A workshop, not a factory.
CadreXpert Inc. was born from a simple belief: the things we keep deserve the time it takes to protect them properly.
this year
Forty years in business, a takeover in 2020.
The workshop celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Since 1986, people have been coming here with what they want to keep: family photos, diplomas, artwork, and lifelong memories.
In 2020, we took over the business with the same philosophy: low volume, high attention to detail. The craft is passed down, and customers keep arriving with things they never took the time to frame.
We are a small team. The same person who advises you at the counter cuts your mat and hands you the finished frame. It's intentional, and it's what makes the difference.
Forty years,
and a takeover.
What was built, one piece at a time.
The foundation
The custom framing workshop opens its doors. For over thirty years, people have been framing what they want to keep.
The takeover
We take over the business, with the same craft and a few new ideas.
The sample wall
Going from 80 to over 300 moulding profiles on display. Customers can finally place the moulding directly on their artwork.
Shadow boxes
Word of mouth about framed sports jerseys turns an occasional request into a house specialty.
The workshop room
Setting up the back shop to host the first watercolour and introductory framing classes.
Online too
Amazon storefront, framing configurator, and web shop: the same workshop, accessible from your living room.
Four principles
that never change
The quoted price is the price you pay
The quote is written, detailed, and valid for 30 days. If something needs to change along the way, we call you first.
Nothing irreversible
For any original piece, the mounting is reversible: acid-free boards, starch hinges, no permanent adhesive.
Everything is done here
Cutting, joining, matting, glazing, mounting: no step is outsourced. Your piece never leaves the workshop.
Advice is free
Come with a question, leave with an answer — even if you don't buy anything that day. That's how we work.
The tools of the trade
A precision mitre saw, a pneumatic underpinner, a bevel cutter adjustable to the exact degree, a heated mounting table, and many, many brass rulers.
Nothing spectacular. The real tool in this trade is the eye: knowing that a cream mat warms up a yellowed photo, that a profile too wide crushes a small watercolour, that glossy glass ruins an artwork placed opposite a window.
Come see us.
149 boul. Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Châteauguay. Walk-ins welcome, Tuesday to Saturday. The coffee is ready.