Friendswood Frame and Gallery has served the local community since 1973 from its original storefront in the Captain Corner’s Shopping Center at South Friendswood and Edgewood drives.
While the original owners, Joe and Mary Prihoda, have long retired from the business, its legacy was passed onto Luis Briones, who took over Friendswood Frame in 2004.
“It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s my first love,” Briones said. “We get to frame up some pretty special memories of people. That’s the thing I enjoy most. It’s their memories, our craftsmanship and my passion.”
Briones grew up in the Wedgewood Village neighborhood of Friendswood and apprenticed under the Prihodas when he was 17 years old. For eight years, he learned to cut mat boards by hand with a precision knife, mixed his own glue and chopped wooden frames with a nonelectrical, foot-operated machine.
Though the workshop has been updated with a computerized mat cutter and electrical tools, he still upholds the same standards that have helped Friendswood Frame weather the years.
In addition to frames, the store has staged galleries filled with framed art, furniture, pillows, florals and rugs that are sourced from trade shows in Dallas and Atlanta. Peppered among the interior decor are clothes, jewelry and accessories. But the store’s bread and butter is its custom wood frames.
“I always tell people, custom framing is kind of like buying furniture,” Briones said. “You can buy that college furniture that you’re going to get rid of after a year or two, or you can buy something that’s going to last for decades.”
As a custom framer, Luis Briones is part craftsman, preservationist and storyteller. Whether it is a piece of art or treasured family heirlooms, Briones handles each piece with care.
“Whenever I’m framing, I’m thinking of this being handed on down through the generations. I’m trying to tell a story for that next generation,” Briones said.
Friendswood Frame and Gallery
150 S. Friendswood Drive
281-482-2202
friendswoodframeandgallery.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sun.
