Framebridge

The storefront at 1506 Wisconsin Avenue NW sits in the upper stretch of Georgetown, past the denser M Street retail and closer to Glover Park, in a block that has drawn design-oriented businesses for years. Inside, finished frames line the walls in organized rows, a gallery wall installation occupies one end of the room, and a consultation area with a long table holds samples and mats for working through choices in person with a designer. The place is calm and well-lit in a way that traditional frame shops rarely are.

Susan Tynan founded Framebridge in Washington in 2014 after a specific and frustrating experience. She had spent years collecting posters on annual trips with her sister and finally took them to a framer, where she paid $400 per piece and left feeling as though she had done something wrong. She decided she would never frame anything again. Later, on a trip to Morocco, she brought back souvenirs that would need frames, and rather than repeat the experience, she built an alternative. Tynan came to it with a management background: she had worked at LivingSocial, Taxi Magic, and Revolution Health before serving as a technology and customer service advisor to the Obama White House, and she held degrees from the University of Virginia and Harvard Business School. Framebridge went on to raise more than $81 million in venture funding, the largest amount ever raised by a woman-founded company in the DC area.

The business model started online. Customers uploaded photos or shipped art directly to Framebridge’s production facility, chose from a curated selection of frame styles, and received the finished piece by mail. Physical stores arrived in 2019, and the Georgetown location opened in October 2024 as the third DC outpost after Union Market and 14th Street. The Georgetown store is also the brand’s homecoming: the company was founded in the city and this is where its founder lives.

The in-store service works for anyone who finds the online process abstract. A designer sits with you, holds up mat samples, walks you through frame weights and colors against your actual piece, and helps you plan a gallery wall if that is what you are working toward. Local-inspired pieces are available for purchase, including a framed Martin’s Tavern matchbook and an Ewing jersey, for those who want something with a Georgetown-specific reference. Custom framing starts at $99, with price varying by frame, mat, and glass selection.

Hours run Monday through Friday, 10 to 6. Saturday extends to 7pm. Sunday opens at 11am. Walk-ins are welcome; consultation appointments can be booked online for busier periods. The Wisconsin Avenue location sits on a block without dedicated parking, and the walk from the M Street garages or the Georgetown Circulator stop on Wisconsin takes about five minutes. For anyone who has let unframed art sit in a tube or under a bed because the traditional framing experience was too expensive or too complicated, the Georgetown store is a useful destination.