Framer and artist, Erik Costello with one of his 3-D collages.
Photo & Story by Elvire Camus
“Frames on L” offers clients the classic range of frames: from baroque style to modern with clean edges, but it also offers off-beat styles—like a black, gothic style frame, festooned with 3D skulls.
And joining the fray of a busy studio, are plenty of super hero figurines. Owner, Erik Costello has just this side of a comic book/metal aesthetic.
Costello offers all kinds of framing services, but his specialty is 3-D paper sculptures. He makes each one meticulously by hand. The latest series he was working when the WG visited with him featured Iron Maiden album covers. “This is the most detailed 3-D I’ve ever made,” he says. The cut work will take him approximately two weeks, he says.
Costello’s custom made 3-Ds are selling very well. “Usually a customer will give me a theme and a few ideas of what they want, and I take it from there,” he says. He’ll turn one into a hockey player, their favorite cartoon character, or use flowers from a wedding to decorate a favorite wedding picture.
Costello who’s been in the framing business since 1992 started when he would frame his own collages and paper cut sculptures as a cost-saving measure, and continued to learn the trade when he worked for another framer.
On Metropolitan Ave, Costello shares his store/workshop with the longtime neighborhood photo shop Metro Photo. Metro Photo occupies the back of the shop while “Frames on L” occupies the front. Eventually he will take over the entire store and plans to open an art gallery in the front to feature the works of local photographers and artists.
753 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(551) 200-1382
erik@4thfloorframing.com
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