One-of-a-kind up-cycled Vintage Photographs
elevated for a Contemporary Lifestyle

At i deserve nice things, we handcraft one-of-a-kind picture frames from exotic woods to elevate original vintage and antique photographs—each curated from flea markets, estate sales, and antique shops across the globe. Our mission is simple: to bring timeless beauty into contemporary homes through meaningful, well-crafted decor.

Founded by Matthew Dols - a Artist and photography professor with over 30 years of experience - this project is born from a lifetime of visual storytelling and a love for forgotten photographs. Collected across the U.S., Turkey, France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sri Lanka, and beyond, each image is carefully selected for its mystery, humanity, and charm. No reproductions. No mass production. Just history, preserved.

Every piece in our collection is entirely unique:

* A single original photograph
* A bespoke hand-cut matte
* A handcrafted custom frame, made by Matthew using ethically sourced exotic woods

This is more than decor—this is legacy.
Rooted in the craft of fine photography and elevated by design, these pieces are meant to bring beauty, memory, and soul into the spaces we live and work in.

After the birth of my daughter in late 2024 and the passing of my father in early 2025, I found myself reflecting on the objects we leave behind—the symbols of who we were. i deserve nice things is about honoring the past while creating something meaningful for the future. It’s a tribute to craftsmanship, to memory, and to the belief that beauty belongs in every corner of our lives.

You deserve nice things.
So do the stories we carry with us.

About Matthew Dols:
My artwork has been exhibited internationally in museums and galleries, and is in the collections of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Crown Point Press, the al Serkal Foundation, and the deYoung Museum’s Auchenbach Collection, among others. My work has been widely published including F-Stop Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, US News and World Reports, Billboard Magazine, and The Washington Post Magazine.

I have received an EEA and Norway Grant and a Research Incentive Fund Grant for my artwork and as an Arts Podcaster, I have given workshops at Photoworld Dubai, Gulf Photo Plus, Maraya Art Center, University of North Carolina At Wilmington, and participated in a residency at No Boundaries Artist Colony.

I am currently a Professor of Photography at the University of Maryland Global Campus, and host and creator of the Art podcast, The Wise Fool. I received an MFA in New Genres Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute, and a BFA in Photography from the Corcoran School of Art and Design in Washington DC. I also do portfolio reviews online for LensCulture.com.

Over the years, I have worked in museums, galleries, universities, stock photography agencies, as a photojournalist, picture framer, art critic, director of a community darkroom, a waiter, a roadie. I studied with artists and photographers, massage therapists, chefs, reflexologists, Native American shamans, and was a mentor/judge on “I am Nat Geo Photographer” Arabic TV show. In 2003 I founded the ongoing affordable art fair Art for the Masses, and in 2004 created a public sculpture program Pedestrian Art, both in Wilmington, NC.