Bay Area Stretcher Bars

I am a full-​time painter and just discovered Bay Area Stretcher Bars. I needed a 56×60×2.5″ canvas stretched as a gallery wrap canvas. They emailed me a quote 15 minutes after my phone call. The canvas is beautifully crafted and was ready when they said it would be! I loved that when I asked what depth they could make it, Kevin said, «Whatever depth you need it to be.» A wonderful find, and I highly recommend them!

I highly recommend Bay Area Stretcher Bars. I came into the shop with little knowledge about art framing. I wanted a canvas stretched and placed on a wooden frame as a gift to my boyfriend. The person who helped me walked me through the process and gave me an amazing price! It was significantly less than any other place in town. I can’t recommend them more highly! Museum quality work at a great price.

Beautiful, well made stretcher bars/​panels. Top quality and nice folks!

Excellent, friendly service, beautiful stretching, very reasonable prices. I had 3 canvas paintings that I got in Africa; they weren’t square at all, but Kevin and Dustin did an excellent job! Kevin even declined to stretch the 4^th painting because it was too fragile. I appreciate the communication, honesty, attention to detail and the friendly service. If you need a canvas stretched, you won’t find a better place. I highly recommend them!

I would give ten stars if I could.
I bought an oversized canvas painting (78×43) from Etsy that I needed stretched. I must have called about every framing/​stretcher bar shop in the East Bay and SF and was about to give up due to the shocking prices I was quoted (we’re talking 2x more than the price of the actual painting!). And then I found Kevin, who not only offered a BARGAIN compared to the 6+ other shops I called, but was also the most friendly and helpful.
At first, I was skeptical about Kevin’s ability to truly deliver, as the price he quoted was a pretty friggin’ great deal compared to the others. But my doubts were quickly banished as soon as I arrived at his shop. For starters, I saw samples of his finished works, which were finely crafted and just lovely. Secondly, Kevin VERY CLOSELY LISTENED to my needs and what I wanted, carefully asking me questions regarding my preferences on every aspect of the framing process. He really took his time speaking with me during our first meeting, never rushing me, never dictating, making sure that he was super clear about the end product that I wanted.
Kevin and his team are also wonderful and so easy to work with — they did the job on time, gave me updates, and handled the canvas and finished product like the delicate work of art that it is. His assistant Dustin also deserves special mention — when I picked up the finished painting, Dustin was SO so careful with loading the plastic-​wrapped painting into my friend’s truck, and even stayed an extra 15 minutes past their closing time just to make sure the finished product was loaded carefully and that I was completely pleased and had total peace of mind.
To say that I am overjoyed with the end product is an understatement. The canvas ended up being more beautiful than I first imagined. It is also very sturdy, I’m sure it’ll last past my lifetime. I really can’t say enough wonderful things about Kevin and his team. Will definitely use their services again. Very highly recommended!

Kevin re-​stretched one of my paintings that was originally on an embarrassment-​of-​a-​stretcher. I had built it hastily with cheap doug-​fir and it warped and bowed quite a lot over time.
He did an excellent job, even completing it sooner than promised. AND this was after fitting me in to his tight-​schedule so I could make a show deadline.
He truly went above and beyond what any carpenter should ever be expected to do. He built it exactly to the dimensions of the old one, even though it wasn’t perfectly square. Now, my painting is saved and looks excellent on it’s nice, straight stretchers. It really makes a difference in presentation.
And, considering the high-​quality hard wood he uses, and the level of carpentry involved, it’s a really fair price. In addition Kevin is personable, helpful, and genuine.
I will definitely be calling Kevin for more panels, and I highly recommend others do the same.

I contacted Kevin based on the Unilocal reviews he received to see if he could help me with three paintings I needed stretched. I initially went to Jo-​Ann and Michael’s and they were quoting me $ 100+ per picture. I contacted Kevin and he was able to do all three for under $ 200. I went to his studio and he took the time to personally show me exactly how it would be done and ask questions to ensure I got a final product I loved. He gave me a written estimate and got to work. 2 weeks later, I got a call and picked up my paintings — they looked awesome — perfectly wrapped in plastic for protection. Kevin could not be nicer!!!

I contacted Kevin about a painting I brought back from Europe. It was cheaper to bring back in a tube than to ship the entire painting. I met with Kevin at the shop, and he explained couple of different options, and I decided to go with stretching it over stretcher bars.
He did a great job at an excellent price! Very professional and very warm, too! Highly recommend him!

Kevin was really helpful with our first painting. He completed the job in a reasonable amount of time, he gave us an unbeatable price for our 50“x70″ painting, and he was also accommodating with delivery. Kevin was also great about mounting the painting in a way that would not cut off much of the painting — the artist painted right up to the edge of the canvas. I don’t know much about stretching paintings, but his work and service seem great to me.