Some things will not lie flat. A cap, a medal, a folded flag, a baby’s gown, a ticket next to a photograph — they need air and a wall that can hold depth. Marty & Pat’s builds custom shadowboxes on Camp Bowie so the object sits in space instead of being pressed under glass like a poster.
The shop’s own gallery shows that range: jersey boxes, cap boxes, layered mats, a flag given a proper field. Conservation-quality materials and CPF-certified framers are the same ones who handle custom picture framing. The difference is the box — spacers, mounts, and a layout that treats each object as itself.
People arrive from the Cultural District, West 7th, Ridglea, Tanglewood, and Arlington Heights with keepsakes that have been in a drawer too long. A weekday walk-in is enough. You set the objects on the counter, talk about what must be readable from across a room, and choose moulding that can carry the depth. The shop is open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and closed on weekends.
Sports pieces often start as a jersey and become a shadowbox when photos or a ball cap join the shirt. Graduation work — diploma, stole, cords, tassel — is the same kind of planning; see diploma framing when the document is the center. Textiles that should float, including scarves and needlework with a medal, share this bench.
Mounting has to be honest. Objects are secured so they do not sag in a Texas season, without glue tricks that ruin the thing you came to save. Mats can be cut with windows for photos or documents. Glazing and acrylic are chosen for weight and for how much UV the wall will see.
Marty & Pat’s has been locally owned on The Bricks since 1986. The local art gallery in the same room is useful here: you can see how a finished deep frame actually sits, not only a corner sample. Conservation framing and matting is the materials conversation. National clients can crate and ship; most Fort Worth work is picked up on Camp Bowie.
Visit 5025 Camp Bowie Boulevard or call (817) 738-7328. Bring the objects together, even if you are unsure they belong in one box. It is easier to edit a layout in the shop than to add a second piece after the frame is closed.
Questions we hear
What belongs in a shadowbox instead of a regular frame?
Anything that needs depth: caps, medals, folded flags, jerseys, tassels, stoles, small objects, and pairings of a document with a three-dimensional keepsake. If it would be crushed under standard glass, it is a shadowbox conversation.
Can several objects share one shadowbox?
Yes, when the layout can give each piece room. Bring everything you are considering. The staff will say when one box is enough and when two simpler frames would read more clearly.
Do you use conservation materials in shadowboxes?
Conservation-quality materials are available and recommended when the objects should last. CPF-certified framers will talk through boards, mounts, and glazing before the box is built.