Fort Meade - USNA - Andrews AFB: 5 Reasons to Visit this Crofton-area Business for Fine Art and Framing

Crofton Fine Art & Framing is located at 1334 Defense Highway in Gambrills, at the intersection of Routes 450 and 424.  It's a tiny little shop you could easily miss, if you weren't looking for it.

"Looking for it" is something I find myself doing fairly often, however, and I highly recommend you do the same.  You'll be thanking me for introducing you to this Crofton-area business!

They carry original fine art in stock as well as limited edition prints, posters, sculpture, ceramics, and even jewelry.  But their custom framing is what usually motivates my visits there.  It is done with an artist's attention to detail and with conservation in mind.  They also do restoration of photos, art and documents.  But those are such understatements, because Crofton Fine Art & Framing doesn't just "do" those things... their work is an art in itself.  I should know - I've spent thousands of dollars there over the course of many years, and they've never disappointed me.

In fact, when my daughter went to Graduate School at the University of Texas about 10 years ago, we purchased some limited edition prints for her apartment, had some custom framing done, and they shipped everything directly to her.  I didn't have to do a thing except provide motherly input about her choices.  The results were beyond all expectations, as usual, and all of the prints arrived quickly without any damage.

If I had to narrow down the long list of reasons why I love doing business with Crofton Fine Art & Framing, it would probably go something like this:

1.  A talented and experienced staff who really knows what they're doing and make it easy for me to make a decision based on my wants and needs (and budget). 

2.  Excellent inventory of fine art, including framed prints and photos - many of local interest and many of those by local artists such as Terri Fowler.

3.  Huge selection of custom frames and mats - not to mention the free advice from their talented staff.

4.  Convenience - But honestly, I would travel miles to have them do my framing.

5.  Pricing is fair and reasonable, and they require only a deposit "up front" with the balance due upon completion and inspection of the finished product.

Don Burkes, one of their consultants and an artist himself, taught me a valuable lesson:  choose matting for its relationship to whatever is being framed, NOT to match the decorating in a room where you expect to display it.  Those pieces framed for my daughter ten years ago have looked fabulous every place she's hung them.  Meanwhile, other pieces framed to match their destination room, before we met Don, now sit in a closet.

Recently I walked into the store with a large print that had been discarded by its owner.  The glass was broken and the frame was ornate gold - not at all appropriate for the casual room where I intended to use it.  Don immediately recognized the piece and told me its history, pointing out details such as the fact that one of the people in the picture was the artists mother.  Don was a wealth of other information about the artist and his work and, drum roll please... informed me it was probably worth about two thousand dollars.  Now tell me, where else could I have gotten it framed AND learned all this!

May I suggest you visit Crofton Fine Art & Framing online, if you haven't done so before, and stop into their shop to meet Don and the other talented folks on their staff.  While you're online at their website, sign up for their mailing list to receive notices of shows and special events.  And be sure to tell them you learned about them from FocusOnCrofton.com.

PHOTOS:  MWoda

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