Every piece we frame gets the same archival care, whether it is a family photograph, a signed print, or a painting that has been in the family for a century. We design with you at the counter from more than 2,000 moulding options, build everything on site at 215 West Main, and hand it back ready to hang.
Frame design consultations by appointment. Walk-ins welcome, appointments preferred.
We do not sell preservation in tiers. There is no good, better, or best for the materials that touch your artwork. A $200 print and a $20,000 painting are built to the same standard. What changes between them is the moulding, the glass, and the labor, never the care.
No dry mounting and no permanent adhesives. Works on paper are hinged with acid-free Japanese tissue and reversible paste, or held with edge strips and corner pockets when a piece should not be hinged at all. Everything we do can be undone without harm to the work.
Artwork never touches the glass or acrylic. A mat or a spacer keeps the surface clear, so moisture cannot build up and nothing sticks.
Every mat, backing board, tape, and spacer that touches your artwork is acid-free, lignin-free, and pH-neutral. We do not stock a lesser grade.
Each glass and acrylic we offer filters UV light. The choice between them is clarity, budget, and whether the piece will travel, not whether it is protected.
A dust barrier on the back, a rigid breathable backing board, and sealed edges keep out pollutants, pests, and debris for the years the piece hangs.
Design, cutting, mounting, and fitting all happen in our shop on Main Street. Your piece does not leave the building until you pick it up.
Prints, photographs, watercolors, drawings, pastels, and giclées on paper. Hinged or held without adhesive, matted, and glazed. Diplomas, certificates, and important documents belong here too.
Oil, acrylic, and giclée on canvas, and work on wood or aluminum panel. Fitted with spacers where the design calls for them and framed to the scale and era of the painting.
Jerseys, medals, coins, ceramics, fiber art, and collections. Mounted to carry their own weight over decades, with the depth engineered so every layer sits where it should.
Bring the frame you have. We open it at the bench, tell you what is inside, and can keep a sound wood frame while replacing the mat, backing, mounting, and glass with archival materials.
Pieces with provenance, age, or real historical weight are a specialty of ours. A marble fragment cut from the table that carried Abraham Lincoln's coffin aboard his funeral train came across our bench, and every decision on that job was made with its history in mind. The same approach applies to a family letter, a medal, a fragment of a building, or a document that has to outlast all of us.
A mount that is right for paper can be wrong for stone at the same size. We ask about weight, not just dimensions, and engineer the depth so every layer sits where it should for decades, not only on the day it is delivered. Nothing touches the object that cannot be lifted away.
A signed, dated Framing Statement travels with the piece: every component, the full mount stack from the back forward, and the exact steps to reverse it, so a future owner or framer can open it without guessing. Provenance is recorded as you supply it, and we say plainly what we have and have not verified.
Where an inscription or a stamp sits on the back, we scan it at full size and frame the archival print beside the object, so both read at sight and nothing is disturbed. Every historical piece is assessed in person, with you, before we quote.
The materials are the quiet half of archival framing. We buy from the makers the industry trusts and we keep the same grade on every job, so the choice at the counter is about look, budget, and where the piece will hang, never about whether it is protected.
Every glass and acrylic we stock is Tru Vue, and all of it filters UV light. Museum Glass is our first recommendation for significant work, with almost no reflection. Conservation Clear gives strong protection at a lower price. Optium Museum Acrylic is for high-value work and anything that will ship: light, shatter resistant, anti-static, and the only glazing we stock in the highest preservation class set by the Professional Picture Framers Association.
Conservation-grade board from Crescent, Bainbridge, and Artique: acid-free, lignin-free, and pH-neutral, in a double mat by default. Linen liners and fabric mats from Franks Fabrics when the design calls for them. We do not stock a lesser grade.
More than 2,000 corner samples on the wall. Larson-Juhl, Roma, Bella, and Picture Woods for the everyday choices; hand-finished, gold leaf, leather, and closed-corner frames from small makers such as Gold Leaf Frame Makers and Mercier; and Montana work from Bridger Metal Works and Montana Moulding. If the right frame is not on the wall, we order it.
Designs are built on screen with you in our framing software, so you see the mat, moulding, and glazing together, with the price, before anything is cut.
Bring the piece in. We look at it, measure it with you, and build the design at the counter. You see the price before anything is cut.
A 50 percent deposit starts the job. Your artwork stays in our building, wrapped and stored by type, from the moment you sign.
Standard turnaround is about four weeks. Some mouldings are made to order and take longer. We tell you at the counter.
We call when it is ready. The balance is due within 30 days of that call, and every job carries a 90-day warranty on materials and workmanship.
Frame design consultations by appointment. Walk-ins welcome, appointments preferred. Tell us a little and we will reply within one business day with times. You do not need to know what you want. Helping you design the framing is what the consultation is for.
Your request is in. We will reply within one business day with times for your consultation.
Need it sooner? Call 406-363-4112 during gallery hours.
Call during gallery hours and we will set a time while you are on the line.
Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 5:30
215 West Main Street, Hamilton
If the person who runs framing design is away from the counter when you arrive, we will take your details, photograph and measure the piece with you, and book your consultation before you leave.
Do I need an appointment?
No. Walk-ins are welcome. We prefer appointments so that someone who can run the design is at the counter when you arrive, and so the time is yours. Complex pieces are booked with Michelle.
Can you give me a price over the phone?
Not for a piece we have not seen. Framing prices depend on size, materials, and the condition of what you bring, so we price at the counter with the piece in front of us. You see the number before anything is cut, and there is no obligation.
Can you reuse my existing frame?
Often, yes. A sound wood frame can be reused as it is, and we open it at the bench first to see what is inside. We cannot work with plastic frames or mass-produced frames joined with metal pins or plastic plugs, and we cannot cut glass or mats that did not come from our shop. If saving a frame would cost close to what a new one does, we say so and let you decide.
Is my artwork safe while it is here?
Once you sign, your piece is wrapped and stored by type in our building until you pick it up. Nothing is sent out to another shop, and nothing irreversible is done to it. Mounting, matting, and glazing can all be undone later without harm to the work.
How long does it take?
About four weeks from the day you leave the piece with us. Mouldings that are made to order can take longer, and we tell you that at the counter. We call the day it is ready.
What should I bring to the consultation?
The piece itself, as it is. If it is already framed, do not take it apart first. A phone photo of the wall or room where it will hang helps, and so does anything you already like or dislike about frames you own.
Do you ship framed work?
Yes, nationwide. For anything that will travel we recommend Optium Museum Acrylic, which is light and does not shatter. Shipping is quoted separately once the piece is built and packed.
"Michelle at Cassens Fine Art made all my framing dreams come true! She is always so professional and only settles for the best! I absolutely love her attention to detail. I am beyond impressed at how my sweet little paintings turned out! Will definitely be returning for all my other framing and art work needs."
"I had an absolutely wonderful experience at Cassens Fine Art! I know little to nothing about framing art, and the staff was SO kind and helpful. They offered suggestions but weren't pushy at all and worked with me to create the perfect frame and matting for a painting I love. They were up front about cost and ensured I was 100% satisfied with the end result."
"I have had exceptional service here at Cassens Fine Art. I have brought in a number of favorite pieces of art to be reframed and have been very happy with the results. The staff is very talented and has helped me make the best choices for the framing. The result has always been excellent and always makes the piece of art shine. Truly the best choice in the Bitterroot Valley!"
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215 West Main Street
Hamilton, Montana 59840
Next to Bitterroot Drug and Main Street Toys, on the south side of the 200 block in historic downtown Hamilton.
Cassens Custom Framing is the frame shop of Cassens Fine Art, Hamilton, Montana, since 1993