OUR STORY
It started in the mid 70's when Roger Nielsen bought an abandoned warehouse in Lowertown, St Paul. A neighborhood that was, as he remembers, mostly winos and pigeons. He and Janet Hawn renovated the building into affordable artist housing and opened Master Framers on the main level. The building became known as 262 Studios. So began a thriving artist community that still exists today.
Roger and Janet's passion for art and framing took the frame shop beyond traditional chop & join services. They became experts at hand-finishing and hand-carving frames as well as painting/frame restoration. Today, the artisan staff at Master Framers have been trained using time tested materials and techniques required to take on your most challenging frame projects.
You can find our frames hanging at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Des Moines Art Center, South Dakota Art Museum, The Minnesota State Capitol, the George Bush Presidential Library and other historic sites, churches, and universities across the United States. We are also proud to have many frames hanging in private homes being enjoyed by private art collectors.
Meet the Staff
At the heart of everything we do at Master Framers lies a group of individuals who bring our vision for beautiful, handcrafted frames to life.
Roger Nielsen
FOUNDER
Artist, frame maker, collector, community organizer, advocate for the arts, Lowertown pioneer. Roger has been a leader in the picture framing industry. He has taught numerous workshops and seminars relating to gilding, design, restoration and frame history.
YEARS IN THE FRAMING INDUSTRY: 62
Andrew
GENERAL MANAGER
Always interested in the arts, Andrew fell into framing and has stayed with it long enough to learn all parts involved. Now the main gilder as well as Shop Manager, he spans both front and back shop, sales, deliveries, and all trouble-shooting.
His artistic bent shows itself in his good cooking, art collecting, and varied beard styles.
YEARS IN THE FRAMING INDUSTRY: 21.. Since the 1900's
Sue
FRAME MASTER
Sue joined the company in 1988, with 12 years experience behind her and a widely known reputation for creative frame design and problem solving. She is a certified picture framer, having passed a difficult exam required to gain this recognition. Sue has written several articles on conservation framing and has won many national framing contests. Sue is semi-retired, but is available for on-call consultations.
YEARS IN THE FRAMING INDUSTRY: 43
Kevin
FRAME MAKER
Since 2007, Kevin mills, carves and builds all of our frames. He got his start working at the Detroit Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center and other companies where he gained valuable wood working experience. Often in a cloud of sawdust, Kevin is a tedious craftsman where second best is not good enough.
YEARS IN THE FRAMING INDUSTRY: 38
Liz
FRAME RESTORATION
Coming to Master Framers from past framing work, Liz' has jumped headlong into frame restoration and finishing. A photographer and amateur painter, she's an artist who is daily expanding her mediums and gaining expertise in making old world beauties shine again.
YEARS IN THE FRAMING INDUSTRY: 5
Richard
FINISHER / FRAMER
An award winning plein-air painter and Lowertown resident artist for 12 years, Master Framers was able to steal Richard from his true love of painting to be our primary finisher of custom frames and objects.
YEARS IN THE FRAMING INDUSTRY: 26
