Aardvark/Expressions Custom Framing
530 Metairie Road // Metairie
504-835-5317 // aardvarkexpressions.com
“Almost everything looks better in a frame.”
Alan Brown, the manager of Aardvark/Expressions Custom Framing, should know. His family’s business has been helping customers protect and display their prized artworks at various locations along Metairie Road for more than 60 years.
Brown’s father founded Aardvark Studios near Labarre Avenue in 1972.
“He was an art director for the Yellow Pages, and he always wanted to start his own business,” Brown recalled.
Aardvark later took over the old Harry’s Dive Shop a little further down the street. Meanwhile, Brown’s mother operated Expressions Gallery on Williams Boulevard. While both businesses remained open for many years, eventually they merged and landed in their present location at 530 Metairie Road. In addition to framing, the shop offers an eclectic mix of framed and unframed art.
“A lot of people in this neighborhood have a lot of art in their houses,” observed Brown, explaining the loyalty to Old Metairie. “Most everybody around here knows us, knows we’re here.”
Brown himself began working in the business early on, helping to build the frames. After high school, he headed off to aircraft aeronautics school in Tulsa, then went to work for Boeing Corporation in Seattle helping to build B-2 bombers. When that program ended, he decided to move back to New Orleans in 1993. Through the years his role in the company grew.
The merger was prompted by his father’s failing health, and Aardvark/Expressions now has a staff of three, including Brown and his mother. Although new technologies like computerized mat cutters have updated the processes, the company’s mission remains the same.
“Our main thing is conservation of artwork,” Brown explained. “You can’t just put a piece of paper in a frame. You don’t want the artwork touching the glass. We’ve been doing this since the ’70s, and our knowledge of how to frame things correctly is what sets us apart.”
Complementing the process, Aardvark/Expressions uses museum-quality framing materials, like acid-free mats and UV protection glass. This ensures that the art will look its best for generations to come – but it also costs more, and therein lies Brown’s biggest challenge.
“A lot of times people aren’t aware of the difference,” he said. “I have to educate people about taking care of their art, making it last. Everything we have in here is good for the art.”
The situation is not helped by post-pandemic increases in the costs of the supplies, although supply chain delays have largely abated. He also noted that higher-end art framing is not a business that lends itself to online sales.
“I need that one-on-one with the customer,” Brown said. “We want to compare mats and frames and make sure we have a really good match for the art. The colors you see on a computer screen are not exact, and you still have to bring the artwork to the shop.”
Despite these hurdles, Brown remains committed to the conservatory approach to framing, and to personalizing each job for the customer and the art.
“I take joy when I frame a piece of art,” he said. “I really enjoy seeing a customer’s face when they see their art in the perfect frame.”
