MOUNT VERNON — The closing of Focus Studio last Wednesday came as a surprise to many and a consternation to many more. According to owner Brian Blough, the closing was purely a matter of the weakened economy.
“We did very well for five years,” Blough explained. “And we didn’t really lose any customers. It’s just that over the last few months they couldn’t order as much. We are going to liquidate things here. We will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. this Thursday and Friday. I know there were people interested in equipment and camera bags and stuff. A lot of that stuff is going to be up for sale.”
Blough plans to go back to school and get his master’s degree in either New York or Chicago with an eye to teaching. His wife, Melissa, will be looking for work in her field as a graphic designer.
“We enjoyed the experience and who knows what the future will hold,” Brian said. “I always thought it was important to support downtown (Mount Vernon) and I hope people will continue to do so.”
Although the Knox County Sheriff’s Office switched to digital earlier this year, it had used the service’s of Focus for many years. Sheriff David Barber said the business would be missed.
“We went to digital earlier this year and have been doing our own for several months,” said Barber. “I’ve always been satisfied with their service. I’ve never been into digital photography myself, until we made the transition here. But I’ve always taken my 35mm film down there and they did a very good job, especially for the enlargements they did for me. It’s a big blow to downtown Mount Vernon, too.”
Many local photographers had their professional quality work done there; not just developing and printing but mounting and framing, too.
Photographer Ray Bohac used the framing services Focus provided more than the printing.
“That’s a shame,” he said. “I didn’t really use their printing services but I had framing done there. I had no clue they were closing. I used to work there when it was Ben Franklin’s. It’s a shame they’re closing but with digital I imagine they didn’t need as much framing and with less film, I’m not surprised.”
“I used to get a lot of stuff done there,” said local photographer Ken McCandless. “I don’t know what I’m going to do for prints. They did such good work and always wanted the customer to be satisfied. And it was so convenient, too. And I purchased a camera body, flash units and cases from them, too. I took some files down to Cord Camera but I can’t be driving to Westerville all the time. It’s really going to be a blow to downtown, too.”
Another local photographer, Bill Ernst had just heard about the closing.
“I’ve used them to print some very large prints,” he said. “Brian did a very nice job. I just heard they were closing a few days ago. I was really disappointed to hear that. It’s going to be a loss to the community. Brian and Melissa were very nice people; very helpful people. They offered a lot of new artists and new photographers a chance to display their work in their gallery. Brian was so helpful; if you ever had a question about anything he was very helpful. And he always did great work for me. It’s a loss.”
Anyone still having photo work to pick up from Focus can call 397-5696 and leave voice mail. Brian or Melissa will return the call and make arrangements for pickup.
