You may have noticed a few postings on my Facebook pages about “something big happening (regarding my photography business) on September 1st!” And finally, after almost two months of waiting, I can tell you what it is…hopefully it’s not too anti-climactic!
Back in the spring, I started doing some preliminary research on studio spaces. I just wanted a space to meet with potential clients as well as shoot with studio lighting (especially in the winter). The space didn’t have to be big or fancy (or expensive) – just enough to take “the next step”. So, I hopped on craigslist and started browsing the commercial rental ads. There were a few possibilities, but many of them were way over my budget.
Until one day, when I found a posting by another photographer who was looking for the same thing I was – a space to share with another photographer or wedding coordinator in order to both collaborate and share expenses. I emailed her right away, and within 2 days we met and were seeking out possibilities in the Portsmouth area. We had one space we really liked in a great location, but we just could not make it work financially unless we found a third person. After talking with a few other potential “space-mates”, and looking at many more spaces, we hit a wall.
Luckily, we both liked each other enough to want to make it work even if we couldn’t find space in Portsmouth, so we decided to explore other towns with less expensive options. Back to craigslist we went, and found a listing in the town of Newmarket – a great little community between Durham and Exeter – and it looked very promising. The price was right, the location was wonderful and there seemed to be a rebirth and renewal happening in the area with the renovation of the mills in town. So, after a few weeks of discussion (amongst ourselves, our spouses, and the property manager), we signed the lease…but now we had to wait two months before the space would be available.
As anxious as we were to get up and running, we soon found that the two months prior to moving in would be extremely valuable time in which to do more research, shop for items to furnish the space and put other thoughts and plans down on paper. We decided that we will continue to operate as our own businesses, but we still wanted to identify the space with one name. Amy had a piece of artwork that spurred a concept, and so we decided on “Love Grows Photography Studio & Gallery”. We’ve also been trolling craigslist and furniture stores for bargains and working on business plans.
So that’s what we’ve been doing…until this week! We now have the keys to our new space and even got to go in and start painting a day early which is great, because we’ve got a LOT of painting to do – our offer for pizza and beer in exchange for some painting help still stands! Don’t be shy!
I’m so thankful to have met Amy (and her husband, Larry, who is also a band and fine art photographer) and be able to share this part of my journey with her. It’s been a fun summer and now I can’t wait to get the studio up and running! We will be having an Open House at some point in the next month to kick-off the new space. We will also have a website for the space up and running soon…our logo isn’t quite ready yet…but we’re working on it.
Here’s a few photos of the space “before” – while the former tenants were still there – and we’ll be posting new photos of the “after” in the next few weeks! It’s going to look a lot different…
If you’re still reading this, thank you – you’re a trooper! It’s going to be a great adventure and I’m very excited (in case you can’t tell)! Amy and I hope you will stop by and check out our new digs – stay tuned for the Open House date, or contact me for hours and directions!
