The Art Gallery at the Washington Design Center

after purchasing a framing deal on Amazon, I called this place to find out their hours — 9 to 5 I was told, no weekends. the lack of weekend hours is inconvenient enough, but 9 to 5 means i’d have to make an extra stop on the metro on the way to work (and arriving late) or leaving work early to get there before 5. a pain, but i was willing to deal.
anyway, i showed up at 8:55am on a Wednesday and waited until 9:25am, but the store still wasn’t opened. already incredibly late for work, i left.
thinking perhaps the person who was supposed to open the store on Wednesday had a family emergency or was just running really late because of traffic, i showed up again on Thursday morning just before 9:00am. sure enough, the store wasn’t open by 9:15 so i left for work. just to be sure, i called the store later that day and they (rudely) assured me they opened at 9:00am and that Wednesday’s (and presumably Thursday’s) late opening was just a fluke.
Friday morning i showed up at 9am and left at 9:25 when the doors still hadn’t opened. lame.
if you can’t honor your posted hours, CHANGE YOUR POSTED HOURS because people rely on them — especially when your hours are as incredibly inconvenient as yours. the savings from my Amazon deal has more than been eaten up by my three unnecessary stops and time wasted standing outside this place’s locked doors.

I called Saturday and they said they were open from 12 – 5 on Sundays. Let’s make no mistake… they are not. Very frustrating. They said on Saturday that they only took appointments, which is why I planned to go in Sunday. Now I’ll have to leave work in the middle of the day.
then I went with my $ 200 gilt certificate and ended up spending another $ 150! I know framing is expensive, but my thought is if they are giving you $ 200 for $ 49 on guilt they are overcharging to begin with.

I came in to stroll around one day and look at the products. Overall, a very nice store. It’s clean, quiet, and has a lot of inventory. Personally, I didn’t order anything or purchase any paintings, so I can’t speak to the customer service aspects, but it is certainly worth a look around (especially if you are in the market for a diploma frame).

The Art Gallery has continually promised, but failed to deliver.
I dropped off three prints for a simple reframing job (as movers had damaged only the frames). I was told that it would take 4 weeks to reframe the prints. At the end of four weeks, I called several times to confirm if my prints were complete. No one ever answered, and despite leaving three messages, I received no return call.
When I went to pick up my prints, they were nowhere to be found. After a significant «search» by the staff, I was told that my prints were never framed because the frames I selected were on backorder. I was asked to select an alternative frame, which I did. To «compensate» for the issues I’d had thus far, the manager offered to replace my glass. It’s a nice gesture, but I didn’t need new glass…
The manager promised a quick turnaround — five days — given that it was a simple job. I just called to verify that the prints are ready — a full four days after I was promised they would be completed the SECOND time. The prints still aren’t available at the shop.
I hope these prints haven’t been lost forever. And, if I ever do get them, I hope the work is fantastic.

I tried contacting The Frame Shop to talk with them before purchasing the Groupon deal I found for $ 200. The person who answered the phone was extremely rude and even hung up on me. I tried calling back and he said they were closed and with no further explanation hung up on me again.

So here is another update. I had also purchased the groupon promotion for this business ($ 60 for $ 200 I think?). On November 18 I brought in two sets of vintage illustrated postcards to frame (2 each to a frame). They were ready about 10 days ago — yes, this was a long wait. I was in no rush, however, and they look beautiful. The Gallery helped me to pick out a really lovely wood frame. Had I wanted to spend no more than the groupon, I could have chosen to have one frame, or framed only one set of two postcards. I do wish that the everyday prices were lower, but I do appreciate the friendly help that I have received and the beautiful finished product.

I also bought a deal (LivingSocial) to this place. I brought in an item to frame and after asking for an estimate, they first asked if I had a deal of some sort. I found that odd. I paid $ 60 for $ 200 of service. The estimate shouldn’t change if I have a deal or not. I paid $ 60 for $ 200 of service, not for an inflated $ 300 of service. Their price of course ended up being very expensive.
They also were very hesitant to break down the price for me, ie. plexiglass versus glass, etc. They gave me an estimate and then tried to put that amount on my credit card and balked a bit when I first asked for them to break down how they reached that estimate, and to actually measure my piece, instead of eyeballing the size and hence the price.
They estimated it’d take 6 weeks to work on my piece, and they didn’t call me to let me know when to pick up my piece, so after 7 weeks, I called them and they said «oh yea, we were going to call you very soon».
The worst part of the entire process though was that they made my painting much smaller than it was. My painting was a canvas mounted with a wood frame, so I said they could take the canvas off the wood so it could fit the frame. When I got the painting back after 7 weeks, I realized they must have covered a good inch to an inch and a half on each side of the painting with the frame. They changed my aunt’s painting from a 15“x22″ inch painting to 14“x19″. The dimensions of the framed painting were so obviously different from the original painting that my mom and aunt both immediately asked why I allowed them to modify the painting so drastically. I of course felt terrible that I had changed my aunt’s painting to that degree. I will never be returning to this frame store.

Man, it’s always so disturbing reading other peoples’ experiences with these places! Well, I had an overall good experience this past summer after I bought the Living Social deal.
Ten years ago, in a move, the glass broke on an old framed family document that my great-​grandfather had prepared in 1948. When I finally took it someplace else to have the glass replaced, I found out that the ink was actually fused to the glass in some sports and that I needed to find a place that does restoration, so when I saw the Living Social promotion, I was pretty excited when I found out that The Art Gallery does restoration work. I took it in and Joe pointed out that it’s actually sheep skin. (Being vegan, I wasn’t too thrilled, but what can you do…) Oh, and when I took it out of my closet to take to The Art Gallery, I discovered that the tape that I’d secured the broken glass with a few years earlier loosened up and fell/​shifted, pulling away some of the sheep skin and even tore it a bit. OMG, I was NOT happy! (It could have been worse, though. It definitely could have been worse.)
Judging by very minimal experience I’ve had with framing in the past, the price quoted for the job seemed fair. After I dropped it off, another guy in the elevator (whom I hadn’t even noticed in the shop) asked me what it was that I’d dropped off, as he got a little glance of it, and he really talked up Joe, telling me that Joe even does work for Smithsonian.
Joe told me that it would take about x or y weeks (2 or 3?) before I could pick it up. I think it was an extra week later before I called to see if my project was ready, because no one had called me. I don’t remember all of the details now, so many months later, but it took more time than it should have to establish that my project was indeed ready. Apparently, Joe had gone away on some cruise, and the people there didn’t know much if anything about my project. They couldn’t even find it. I might have been more concerned if I had read some of these reviews at that time! But I’m a patient guy and wasn’t necessarily in any huge hurry to get my project. (Again, it was about 9.5 years after the thing was broken!)
It really was pretty ridiculous how long it took for them to find my item. I might actually give them 3.5 stars vs. the 4 stars that I’m giving, but… ultimately, the price was fair, I was pleased with the final product, and that’s that. A satisfied customer.

New Management — hooray!
I’m impressed. Based on the horrific experience I had (and posted here) the new manager (Kenny) contacted me determined to make things right.
He told me they had cleaned house, then came to my house and picked up one of the pieces that had been done all wrong under the old management. They fixed the piece (as much as possible — staple marks still show around the edges, but only so much you can do once someone hacks through your art), fully refunded what I paid, and then delivered the piece back to my door several weeks later.
I have to say, Kenny really worked to earn this review. My only hesitation in going back (and in a 5-​star review now, which is what my most recent customer service experience deserves) is that Joe is still there. As other recent reviewers note, he should be returned to the used car lot from whence he came.
Regardless, high hopes that the Art Gallery is a new place — this experience certainly was more than I ever hoped I’d get from the place after writing my first review, so I have to hand it to them; they earned it.

I picked up my painting i got with living social. I must say, they did a great job. Customer service here is great. I picked a frame and after i saw it, i did not like it. The manager offered to replace it and he did. (you can see my previous review) I am very happy. I had separated two small abstract painting they had for sale. I explained to the manager that I was not able to get it at that time because I did not have the means (a bit expensive but totally worth it). He gave me a discount in the price because he saw how much i liked the painting. So I got them!!! I cannot say enough how well I have been treated by the owner and his staff. I will go back and recommend others try for themselves. Please do not judge the business by some of the bad reviews. I have been to this gallery 3 times and I have nothing bad to say about them. This is my personal experience.

I went here recently to use a Living Social deal and received good customer service. They went out of their way to make sure I got the best deal possible, trying out different frame options to see what looked best with my print within my budget. I haven’t received the finished product yet, but I believe it will be good.

LOST MY STUFF AND IGNORED ME, OVERCHARGED ME
If you like it enough to have it framed, I wouldn’t hand it over to these people!!!
LOST MY ITEM
I took some very valuable memorabilia there to be framed and they lost it.
I called back to inform them that the 35×27 frame was missing one very, very important item and they apologized profusely and offered to look for the item and re-​frame it. After 6 weeks of me calling them (not them calling me) and never receiving any response at all besides «You just missed Joe, he’ll call you back,» I was irate.
IGNORED ME
I am a very mild-​mannered person so this really says a lot (I waited 6 weeks, so I am clearly patient). JOE NEVER CALLED ME ONCE ABOUT THE MISSING ITEM.
I finally had the item (which I really think they were trying to steal) returned after threatening to sue them for the market value of the very expensive piece. I had also taken photographs in their shop of everything that was to be framed and kept my receipt which listed the item. There was no way for them to wriggle out of it! They finally emailed me to let me know the item had been found the next day.
t took another week and a half after that for them to actually return the item. Each time I went to go pick it up they were «closed» (during business hours) or it was at a different location including Joe’s car which is not an appropriate place for a valuable to remain for days on end.
OVERCHARGED ME
I was quoted one price before they found out I had a living social deal and $ 250 more expensive price once they realized that I had a deal. DON“T DO BUSINESS HERE. I finally got my valuables back after complaining to my credit card company, lawyer and other professionals. But again… if you like it enough to have it framed, I wouldn’t give it to these people.

Despite the other bad reviews on here, I had an all around great transaction with the Art Gallery when I took two large wedding photos to be framed. Misty helped me pick the perfect frame for my prints, discussed several options of glass and matting, and was courteous and friendly. They finished the product relatively quickly and I’m very happy with the end result. The frames look great and even have small plastic stoppers at the bottom so that they hang correctly on the walls.

Like everyone else here, I bought the LivingSocial deal. That was my first mistake. I brought in two canvas pieces that were 8“x10″, and somehow the total came to around $ 300 after the discount, despite the fact that no glass was used (just a wooden floating frame). While outrageous, my second mistake was succumbing to the sunk cost fallacy and agreeing to have it done. This was in July.
I informed them that I was moving across the country in late August, to which they said it would be no problem to have it done in two weeks, well before moving day. Moving day arrives and I haven’t heard a thing. I call and get put on hold, after a while they finally pick up and say they will call me back immediately. They never call back.
I’ve now moved and have called twice, both times they apologize and say that it’s ready and they’ll ship it to me for free. It’s now late September and they have my money and my artwork still. What a scam.
Go to Allen Custom Frame instead, we also had a LivingSocial from them and were extremely pleased. Not only were they punctual and proactive about updating us on status, but their prices were reasonable and they did a fantastic job.

I wish I has asked for the manager’s name, because he was so nice and helpful to me today! I came in with a huge box that was shipped to me as a gift from the west coast and I was afraid to open because I knew that the glass had broken. I went up to the framing shop, and one of the guys came down with me to the lobby to bring the box upstairs for me. Once he did that and pulled the piece out, I saw that the glass had been completely shattered when it was shipped, and the manager told me it would cost a lot more than the Groupon was worth to fix. They offered to write up a bill and not charge me for it, and ship it back to the artist who I received it from so the artist could see how much work it was just to take the piece out of the box and assess the damage. They were so nice and definitely know their stuff about framing, and I look forward to going back here when I have a piece to be framed that isn’t broken!

It’s now been ten days since I called and they swore it would be shipped out that day. I called today and it is still at the store. Again, they told me that its definitely being shipped out today, but I’m not holding my breath. If I were still in DC I’d just stop by and pick it up, but since I’ve moved that is not possible. Again, I stress do NOT go here.

I bought the Living Social deal ($ 60 for $ 200 at the gallery) because I needed to frame some diplomas and paintings that I’d put off framing for years. Knowing that framing services are notoriously overpriced, this was the only way I would ever get it done. I talked to Joe, ostensibly the manager, and showed him (first) my diploma. I wanted a wood frame, and I needed matting. He showed me some options, I settled for double level matting and a cherry frame. I got a subtotal (something near the $ 200 mark) and then asked what the additional cost would be for a couple of paintings — no frills, no matting, just black metal framing (neither was oversized). He quoted me something that I said was too high and went to take the paintings back. A little magic on the calculator and we’re down to $ 263.60 for entire group (minus the LS coupon — so only $ 63.60). I felt that was fair, if only just. I returned to pick them up several weeks later (no rush, apparently) and retrieved my diploma first. It looked good, solidly wrapped, nice finish. They couldn’t locate the others. I had to describe them each in detail because they hadn’t been labeled — just framed, wrapped, and stacked. Eventually I got everything back and left. All told, pretty good quality, a bit too much wheeling and dealing on the price, confusion over the fact that my pieces were labeled, and a bit of a delay in the execution. I think the other reviews are probably spot on — I just got lucky. I would give 2.5 stars.

After telling this shop what I wanted (simple black frame, no mat) I was given the invoice. It was this point where I should have listened to the little voice in my head that told me to take my print and run. «To hell with the Groupon,» it said, «eat the $ 50 and go.» Instead, I talked myself into it. «Things cost more in the city,» I told myself, «At that price, I know I will be getting quality work.»
Wrong.
A few weeks later I picked it up my print and hustled home to beat the afternoon traffic. When I arrived I noticed that there was no glass in the frame, but rather a plexi-​glass material. Here is what transpired:
–Wednesday: Called at 3:30PM and ask to speak to someone about a recent order. I was put on hold by Missy and remained on hold for 20 minutes, when I had to hang up to attend a meeting.
–Thursday: Viewed the store’s website and filled out the contact form, asking them to give me a call.
–Monday: Called in mid-​afternoon and no one answered the phone. Voicemail message said the mailbox was full. I immediately redialed and Joe (store owner) answered. What a crazy coincidence!
I told Joe that whenever I have had something framed, it had always been with glass, not plastic. Joe recalled that mine was an «oversize» print and stated that «acrylic» was used. He stated that this is actually more expensive than glass. While I appreciated the fact that he took time to explain things to me, I have no idea what went into my frame. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the shadiness I experienced from them when trying to reach them really gives me pause. What kind of legitimate business leaves their voicemail box full?
(Word of advice to the Art Gallery: when an employee writes «NG glass» on my invoice, you should put in non-​glare glass or contact the customer about the change.)
To Joe’s credit, he offered to put in glass if that was what I wanted. This is the only thing keeping them from earning a 1-​star rating. At this point I am going to cut my losses and keep what I have. No sense in spending $ 50 in round-​trip Zipcar fees and 3 hours of my time when I’ve already spent enough.
By The Numbers:
$ 516 for framing 35″ x 27″ print
$ 31.00 tax (Incorrectly calculated, according to DC Office of Tax & Revenue. See below.)
-$ 150 Groupon «discount»
Grand Total:
A «discounted» $ 397 for a $ 250 frame job that didn’t even include a mat. (She tried to upsell me on the mat, but the print was large enough and I was trying to keep costs down. If I went with a mat, this would be a $ 600+ frame job on a $ 40 print.)
Also, what’s up with taxing me on the full amount $ 516? Is that legal? I posed the question to DC’s Office of Tax & Revenue Twitter account:
Q: @DC_OTR When a customer uses a Groupon at a DC retail business, is sales tax applied before or after the discount?
A: @Joe_Baggadonuts The District’s sales tax is applied after the discount.
As you may have figured, I will not be a returning customer. The Art Gallery employees saw me coming with my Groupon and jacked the rate up. Shame on them for that and shame on me for not calling them on it from the beginning. Groupon or not, take your business elsewhere.

This review is for the actual finished product. I received my diplomas back today and am quite pleased with the finished product. They carefully opened each one for inspection and no complaints on them. Professional framing job and the materials look good. They even threw in some hardware for hanging.
So does the finished product look good? Yes. If they change their Groupon for a flat rate (i.e. up to «x» size for fixed $), that would be a better deal. As it was, similar pricing to Michael’s (sans sale).