Gastonart and Frame
By Kate Daly Assistant Editor

(l to r) Harry and John Gaston PHOTO/KATE DALY

Business name: Gastonart and Frame
Address: 257 Boston Turnpike West Shrewsbury
Owners: John and Harry Gaston
Background: Father and son John and Harry
Gaston have taken careers in art and built a business
together. John is a lifelong artist with a career
in both applied and fine arts. The younger Gaston
has a bachelor's degree in art history, but after learning
the skill of picture framing, decided to make a
career of it. Three years ago, they opened Gaston
Art and Frame.
How would you describe the business?
Harry: We're family-owned, very casual, customer
focused and that's it … We try to stay welcoming to

people and try to provide picture framing solutions for everybody …
One of the important things … is that we're not just the local picture
framer. We are that but we do a lot of things on a much bigger scale
than you might think we would, looking at the building.
John: I would really like to emphasize that we are a gallery here, also.
We're selling fine art here.
What's the latest trend?
Harry: You know the latest trend in things that people are framing is
personal items … What people bring up are things that are important
to them: family photos, artwork their child has done or their grandchild
has done, something, or they're reframing a piece of art their grandmother
had in her house.
John: I'm going to a line that we use in our advertising. We have a line
that's printed right on the window here. It's "people you can trust with
all your art treasures."
Community involvement:
John: We're great supporters of the Shrewsbury High School Art program,
all the schools … We send a bag every two weeks up to the high
school with scraps that we would be throwing in the trash: Plexiglas,
matte board, foam board, whatever, material scraps.