Alley Gallery

Had two old drawings from my aunt removed from over a decade in storage. Know nothing about frames but knew I liked the art. These guys were awesome. Provided all sorts of information and options, while saving me a ton of money! When I finally made a decision, they beat their estimated delivery by a week and made them both look as good as I could have imagined. Very professional, local and good at what they do. Also a very cool selection of maps, posters and artwork for purchase

tl;dr: sick posters bruh, also Jessica the parrot.
Amazing, amazing, amazing hidden gem in Evanston. I’ve always seen the sign pointing down the alley, but I finally went around the corner to check it out.
The store is really, really cool. They have a fun collection of greeting cards that I wish I’d taken advantage of in college. There’s a ton of interesting and distracting items in this store, so if you’re looking for something unique (paper scratch off globe? diorama?) to spruce up your place, you should take a look. Lots of pretty, pretty posters that are tough to find (none of that NU Norris poster sale business). They had just gotten in a shipment of Polish movie posters. Apparently Poland snubs regular American movie posters and finds local artists to make their own. Regardless, the end product is very beautiful and unique. I picked up one from my favorite movie… couldn’t resist.
The staff here is really, really friendly. They’re so helpful and willing to talk about anything and everything in the store, even to parrot-​gawkers like me. Did I mention the parrot? Her name is Jessica.
If you haven’t visited then you should. If not for the talking parrot, then for the myriad of other wonderful things inside.

Super cute place with a wide selection of vintage art and custom framing options. Great great great for a unique college dorm room or apartment décor. Plus they have an awesome bird! The guys who work here are super nice and will do any sort of custom job you want. There isn’t a huge selection of basic frames or materials, so it’s best for poster shopping and custom framing jobs.

Love the parrot! And the magnets that I got for my friend accidently made their way onto my fridge. The owners are so inviting and so kind. Will be back to pick up some holiday gifts, as they have a great selection of prints and magnets!!!

Shop tucked down an alleyway, talking parrot, $ 25 large posters, custom art, tons of cool gift items, and it still has the same wow factor after 10 years… what’s not to LOVE?!
I can’t believe it took me so long to get back to this place after 10 years — shame on me! The best part about coming back is the fact my hubby had never been here, so it was like rediscovering it for the very first time.
They do custom framing here (discount with Unilocal check-​in), and you can find extremely reasonable prints to select from… hundreds of them in all price points. Vintage prints, photography, classics, and I even saw a Willy Wonka movie poster (save it for me please).
If you’re looking for a unique gift item, you’ll find something for everyone here. Cool giant wall maps, custom artwork, prints on canvas, fun magnets, cards, and more.
Aside from the extremely cool architecture of the shop, there is an overwhelming (in a good way) amount of things, things and things to set your sights on. I will be back for sure, and I REALLY hope you get the chance to stop in here too.
Remember: I called dibs on the Willy Wonka!

I had a great experience with Alley Gallery and their staff. They worked with our tight deadline, waived our rush fee, and even finished framing our certificates a whole day before we expected them to. Their staff (and parrot, Jessica) are super friendly and made the whole process easy peazy.
But don’t just come to them for framing and art. They have really funny and unique greeting cards for every occasion, old-​timey postcards, and unique pictures of Chicago from the early 1900s. And did I mention their parrot, Jessica? She’ll let you feed her sunflower seeds.
Check out the Alley Gallery, you don’t know what you’ll discover!

Just got our third framing job back from these guys and have to say they continue to impress. The process you go through with the, to choose frame, mat and glass can take some time (and should for expensive or hard-​to-​match pieces), but it is totally worth it. Local people with roots in their location make a difference. Not the cheapest place in town (I would get a simple job done somewhere else), but for anything you are hanging in sight, this is the place to go!

Service, service, service!
Although it’s temping to go to corporate Michael’s and get their sales and whatnot, this is the place to frame your work. I will repeat what everyone has said below — the employees/​owners are extremely personable, friendly, knowledgable, patient, and they do great framing work. That alone makes for a great experience, and is worth whatever it may be to frame your work.
If you like to support local businesses, this is the way to do so. They have a funny parrot that hangs out there, too.

These guys are simply the best. There is no one better and there is no one else that will get my business going forward.

I recently ordered a set of glass and corresponding foam boards for an artwork I am producing. I was pleased with the friendly service, very fast turn around, very reasonable prices and quality of the work. The shop itself is a gem in Evanston, with a true ‘curiosity shop’ vibe, artwork and prints on view, and a wide range of services available. I’ll definitely return for future projects.

Fantastic selection of prints and a very friendly parrot who greets you at the door. Some items on sale are reproductions of historical prints and photographs and just incredible to see. There are some excellent old travel poster reproductions here, including some in foreign languages, and today I fell in love with a series of different botanicals. The store offers some great framing options. Pricing does vary considerably, depending upon the rarity or availability of the print, but there are some great vintage prints on sale here that I have not seen anywhere else.

I heart the Alley Gallery. Never could I have imagined that it would be so much fun to pick out matting and frames. And most of the fun actually comes from working with the guys down there. Over the past year and a half, my wife and I have brought over a handful of pieces to be framed and have worked with Brent, Ross and Darren. They always get involved, throw out cool ideas and entertain our whimsies. Needless to say, whenever we are done, we’ve made a big mess of frame and matte samples. I always anxiously await the big reveal, and I actually think I’m more excited to see the top-​notch job they’ve done building the frame up. The Alley Gallery is the bomb diggity, yo!

My wife and I have been customers of the Alley Gallery for almost ten years, and over that time we’ve had almost twenty pieces framed there. From personal photos to fine art, the staff at AG have always given us framing options that have made our pieces stand out. The staff are all artists themselves, and their knowledge of textures, colors and patterns have always brought out the very best of our pieces. The assembly of the frames have been seamless — for one of our pieces they even built and painted a custom made box that showcased the artwork beautifully.
I don’t really have a gauge as to the pricing, as I’ve never felt the need to go to another framing shop, but Alley Gallery have always given us different price options to choose from, and they are always aware of our budget.
The location is tucked away in a charming alley (hence the namesake) and may initially be hard to find. We also appreciate that they have their own parking lot in front of the shop, which is always a plus.

I recently brought my wedding photos to the Alley Gallery for framing as gifts for my family. Ross and Darren were extremely helpful in choosing beautiful, reasonably priced frames from a huge selection of unique and interesting options. With such great service, I am looking for more things to frame so I can go back!

I have been bringing all of my art to Alley Gallery for a few years now. I am sure they have framed close to 100 pieces for my business and every single one has been perfect. I truly appreciate the fact that the 3 owners are all artists and have a great eye! I highly recommend this shop for its friendliness and professionalism.

We just had 3 Jay Ryan posters & 1 of his original paintings framed at the Alley Gallery, and were super happy with the entire experience. The staff was really helpful and knowledgeable — and was accommodating to my finickiness about how things have to look. They had a ton of frames tucked away in drawers and in back, and made recommendation after recommendation, actually listening to us when we had ideas of our own.
After spending upwards of 2 hours with us, we picked out all the frames, and a week or so later, we had some of the most beautiful framed artwork I’ve ever seen.
Oh, and they have a parrot in the store. Awesome.

They just framed a vintage postcard for me and did a GREAT job. I don’t really know how they compare on pricing (this is the only place I went to), but I can say that their customer service is top notch. Everyone is really friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, skilled. They took their time with me to help pick out just the right mat & frame combo. They also called when the order was ready. When I went to pick up the piece, they wrapped it for me and included two hanging tacks.
I will definitely go back.