Gareth was very knowledgeable and helpful. There was a large selection of frames in the shop and he…read moreoffered an efficient and competitive service. I would highly recommend Artisan Framing

Earlier this year, Richard's Framing helped me choose colours for the mounting and framing of two…read moreprecious black and white, A4 size photographs of my daughter when she was a small child and her father at the same age. I was very pleased and they are now on the wall in her home and look perfect. Recently, while creating a collage for a funeral wake, I didn't want to buy an easel - because I probably won't use it again - and wracked my brains for an alternative to acquiring one temporarily. Suddenly, Richard's Framing popped into my head so I telephoned the shop. No problem, he had an easel and I hired it from him for just £5. Marvellous, no fuss. Thank you, Richard's Framing.

When I bought my first flat I searched all round for the type of pictures I wanted to hang within…read moreit to represent my personality and tell people what I was really all about deep within - OK i was younger and more impressionable. Anyway I bought a Salvidor Dali print from the Tate Modern in London thinking, yes this is what I'm all about, surreal and sophisticated! Perfect for my flat. When I got home I looked for a local framer and that happened to be the Frame Factory. I went along picked the frame I wanted and it was done within days. It was a lovely quality frame and stylistically it really set the picture off. It was smart but understated so as not to detract from the picture. The only problem was the price. It cost me £70! That's more than the print! Never the less years later it still looks good and when I look at it I still see the frame as much as the picture. So the morale of the story is - if you have a picture worth a lot of money and want it set in a new frame come here. If you have a print that doesn t cost that much, buy a frame from IKEA or some where and frame t yourself. By the way the website also features new artists.

If you need something framed, these are local experts and will do a good job…read more Apart from selling a wide range of picture frames and offering a professional framing service, this shop also offers canvas printing and stretching, mount cutting, and 3D and box framing. It's a family owned business run by Christopher Reynolds who has over 20 years experience in the picture framing industry. The shop doesn't have a very arty feel about it from the outside - in fact it appears quite dated thanks to the rather old-fashioned blue and yellow sign design. But this shop is less of a gallery and more of a practical framing specialist. It's true that you can buy art works and prints there, but it's their excellent framing service they're best known for. Once inside, you can browse around their fine art, jewellery, glassware, limited edition sculptures and other art works. Although their website also features a gallery of some of the art they have stocked or currently stock, and says you can buy online, each item I looked at an item it said "Catalog suspended" underneath it, with no obvious means of purchasing the item. I think it's always better to come face to face with a piece of art before buying it anyway, though, so I'd rather drop into the shop on City Road than buy it online even if the shop was working!

Clickity clicks, Gallery 66. Situated in the arcades of town, Gallery 66 is a framing specialist…read morewith art and photo's for sale too. I do love this shop as it feels you've stepped back in time upon entering and sells some fabulous art. It's almost as if this could be put on a ye olde Victorian tour of Cardiff. You may be able to make out the paintings of the galaxy in the pic, I bought one of them. The detail on them are fantastic and is reasonably priced (Under £70), the person who served me as well was so lovely that the whole experience from entering to leaving with my fine painting was an absolute joy. Please visit this place, especially if your visiting Cardiff and want to get a real feel of the culture this city has to offer.

Gallery 66 is possibly my favourite shop in The Royal Arcade. Set up in 1975 by Eva Walters, the…read morebusiness has a firm footing in the customised interior design marketplace. Offering picture framing of varying qualities and style, ranging from conventional frames, canvass stretching to box frames, as well as original artwork and prints sourced from around the globe, signed limited edition prints, in addition to local artwork including commissions, if you are looking for something specifically tailored to your tastes. Gallery 66 is a progressive business that has definitely kept up with the times. These days it provides full-time employment for Dan, (Eva's son, who wasn't even born when the business was launched), an immensely talented artist who works in the medium of print, digitally reworking iconic images, embellishing the original concepts with intelligent and creative adaptations, ultimately creating new and original artwork. Music seems to be a key influence, with album covers and portraits of legendary artists providing much of the inspiration for his work. There's also a very definite interest in graffiti, particularly the work of Banksy. Nina, Eva's daughter is also often in the shop. She comes in to help out when she has time off from pursuing her career as a teaching assistant. Being a family business the service levels are second to none. Eva is a vivacious, smart business woman who really knows her stuff. If you have a space on your wall that needs filling, this is where you need to come!

This is a great little shop. It does a fantastic framing service, although it is quite expensive…read more However, the big draw for me is the pre-framed 70s iconic prints, posters and magazine covers of some of the best known punk, ska and rock bands. I've spent many an hour ogling the huge Sex Pistols and Clash posters. So far my collection only consists of a cover from NME with the Specials on, but if you're looking for an unusual gift for someone special this is certainly unusual. The chap in the shop is really helpful and friendly, and the service we've received has always been great.

Bought some artwork in Bratislava and took it here for framing advice. The guy (Mike I think!?)…read morepicked out a perfect background and lovely frame. A bit expensive for the size of the picture but I was really happy with the result. Would use again. Thanks.

Not really my taste, art-wise, but worth a visit if you're in Mermaid Quay. I always enjoy a lazy…read morebrowse through any gallery, especially one that's on the same street as Herb & Ellie's and Gourmet Burger Kitchen. I've been in here a few times, most recently to see the Bob Dylan exhibition (quick question - does anyone else wince when one of your favourite musicians pulls the sell-out card? I almost never forgave Bob for appearing in a Victoria's Secret commercial all those years ago, and now Iggy Pop's pimping insurance for Swiftcover?!). Back to the issue at hand. Castle's not an expansive gallery (probably about the size of a corner store), but it still manages to elegantly showcase the artwork of a select few. All of the pieces are priced waaay too far out of my meager range, but as someone who dabbles in drawing and painting, I always find it's nice to get a bit of inspiration, whether it's affordable or not.

You could say I don't know my art from my elbow…read more I know nothing about art, well thats not true, I know how to spell it, but apart from that the knowledge or expertise I possess in the way of art could be painted onto a canvas smaller than a postage stamp. All this declared I enjoy popping into Castle Galleries for a browse. There seems a wide variety of highly acclaimed artist or so they claim anyway. I have no idea whether the contents of this gallery could be described as high art, low art, modern art or commercial art but I enjoy it. And surely that's all that matter isn't it? I've never bought anything because I feel my finances are better well placed in other areas (food, clothes and bills) than buying a piece of art. But should I regularly amass an excess in the money department I could do a lot worse than purchasing a bit of creative beauty (of which there seems a lot on display) from Castle Galleries.

The Albany Gallery is a great little commercial gallery that is located above Zio Peppino on the…read moreAlbany Road. There is every reason to visit Albany Gallery at any time of the year, but there's presently an even more compelling reason to make the effort to go there. The current exhibition will be on for the duration of the summer, and features work from some of the best of contemporary Welsh artists. And it's excellent! There are circa. 70 different artists exhibiting, who specialise in all different kinds of media and subject. Prices for work exhibited vary dramatically, starting at incredibly affordable prices. Now is definitely the time to buy fine art. The art market has not been this depressed in a long time, and with galleries exerting pressure on the artists to keep their work affordable, prices have dipped or remained static for a while. It's difficult for an artist to discount their work as it devalues the pieces that have been sold previously, and so there is an unwritten obligation borne by each artist to protect the commercial interests of existing patrons. Nevertheless, galleries are going out of business left, right and centre, and those that remain are doing al they can to preserve the market. Keeping prices affordable is one of the key means of doing this. Artists tend to increase the sale price of their work on a regular basis. It is common to see considerable price increases within a short space of time. Each successful exhibition, of which an artist will have several a year, will prompt them to review the value of their work. A successful exhibition at a high profile gallery that has been met with critical approval in the media may cause an artist to add a nought to their sale price, taking the value fo their work from £500 per piece to £1,500 for example. This means that price increases have been seriously inhibited owing to the fact that the art market has remained relatively static throughout the duration of the recession. Therefore, prices should rocket once the market has stabilised once more, making any investment today a good one. Obviously you have got to buy right, so it pays to know what you are doing, but quite often buyers can make a killing just by buying what they like... (if they like it, it usually follows that other people do too, and demand ultimately regulates the market).

I definatly think this is one of the best galleries we have here in Cardiff. I was introduced to it…read moreby my art teacher and have been a few times when I like the sound of an exhibition the have on. Of course any gallery is only as good as its exhibitions and their website is very good at letting you know whats on when and shows you the kind of art they do. I love the fact that it shows the very best of contemporary British artists. It even hosted an exhibition by the late Kyffin Williams who is arguably one of Wales greatest artists. You can't help but feel inspired and the staff are very approachable and happy to talk to you about the pieces.