Welcome to the studio! My home away from home in the heart of downtown Davenport, Iowa.
This beautiful place wasn't always so awesome--take a look at before photos here.
The building was originally a bank in 1841 and then a loan company. In one of the vaults we found old documents (and by documents I mean hand-written letters) asking for loan money. There was one asking for $1000 for a new home, but she was denied. Can you imagine?! And there were many newspaper clippings with ads and articles as well.
In the 80s or 90s the main floor became an office. The top two floors were renovated into apartments and the first floor was carpeted and outfitted with drop ceilings, smaller windows, and partitioned office walls. It always had potential, though. When looking at the space, there was one thing that really caught my eye and made me fall in love with this place. It was a piece of plaster crown moulding that had fallen through the drop ceiling. I could not only see this huge, gorgeous crown moulding, but I could see the ceilings were at least 14 feet tall! I also found hardwood floors under a bit of the carpet, and I was sold.
After the renovations and A LOT of work (some tears too), it was looking SO MUCH better.
I loved the old time charm of the place so I tried to keep the decor a little more antique/retro-like. I love this space and most people who walk through the door like it too. :)
I've hosted a few photographer meet-ups, many photo sessions, a few events, and many client meetings in this studio. I will continue to meet with people here and provide a home base for seniors to change and freshen up during their sessions. This may or may not surprise you, but I don't plan to change to a studio-only photographer. I will continue to photograph seniors outdoors and on location, but we have the studio in case it's needed.
And as you may have noticed, this space isn't the stereotypical photography studio. Tucked back in that corner are lights and backdrops, but I don't like a lot of clutter, so I like to hide it all. I also LOVE to take advantage of the beautiful natural light in this space!
In the future I would love to use this space for other small events, such as photography shows or classes. But for now I'm enjoying it all to myself for the benefit of my clients. <3