A.I. Friedman

I came here yesterday to get some frames for a few prints. They have a good selection of frames at a range of prices. I especially liked their eco-​friendly ones, which look great and are cheaper than most of the others that I saw. They also have stationery, cards, art supplies, office furniture, notebooks, etc. It’s well organized, well lit, and the aisles are not cramped. The staff is helpful and friendly. If you check in, you’ll get a $ 10 off $ 30 purchase offer! I used it when I checked out! The receipt also comes with another $ 10 off coupon and a $ 50 off custom framing coupon! I’ll definitely be going back to use those. Convenient location as well.

Love this place. never a long line like at Blick. They have a student discount too I believe.

I had the distinct pleasure of being waited on by one of the most personal and professional employees that I have ever encountered. Richie, was thoroughly knowledgeable, courteous and respectful. Because of his patience and competence I walked away will all of the items on my list and then some. Great store. Keep it up.

They have a lot of selections for portfolios, which is thee only good thing. I brought like 6 portfolio boxes and had to return 2 of them. I went there right on the border of their two week return period. One of the box’s plastic wraps were opened which is exactly how it is when I buy it and I even ask if it’s ok to return that. The staff gave me bad attitude. which is ridiculous maybe he had a bad day but that’s not an excuse. I hope they have better staffs because it’s a pretty good place for stationaries!

Bought several of the same frames. One was missing a backing.
Store initially refused to exchange because item was open. (To which, I answered, how in the world was I supposed to know there would be a missing part if I never opened it!)
Then 2 managers came by and insisted that there’s no backing to the frame.
Had to go grab a brand new frame at the store and open the plastic seal to prove to the manager that i was not lying about the fact that this particular frame came with a backing, not to mention that they insisted I’d have to pay for the new frame if it didn’t have backing!
Anyway, I opened the brand new frame (at the risk that if it has a missing part, I’d have to pay for it) just to show the store that it had the backing.
Awful return/​exchange policy. Awful customer service. Learn your damn product specs before you suggest that your customer’s lying.
I don’t think I’ll be returning to this store anytime soon.
WTF!

Worst service in the world. Don’t ever come here if you need help finding anything, because the staff will either stare at you blankly or tell you to find it yourself. In a store with thousands of options, they should have better quality associates.

I LOVE this place. I am a newbie artist and came across A.I. Friedman. They have the most organized and comfortable store and the staff is beyond helpful. Several of the staff are artist themselves and helped my figure out what materials would work for me.
They really helped and encouraged me and made my painting hobby a lot more pleasurable and successful.
They are also AMAZING at framing. They spent lots of time helping me choose just the right right frame to enhance my work.
I would not buy so much as a pencil if it did not come from this exceptional and wonderful art store.

As a photographer, there is no other place to go for frames in NYC. The prices are great and they have beautiful gallery style frames for any budget. They have fantastic black frames with matting for larger prints as well. The frames are all of fine quality and do not split at the seams. They stock very well so you will always be able to get multiples of the same style without a special order.
The staff is helpful and not pushy. The are informative and knowledgeable.
The furniture is perfect for creatives. The styles are slick and practical so if you are building a creative space this is the source.
I always go in for my frames and end up finding so many other things. The space is very inspiring and they don’t overfill the shelves with cheap filler products. They carry top notch art supplies, desk accessories, handmade wrapping paper, and loads of hard to find items.
I’m a fan.

I brought in a piece of embroidery to be framed today, and the guy who helped me was so kind, and so painstaking in his work, that it almost made me tear up.

This store has been a go-​to in the city for years, especially when it comes to stock frames, custom frames and mats. Both the mats and stock frames are usually available at competitive prices, and the staff is pretty helpful (and very knowledgable) with finding the right pieces to match your artwork or photography. I do wish that their stock selection was just a little wider — their options don’t stray too far from the basics — but I’m glad to have these guys around!

This is a great art supplies store that does a terrific job framing. They framed a sketch done on a subway map and made great suggestions as to frame color and matting. Would definitely go back.

This is more of a 4.5 Stars review: I’ve shopped so many art suppliers in the city and region, and A.I. has a solid selection at the best prices. Sure, they don’t have an expansive all-​encompassing selection of brands, but what they do have is great. This place is now my rock, and when I go to the competition it’s because I have to compromise over time.
I shop their art supplies and not so much the framing, so I can’t comment about that I’m afraid.
This place has become my go-​to for my paints, papers, pens and studio miscellany. The service is (as another reviewer put it) «hands-​off» which I do like here in NYC, where people can be pushy, or worse, stupid. Here, when I need help, all I have to do is look up to catch an eye and I get great knowledgeable assistance.
There’s a student discount if you show your ID at the register.

I called AI F looking for a specific light box, & the man I spoke with was very helpful. He let me know that the model I called about was out of stock, but suggested a comparable model in stock for a lower price. Actually it was so low a price it seemed too good to be true. Welllll, turns out it was, because when I got to the store the price was a lot more. Apparently whoever I spoke with worked in a different department, so didn’t have the most accurate info. I was a little bummed, but the salesman in the light box area was SO helpful I forgot about the mixup pretty quickly. He showed me several models (um, including the model I was told was out of stock), and even opened the boxes & plugged them in so I could see the brightness of each. It should also be noted that the specific model was $ 20 less than Blick. Overall, I left really happy & that was pretty much due to how helpful that salesman was. I probably won’t bother calling ahead for inventory/​pricing, but I’ll definitely stop in there first when I need something.
(A tiny negative– since light boxes are in the «furniture» department, they don’t qualify for student discounts.)

THE BEST. I love this store — its been clutch while furnishing my new place. This is the only store I buy frames from because they are SO well priced. The staff are uniformly helpful — I have never had a bad experience here. Selection of frames is great, but they also stock a variety of great items outside traditional art supplies — ex: I spotted a hard to find Tumi backpack here. Lots of other fun stuff (even furniture!) — love this store.

Went there to get stock frames. I was looking for modern styles gallery frames such as «ash wood», raw wood frames that are the trend these days. The staff was extremely helpful and super nice. And I found exactly what I was looking for. A great selection of good quality, good looking frames. Sorry to say this but it totally beats «michaels» with a much better offering and more staff on hand to help you if you need it. I will absolutely go back for all my framing needs! The prices are very reasonable as well. Better than CB2, west elm, and of course michaels.

AI Friedman is not a craft store. BOOM, now you can disregard some of these negative reviews.
What they do have are frames, custom-​framing, art and office supplies. Also, a very pretty (and large) decorative paper section.
I’ve visited the store to buy frames, colored pencils and a custom mat. It must have been an unusually busy day for the framing counter when I was there but after a short wait, I was able to talk to a nice gentleman about my needs.
He understood (and was not snobby at all) that I did not want to spend a bunch of money and helped me pick the right mat for the job.
In my experience, their prices are a little high but the good news is that have frequent and significant discounts on their merchandise. For example, 50% off all colored pencils, what? Awesome.
The one confusing price detail I experienced was that their discounts are on the LIST price, not RETAIL price, both of which are shown on their tags so don’t let that confuse you.

I’ve seen quite a few negative reviews for this company on this site, so I thought I’d share my online shopping experience. Obviously I can’t attest for the attitudes of the employees since I never entered the store, but I have absolutely no complaints. I placed my order really late 2 days ago and already received it early this morning! Fastest shipping time ever! Furthermore, everything was packed incredibly well to insure safe traveling, and I received just what I ordered! A++++ Would definitely recommend online shopping with this retailer and will be using them again.

Came here to have my diploma framed after a friend recommended it, but I really wish I had shopped around more first and taken some time to think about the decision instead of running with my freshly printed diploma to the store.
I balked when the guy gave me the total since I had NO IDEA it would be anywhere near that much money… I was in genuine shock! I’ve never had to have anything professionally framed before. And his response was along the lines of «you went to NYU but you won’t pay $ 250 for the frame?»
They did a nice job on the framing but I couldn’t believe the attitude. Really unprofessional.
Also the hours are TERRIBLE. Really inconvenient for people who are working to pay off the cost of their diplomas (and frames!).

Service can be snobby. Let’s get this outta the way.
Great selection of papers, pencils, stationary, and journals.
Inspiring space.

Is it art or is it custom frames? It’s both.
What I seek is what I was unable to find at A.I. Friedman for double-​sided scrapbooking removable tape as neither Glue Lines by Glue Dots for my scrapbooking supplies. Nevertheless, it’s an art store not a specialty crafts store. They do carry a very good selection of journals and notebooks as avid writer and poet it is imperative to me to write. Clairefontaine, Eccolo, Moleskine notebooks including Knock Knock brands are readily available. Service is mediocre to MEH as they exist to fill the void burning the clock, yet without fully resolving my vital need for the above two items. A lighting and furniture department are available. Space is large where patrons are able to move freely without the crampness of confinement.
A.I. Friedman sits in the vicinity of local students and design students. Albeit, this art store did not bring me to life!