For Robert Jones, framing and presenting artwork was never supposed to feel ordinary.
Long before his rebrand from Overton Arts to Mangoe Arts & Framing, Jones had already begun quietly building something more expansive than a traditional frame shop — one rooted equally in craftsmanship, artistic collaboration and Nashville’s creative community.
After returning to Nashville in 2018 following years working in the arts and picture framing in Washington, D.C., Jones founded Overton Arts with a specific frustration in mind: too much of the framing industry had become standardized, mass-produced and creatively limited.
“As an artist who got into framing, I really wanted to make beautiful frames,” Jones said. “Every frame shop kind of has the same manufacturers.” Instead, Jones focused on sourcing from smaller workshops and independent frame makers, building a more curated and design-forward approach that quickly resonated with Nashville’s interior designers, galleries and creative professionals.
The original Overton name itself carried intentional weight — a nod to his family’s Nashville roots and longstanding local name recognition. But over time, the business evolved alongside the city around it.
“The rebrand was really to move away from the family name,” Jones said. “Mangoe was my artist pseudonym — how I signed my work. I wanted to lean more into the creative and artistic element.”
That evolution found its natural home in Wedgewood-Houston, where Mangoe Arts & Framing recently relocated after seven years at 100 Taylor in Germantown.
Jones describes the former space as an incubator — a place to test ideas, build relationships and refine the business model. But as Wedgewood-Houston has emerged into one of Nashville’s most concentrated creative corridors, coupled with the uncertainty after 100 Taylor was shut down for months to get up to code, the move felt inevitable.
“There’s a lot of really cool creative businesses moving in,” Jones said. “It just felt like the best location for us.”
Inside the Houston Station studio, Mangoe’s vision extends well beyond custom framing. There, Jones and right-hand framer Bexx Chin handle museum-quality conservation framing, large-scale installations, gallery walls and highly customized fabrication work that often pushes beyond the traditional definition of framing altogether.
The studio has undergone an independent audit from a conservator to ensure its materials and practices meet museum-quality conservation standards.
From acid-free materials and moisture-control techniques to 99% UV-filtering glass, Jones said every detail is considered with long-term preservation in mind. The team has also completed specialized training in art handling and conservation practices.
Jones points to a recent collaboration with artist Shabazz Larkin at Bankers Alley Hotel as an example — seven-foot-by-nine-foot arched panels built specifically for the exhibition installation.
“There’s not a lot of picture frame shops who can do really custom jobs like that,” Jones said.
The new space also reflects the studio’s deep attention to presentation and environment. Specialized lighting systems allow the team to adjust color temperature depending on where a piece will ultimately live — whether that’s a dimly lit speakeasy, a bright commercial project or a residential interior.
“We put a lot of thought into lighting and positioning and what the eventual installation circumstances will be,” Jones said.
That attention to detail extends to Jones’ growing partnership with Chin, who joined the business after originally connecting through a nonprofit arts initiative Jones was developing before the pandemic.
Now, after four years with the company, Chin oversees much of the shop’s daily operations while Jones focuses on branding, business development and long-term creative direction.
Together, the pair are helping shape Mangoe into something increasingly rare in today’s highly manufactured landscape: a studio invested in preserving historical techniques while simultaneously pushing the craft forward.
Jones is currently researching and developing a proprietary line inspired by traditional European and Egyptian design history, incorporating techniques such as hand carving, water gilding, gesso work and clay finishes.
The goal is not simply nostalgia, but preservation — finding a way to keep centuries-old craftsmanship alive while adapting it to a modern creative market.
“We’re trying to find a way to keep those traditional techniques alive,” Jones said.
For Jones, Mangoe Arts & Framing ultimately represents something larger than a business relaunch. It is the continued evolution of a creative practice — one centered on collaboration, storytelling and artistry in all its forms.
And in a neighborhood rapidly becoming one of Nashville’s defining cultural hubs, the timing feels exactly right.
DISCOVER MANGOE ARTS & FRAMING
438 Houston St #155,
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 679-1244
mangoearts.com, @mangoearts
