to this massive fuckup.) read more