In the rainy confines of the far northwest corner of our country, there is a shining example of how a local photo lab brings the community together. Quicksilver Photo Lab embraces its role as a kind & innovative cornerstone for photographers in Bellingham, Washington.
I had the pleasure of talking with Cate Reed at Quicksilver Photo Lab, and she shared their story with me and explained what makes them an outstanding resource.
-Mac Hughes
Community is a big deal to you. Tell us a little about Quicksilver's History and how you integrate with your community?
"Quicksilver originated as just a black-and-white film lab in December of 1986 under the ownership of Jeff Daffron. Jeff was good at keeping up with the times, and the shop was a very tight-knit group of passionate photography folks. As the world moved into the digital era, so did Quicksilver Photo Lab."
When Cate assumed control of Quicksilver in 2018, she continued to engage the local photo community by hosting classes and participating in the local Artwalk presenting slide shows with local photographers. The 2019 expansion included a large window display to increase visibility and showcase product offerings.
Classes, community events, and then there’s their success with Open Houses. “We have even hosted 2 open houses, usually on an Artwalk night. The open houses really allow us to showcase our services and what our staff does from digitizing artwork, to developing film in the darkroom, our one-on-ones, coaching services, and more.”
Cate feels that she and her crew ARE the community. Being part of local schools and organizations has proven successful.
“For us, the staff is very much like family, and our local community is an extension of that family. As an alumnus of our local university, whenever there are community events and programs that the college promotes, we do our best to participate with both the current students and alumni alike. One of the things that the downtown core promotes is called, “Western Wednesday” where Quicksilver Photo Lab, and other downtown businesses, offer specials to the students where our shop offers a printing discount to encourage students to embrace the value of the printed image."
Tell us one of your favorite products or services that you're REALLY proud of, something that you love to present to a customer?
“My staff members would answer differently; Jake would say he loves sublimation, especially the metal prints. Zane loves doing fine art digitizing; a Quicksilver specialty. Chris takes pride in scanning and printing 35mm film images, as well as developing Black-and-White film in the darkroom. Britton loves one-on-one coaching & teaching folks how to make prints in the darkroom."
"For me, it's all about the archiving. I currently still host my Archiving Club, where folks can come and sort through images with me to leave off for digitizing. I often show them what I have done with my own family photos and memories from making photobooks to collages and even different photo gifts."
Where do you see the future of Analog? In your experience, do you see any trend in Film and / or Processing?
"The younger generation seems to love waiting for their photos, they embrace the process and the look of film photography. For a while, film lovers were just looking to get the film developed and receive the electronic files, but now we are seeing a trend of them seeking prints and fewer digital files. They want something physical and tangible to hold in their hands."
Got any tips on how to encourage film shooters to do more with their analog images?
"We have a punch card for rolls developed and scanned; each roll dropped off gets a punch, and after 20 rolls, the customer gets a token for either 20, 4x6 prints or a roll to be developed. Then we show our customers some of the store samples that are made out of film images. There are a couple of 16x24 inch metal prints in our library gallery space at the front of our store. We will also sometimes print a photo from their film scans that we think would make an amazing enlargement."
Looks like you're killing it with passport photos with the FastID system and we certainly appreciate it. What's your secret to success for your passport business?
"Our secret is plain and simple word of mouth, and location! Our local passport office and immigration attorneys refer their clients to us. We have special set-ups for infants and toddlers that make it seamless to take their photos. The FastID Passport System allows us to guarantee our passport and visa images that we do & our community likes having that guarantee. It also doesn't hurt that there aren't any other major photo labs in the area and that we are 30 minutes south of the Canadian border. We do a LOT of dual citizenship passports."
What are your benefits as an IPI Member?*
"Support! I love being able to communicate with my suppliers directly if I have any questions about products. And discounts; getting the best prices for products helps me pass along the savings to my customers, which they like."
Imaging Spectrum loves you, do you love us?
"Over the years, I have found myself purchasing more and more items from Image Spectrum (formerly Pakor). I find them to be a reliable source for so many items we use here at our lab from inks, order envelopes, canvas stretcher bars, printers, and more. And since you are in Texas, shipping takes no time at all to reach us in the Pacific Northwest."
*IPI is a membership & trade association supports photo labs and imaging outlets, worldwide.
