Kuhl Frames

Eccentric, artistic, cool, real.
Great aesthetic input from Travis for the two pieces I brought in. One was a hilarious glow in the dark paint by numbers piece a buddy of mine made as part of a bigger art project he did many years ago. The other was a wistful, moody work by a Polish artist given to me by a dear friend. Obviously, I wanted to do right by both.
Travis really looked each piece, listened to my goals for them in our space, then made excellent recommendations. Most importantly, he delivered: both turned out marvelous and by the promised date. I was able to hang the Polish piece with the friend who gave it to me and he was really impressed with the framing.
Bonus: I commented on one baffling review I’d read about Kuhl here as I was looking for a framing store — three stars and you haven’t even used the services??? — and Travis shared a bitch session with me about the subpar criteria used by some Unilocalers. It was great to see him get all exercised about the petty stupidity that passes for a review on this site.
So not only do I get great work, I also get to savor the pleasure of recommending you ignore dumb reviews and go to Kuhl for your not-​run-​of-​the-​mill framing needs.

Quirky artwork that definitely fits into Oakland. I popped in here to check out their art rather than their framing (I don’t need anything framed *just* now, although I did get a Unilocal badge for the check in), and they have some pretty cool Banksy-​style stuff. None of it was really my style, but most stuff isn’t, so that’s not surprising.
Still, the people seemed nice enough, and they had a wide selection of frames. There was nothing at all wrong with the place, so the 3 stars isn’t a knock, just an observeration based upon my tastes.

I had a great first experience at Kuhl Frames. Travis spent time helping me select the frames that would best showcase my original painting and print that I brought in. I really enjoyed the process and his personality. The end products were very beautiful and well done. I will definitely return to Travis for my future framing needs.

I had never gotten posters framed professionally before, but after the quality work and stellar customer experience at Kuhl Frames, I can’t imagine getting my things frames anywhere else. I took a print to a couple places for quotes before arriving at Kuhl Frames. The challenge: the print was pretty basic with a lot of negative space (i.e., sort of boring-​looking), and once held up against our walls, the colors looked kind of drab. Other places suggested some combos of matting and basic frames that, quite honestly, made me think there was no hope for this print. Then I met Travis, who took the time to get to know my aesthetic preferences and have a conversation about the print. Based on this, he offered creative ideas that made me excited for the finished product! When he held up the frame I ultimately chose, I knew right away it was perfect… and I NEVER thought I would have selected that style/​color/​design. When I brought home the framed print, even my partner (a person of few words) commented how «the frame really makes the print worthy of hanging!» I was so pleased with this experience, I brought in two more additional pieces to frame later that week. Travis really has an artistic eye and takes the time to help you elevate that print/​painting/​poster. At the same time, he won’t try to up-​sell you on something you don’t really need or want. I highly recommend this place!

Getting something framed always used to be a sticker-​shock experience for me. I would take my $ 20 poster to a frame shop and they would show me a lot of options and the cheapest one would end up being more than I paid for my car and I would weep and go to IKEA and buy a $ 10 frame that never quite fit the poster.
Then I found Kuhl Frames and everything changed. Travis, the owner, has got to be the friendliest guy in framing. If you want to spend the money and get museum-​quality glass with archival matting, he’ll do it for you. But if you just have $ 50 and want your Yo La Tengo poster to look nice, Travis will sell you the right pre-​made frame and then do the mounting for a reasonable price.
My walls now have a bunch of Kuhl-​framed prints on them. I can’t recommend Travis and his staff highly enough.

Travis at Kuhl Frames + Art is the Bomb! I found Kuhl Frames on Unilocal YESTERDAY — he helped me pick just the right complimentary color for a matt for a photograph I took that I was having framed for my dad’s birthday present.
TODAY, I went in, signed the matt and then he quickly finished the job while I grabbed a bite to eat next door at the yummy Taco place (big thumbs up for La Bonita Tacqueria too!) and I walked out the door with an expertly framed photograph all ready and wrapped up to fly with me next week. He also gave me some great advice on how to best wire up the back of my paintings as well.
I highly recommend Travis — he has a great artistic eye coupled with a real expertise in framing! Such a gem to stumble upon — Thanks Travis (and Unilocal for helping me find him in the first place)!!
Whoop Whoop! :-D

My experiences at Kuhl have been as good as it gets. I’ve come in with some pretty weird/​oblong stuff and Travis has always been very creative and generous with his time in figuring out a great solution. With such meticulous attention to detail and customer service, one might expect to be bent over, but Kuhl’s prices are quite reasonable. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Sometimes you get more.

Travis wrote me a quote for two pieces that I needed framed for a gallery in the area. When I picked up the work the bill came to over 80 dollars more in both cases than he had written down. Then he told me that what he had wrote was an estimate not a quote, even though the word «estimate» was never used until I picked up my framed pieces. When I told him that what he was doing did not seem legal, he got pretty snarky with me and told me that there was a line of people waiting for him to frame their stuff. Not me.
Oh, and then when I got home I noticed that there was a stray piece of paper under the plexiglass stuck to my art work. No way I was going back to argue about that, he was too aggressive and weird.

I should have written this review a long time ago. We’ve had several antique maps framed at Kuhl (9 pieces so far) and the results are always staggeringly artistic, beautiful and exquisitely well crafted. The best part of the framing experience is working with the owner, who is increbily talented and welcoming. He turned our antique maps into genuine pieces of art, spent hours helping us match the frame to the map and to the mat board and consistently delivering on time, on budget and with a quality we have not seen anywhere else. He even went so far as to piece together salvaged frames for some of our more distressed pieces and has a keen eye for matching the subtle tones of each art piece to its perfect frame. Could not be happier — two thumbs way up.

The quality of the work is exceptional, but this place is a bit pricy.

New to the neighborhood and needed to get some stuff out of tubes and into frames. How excellently convenient that the best frame shop in Oakland is steps away from my home.
Travis greeted me warmly and took PLENTY of time listening and exchanging ideas about how to best frame the art. He is professional, comfortable, and confident in his natural talent for communicating his artistic perspectives and advice to his clients. The guy is genuine, Travis, right on. He also filled me in on the Oakland art scene as I am still a newbie. thanks again Travis.
the work was completed when promised and it is perfect! What a nice compliment to the local Uptown business community.
Will be going back next week to frame more art fo sho!

I had two woodblock prints that I wanted framed together and it turned out great. He worked with my concept, added his artistry and ended up with a truly fine piece.

Travis is the best. I’d never go anywhere else for framing services.

Travis did a great job! When he sees what you want framed, he offers smart suggestions and a range of options for you to consider: the frame’s size, shape, color, contour, mat, no mat, texture — or not.
Travis has extensive experience framing art, posters, artifacts, and odd-​shaped pieces. He pays attention to small details the rest of us overlook. Framing isn’t cheap, but Kuhl’s does a beautiful job at prices you can live with.

Creative, energetic, skilled framing for just about anything. Travis is just incredible and I couldn’t recommend him more highly. His prices are reasonable and you know exactly what you’re paying for. I’m so glad to have him in the uptown neighborhood so I can keep my business in Oakland.

Since moving into the ‘hood, we’ve been eager to patronize local businesses whenever possible. Since few of the service-​oriented businesses open on weekends are not restaurants we had been forced out of walking distance to «run» most of our weekend errands.
That is, until we needed to have an item framed. Enter Travis and Kuhl Frames and Art.
His space is great — if he served coffee/​tea and treats, it could double as a comfy «home away from home». Travis has a great eye, and offers helpful advice when you and your spouse are working through various options for framing (sometimes three minds are better than two!).
Travis is an ardent Oaktowner and really takes pride in the community in addition to doing good business. He is very service oriented and works to ensure customers are satisfied — even if he has to refer you out for something.
Our framed art looks great and we look forward to working with Travis again in the future… when art/​framing needs warrant (or for Art Murmur, whichever comes first!).

Travis does a great job of framing stuff. You know that poster in my Unilocal picture? He did that.
He also hosts a rotating show where local artists sell their wares. Right now, he’s doing one with Lil Tuffy where you can buy the prints unframed, in a specially sized Tuffy frame, or in a custom frame.
Even when Kuhl Frames was just a framer in the back of a large gallery, I was coming here. Now that it’s off in its own space, it’s even better. Bring your work here. You’ll be very happy!

T. Kuhl has a very novel business in uptown Oakland. His concept is to blend store/​gallery/​frame shop into one art space. What is common to each segment of his shop is a commitment to quality (yes, subjective). He doesn’t sell cheezy knickknacks just to capture business. Please don’t conjure up an image of a mini Z-​gallery. You probably won’t frame your kids artwork here for the cost of framing can be more than the price of the art. On display currently is an interesting 16 ft. «tree» installation. There are great examples of a variety of media: paintings, composite art, photographs and more. Kuhl Frames will energize you and is welcoming to Jane Q Public, not just the cultured riche.