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made by Ryan Xavier

Bespoke picture framing

Every piece deserves a frame built around it, not the other way round.

Hand-finished, made-to-measure framing for photography, art, maps, documents and the things you'd hate to lose. Designed and made by Ryan Xavier.

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Free visual mock-ups · Conservation-conscious materials · Visits by appointment

A hand-framed photograph of a tiled Lisbon façade, deep navy mount and gold-patterned frame

I look at what's inside the frame first: the colour hiding in a shadow, the tone in a margin, and build the mount and moulding out from there. It's a slower way of framing. It's also why it works.

Whether you're an artist, a collector, an interior designer, or someone who just brought a print home from a trip and can't find the right frame for it, that's exactly the kind of conversation I want to have.

Framed photograph of a pilgrim overlooking the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia, in an olive double mount and distressed green frame

Recent work

A small selection from the workshop

Photography brought home from travels, pet portraits, keepsakes and documents. Each one mounted and framed to suit what it actually is.

View the full portfolio →

Design first

A short conversation about the piece and where it's going, then a proposal on mount colour, mouldings and finish before anything is cut.

Precisely made

Mouldings are precision-cut on a Morso guillotine and joined on a Cassese underpinner, with mounts cut on an Excalibur system and every piece checked and finished by hand.

Made to last

Conservation-grade mount board and glazing as standard, so the things you care about are actually protected, not just displayed.

The process

Four decisions, made together

Every frame is really a handful of choices stacked on top of each other. I'll walk you through each one before we commit to anything.

01

Mount

Colour, depth and whether a double or triple mount suits the piece. This decides more than anything else how the finished frame reads.

02

Moulding

Profile, width and finish, sometimes one moulding, sometimes two or three stacked together for depth.

03

Finish

Slips, reveals and metallic accents where a piece has shine or gilding worth echoing.

04

Glazing

UV-protective, conservation-grade glazing as standard, so colour doesn't fade and paper doesn't yellow.

Free mock-ups

See it before you commit

Send me a photo of your piece and I'll put together a free mock-up showing how it would look in a few different mount and moulding combinations. No cost, no obligation. It just makes the decision a lot easier when you can actually see it.

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Example mock-up showing the same artwork presented with four different mount colour options against a green and gold frame
A wedding invitation framed with a green beaded frame and gold double mount

About the framer

From human rights storytelling to the workbench

For more than a decade, Ryan built exhibitions and documentary projects that give survivors and human rights defenders a platform, including Nobody's Listening, an award-winning immersive VR and art exhibition built around Yazidi survivor testimony. He trained at West Dean College and now frames photography, art and keepsakes from a workshop in Haywards Heath.

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In your homes

I love seeing finished pieces once they're actually hung. If you've had something framed and are happy to share a photo, I'll be building a gallery of pieces in situ. Send one over.

Send a photo →