I have this vintage portrait of my mom as a baby. It’s been in our family for as long as I can remember. It hung in our hallway framed in a beautifully curved wooden frame with bubble glass. Not valuable to anyone else, but to us, it’s everything. Especially now that she’s gone, it’s one of the only baby photos we have of her.

During my move, I accidentally dropped it. The glass somehow didn’t break, but the wooden frame shattered. I was devastated. I tried to glue it back together, but it was just too far gone.

I went from frame shop to frame shop, but all I heard was, “It can’t be fixed.” Just when I was about to give up, I found 18th Street Framing. The owner actually took time to look at it and appreciated the shape, the glass, the craftsmanship. He couldn’t restore it exactly, but he had a thoughtful idea: use a new frame with a custom mate that echoed the original curve. It wasn’t the same, but it felt right.

While taking it apart, we even found this strange little surprise tucked inside—what looked like red elf legs or socks drawn on the backing. It made me smile. Just a tiny hidden story within the story.

I chose a new frame and mat that felt classic but warm, and opted for Museum Glass to protect it. They involved me in every step—even changed the mat color when the original didn’t quite work. The whole process took about two weeks, and I always felt in the loop.

When I picked it up, I was overwhelmed. It looked beautiful—fresh, but still full of soul. When I sent photos to my family, no one even noticed the frame had changed. That’s how I knew it was right.

Thank you, 18th Street Framing. You didn’t just reframe a photo—you helped us hold on to a piece of our mom.