Angela on Art

History of Queen Anne Frame and Gift

by Angela Salvadalena
image of blue sign with McGraw St Frame Shop in black letters

We have a long history on Queen Anne Hill and I have been a part of it since 2008, but we go back much further than that. In May of 1989 Philip Amdal opened McGraw Street Framing at 618 West McGraw Street. 

father and son in front of the original frame shop

He started the business because he saw an opportunity. He was living on West Raye St. and was surprised that there was not a picture framing business on Queen Anne Hill; the type of neighborhood that would typically have one. He had some woodworking chops and knew how to cut a mat and thought, “I can do that!” A friend knew someone at Frame Up On Broadway who was looking for a change and was able to hire her. She knew all the suppliers that a shop like this needed. As he suspected, they had customers right away. They had artsy cards and art on the walls.

outside shot of the current frame shop

He opened the Queen Anne Avenue shop in 1997 while still operating the McGraw Street location thinking his existing customers on the west side of the hill wouldn’t want to come all the way over to the Avenue and deal with all the crowding and parking issues they had then.(!) After a year he closed the McGraw Street shop and expanded the Queen Anne Avenue space, mostly to feature the gift shop.

picture of a woman named joan with glasses and light brown hair

In 1998 he met Joan Webster and they married in 2000. She is an artist, designer and color consultant. She became the buyer and merchandiser of the new eclectic and beautifully curated gift shop. The dual business became a local fixture for custom framing and interesting gifts and was renamed Queen Anne Frame and Avenue Arts. Their loyal following of Queen Anne locals kept them busy. Philip had very high standards for the quality of our custom framing. Although I had been a framer/designer since 1983, I learned a lot from Philip. He could figure out how to do anything. He never said “No, I can’t do that”. Picture framing isn’t just about aesthetics, but functionality too.

image of the papadopulos family in front of their shop

In 2015 Philip and Joan were ready to retire (ie. be involved, fun grandparents). Nick and Kirsty Papadopulos had recently returned from living in Southern California with their young boys and were looking for a business that would suit them both. Diane, the owner of Marqueen Garage, told them about Queen Anne Frame being up for sale. It was a great fit for them and their talents. Plus, their home is one block east of the shop, so they could juggle family and work a little easier. (They run back and forth a lot!) They renamed it Queen Anne Frame and Gift and steadily made it into their own. Their commitment to being a strong part of the community has been wonderful to be a part of. Our long-time clients and the new are simply the best.

The story continued for 10 more years at 1621 Queen Anne Avenue N. Now, the next chapter is beginning and I know it will be the best one yet!

Queen Anne Frame and Gift will be moving to 405 W Galer at the end of October. You can read more here.

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