Custom framing holiday gifts in Prescott are not last-week errands. A shadow box, a restored family photograph, or a local painting requires design time, materials, and a dry, careful close. Framers Market & Gallery has done that work on Montezuma Street since 1984. Cooler September evenings are when households begin thinking about walls for Thanksgiving and December gatherings. That is the week to bring the piece in—not the week the guests arrive.
Certified Picture Framers design on the premises. Artwork and originals stay in Prescott. Nothing is mailed out for a distant bench to handle.
Why September is the useful month
Holiday framing has a calendar whether the shop posts one or not. Conservation glass, archival mats, specialty moldings, and needlework mounts are chosen, not taken off a hook. Visualize It software can show matting and frame options around a photograph of the piece before a commitment is made. That conversation is unhurried in September. It is not unhurried in the second week of December.
If the gift is meant for a wall at a holiday gathering, count backward from the party date. Add time if photo restoration is part of the order. Add more time for textiles, medals, or anything that needs a shadow box.
Holiday gifts that belong in a frame, not a bag
Restored photographs
Bring torn, faded, or cracked prints. The shop scans and digitally restores them in Prescott, then prints a new copy while the original stays untouched and on site. Colorizing, enlarging toward canvas size, collages, and plaques are available once the file is sound. A restored portrait over a sideboard is a different gift from a print in a tube.
Shadow boxes
Medals, a child’s first jersey, a concert bill, holiday ornaments that should not live in a closet—shadow boxes turn objects into a wall. Military display cases are a regular part of the shop’s custom work. Ask early if hardware, fabric backing, or a specific depth is required.
Needlework and textiles
Heirloom stitch work and table linens need support and spacing that a ready-made frame will not provide. Customers bring grandmother’s needlework for a reason: the mount is as important as the glass.
Local art and prints
The gallery side of the shop shows work by Prescott-area artists. Framing an original or a print already owned, with archival mats and a molding chosen for the room rather than a catalog thumbnail, is the version that still looks considered in January.
Diplomas, certificates, and maps
These are quiet holiday gifts for a graduate or a new office. Conservation framing keeps the paper from the worst of light and from acid in the mat.
What “done locally” actually protects
Photo restoration and custom framing at 377 N. Montezuma Street stay in this building. That matters for a one-of-a-kind print or a medal set that should not travel. Craftsmanship and materials supplied by the shop are covered for the life of the project against defects in that workmanship and those materials. Coverage does not apply to later damage from abuse, transportation, or exposure to the elements. If the finished design is unsatisfactory, the work may be returned within 14 days for a redesign without an additional design charge; the new design must be of equal or lesser value, with only the difference charged if a more expensive design is chosen.
How a holiday order usually proceeds
- Bring the piece, or a clear photograph if the object is large.
- Ask for a Visualize It demonstration so frame and mat choices sit on the screen next to the art.
- State whether the work will hang in strong sun, near a fireplace, or in a darker hall. Glass and mat choices change with light.
- Decide conservation versus standard materials on purpose. Heirlooms generally deserve archival mats and UV-filtering glass.
- Leave time. Custom work is not a same-day poster frame.
Art installation is available when a heavier shadow box or a precise holiday-room hanging requires it.
Owner Vickie Sheridan is a Certified Picture Framer and watercolorist with an MFA. Production Manager David Bright has framed in Prescott since joining the shop in 1995, after years in the Los Angeles custom market. Co-owner Jim Sheridan trained at the New England Framing Academy.
Bring the piece while the calendar still has room. Holiday walls are designed in September. They are only hung in December.
FAQ: holiday custom framing in Prescott
How far ahead should I order a framed holiday gift?
Bring the work in September or early October, especially if restoration or a shadow box is involved.
Do you mail artwork out for framing?
No. Custom framing and photo restoration are done locally so originals stay in Prescott.
Can I see the design before you build it?
Yes. Ask for a free Visualize It demonstration and compare options on screen.
