By B.C. Kowalski
An artistic streak runs through Photographic Art by Dennis owner Dennis Kruzan’s family.
His sister, who died three years ago, was a great painter, Kruzan says. And his brother is an excellent cook, which to Kruzan is an art form in and of itself.
Kruzan’s chosen art form is photography, and so he’s chosen to make a business out of it. Kruzan opened his Photographic Art by Dennis last month in the second floor of the Third Street Lifestyle building (which many likely still know as Washington Square). The small space is walled with his creative photographic works, including many scenes folks will recognize from around town.
Those include hot air balloons from the Taste ‘N Glow festival (Kruzan was an official photographer for the event) and some interesting angles from the umbrellas that often tower over Third Street downtown.
Also included at no extra charge are petting two friendly Corgis, who happily greet visitors when they step through the doorway.
The path to Photographic art by Dennis
For Kruzan, the photography bug bit in 2014 when he was taking a web design course (Kruzan does some web design on the side as well). He had to take an elective and the coding class didn’t sound too appealing to him. The digital photography course sounded a lot more appealing, Kruzan says from his downtown shop.
He bought a Nikon for the course, put it aside for a couple of years but gradually picked it back up and hasn’t stopped shooting photos since.
Kruzan told City Pages the business qualified for a bounceback grant form the city that provided money for a physical space. So after meeting with Compass Property’s Mark Craig, and learning he could have the Corgis with him, starting up the shop seemed like a no-brainer.
Kruzan knows he’s targeting a specific customer. Most people wouldn’t buy someone else’s photograph unless it has a specific meaning to them.
In fact, one photo led him to meet his present girlfriend. Kruzan said she liked a photo he took of the Dudley Tower at night. She ended up buying a copy from him, and they got to talking. The rest, as they say, is history.
The second floor
Being upstairs isn’t the best for visibility, Kruzan admits. Once summer rolls around, he plans to do more on the first floor, doing more marketing and getting signs on the first floor to increase visibility. He applied for the Festival of the Arts, and hopes that will be a big boost in visibility for the store.
But for now, you’ll just have to wander up the stairs during their business hours of Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10 am-3 pm, or Thursday 1-7 pm and see for yourself. (Also available by appointment.)
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