Greenpoint Frames, 937 Manhattan Ave., Greenpoint; greenpointframes.com
The Somerset House founder Alan Eckstein has gone to Greenpoint Frames for five years. Eckstein has since moved out of the neighborhood, but the fashion designer still heads back to Greenpoint for framing (for both his store and home) because of the shop’s excellent price-to-quality ratio. “Frame shops in the city are going to charge double what Adam Collignon charges, and the quality will be sometimes worse,” says Eckstein, recalling a 30-by-20-inch piece that came in at a $300-to-$400 framing estimate at Greenpoint Frames and $1,000 in Manhattan. Collignon has owned the business since 2018, when he took it over from his mentors. He has since made some updates, like adding new materials to the inventory and hiring his own staff (who Eckstein says did an “incredible job” with an uneven painted metal sign by a Jamaican artist that he recently brought in). “It feels like a little artist community in there,” Eckstein says. “They’re always playing cool music.”
Adam Collignon, owner of Greenpoint Frames in Greenpoint
Illustration: Pete Gamlen
Is there a mat-and-frame combination that looks good with any piece of art?
There is no magic pill, unfortunately, but that’s the value we bring, right? We look at the compositional elements of the piece and the frame, and the whole thing in concert becomes an artwork.
What goes into deciding how a piece should be framed?
If five people brought in the same work of art, it’s likely that each would leave with a different frame. We ask people about their living space. Everyone’s home is made up of hundreds of colors and textures. So in addition to fitting the artwork, we want the frame to fit the environment.
Does framing come down to instinct?
Oh, yeah, I hover my hands over your artwork and absorb its essence — what does the work want? And we stare into a vortex in the shop … I’m joking, obviously. But I do think as designers we have an obligation to put forward our best suggestions and serve as custodians of framing’s long history.
Is there a rule of thumb for choosing a mat color?
Are you asking me to reveal the secrets of the vortex?
Yes. What does the vortex say about colored mats?
Colors are a commitment, but some clients show me photos of their home and it’s like Pee-wee’s Playhouse. In that case, I have no problem throwing out something vibrant for them because we know that gives them joy.
— Katie Arnold-Ratliff
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