Profitable DC Custom Framing Studio - $264K SDE

Business Overview:

This owner-operated custom framing studio, original-art gallery, and installation business has operated continuously from the same downtown corridor of the nation's capital for 34 years. Quietly built on craft, reliability, and word-of-mouth, the Business has compounded a senior workshop team, three generations of repeat clientele, and a diversified blue-chip customer base into a high-margin specialty operation that is increasingly rare in a downtown retail context. 

Revenue is anchored by high-margin custom framing - approximately 77% of trailing revenue at framing gross margins near 85% - and rounded out by a diversified service catalog: original art and prints (curated and consigned), in-house small-format and large-format printing for individual and corporate clients, professional white-glove art installation across the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region, custom acrylic showcases and shadowboxes for memorabilia and three-dimensional pieces, and traditional plate engraving, hand calligraphy, frame repair, canvas stretching, and ancillary services.

Contact the Seller:

To request more information regarding this listing, simply check the ADD TO REQUEST INFO BASKET button (above Quick Facts) and when you are done searching and have made all your selections, simply click on the REQUEST FREE INFO button at the bottom of this page.

Property Features and Assets:

The Business operates from a two-level leased storefront and workshop in a high-traffic downtown corridor of the nation's capital. The space totals 2,120 sq ft - a 1,250 sq ft ground-floor customer-facing showroom (frame samples, moulding wall, original art on display) and an 870 sq ft upstairs workshop housing computerized mat-cutting, art preparation, and inventory storage. The Business has held this location continuously for 34 years on a third-party gross lease, has never defaulted, and the landlord has expressed openness to extending. Approximately 27 months remain on current lease terms at listing. In-place equipment - computerized mat-cutter, in-house large-format printer, framing benches, joining and fitting workshop equipment, and ancillary tooling - is included in the sale at an approximate $40K replacement value. Inventory is included and clean. The Business is debt-free; equipment and inventory convey free and clear at closing.

Market Competition and Expansion:

The Business operates inside one of the most structurally advantaged custom framing markets in the United States - the Washington, DC metropolitan area, with its dense concentration of law firms, lobbying and policy organizations, federal agencies, embassies, professional services workers, and corporate property managers. The US art dealer and custom framing market generated approximately $16.5 billion in 2025 revenue with 6.2% five-year revenue growth and industry profit margins near 10.4%. The DC market is fragmented and dominated by independent local operators with minimal national-chain presence; competitive risk is unusually low because most framing work is in-person, custom, and tied to long-standing client relationships. The Business sits at the top of its local tier with a 24-plus year master-framer reputation, sub-0.1% rework rate, and a 90% quoted-to-close rate driven primarily by repeat and referral business.

Reason for Selling:

Retirement. Kindly ask the seller for more information.

Additional Details:

Relevant Links:

• View more District of Columbia businesses for sale
• View more Businesses For Sale in the same industry
• Sell a business online
• Find a business broker