Chittenden family opens Colorspace photo lab

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Colorspace is now open at 312 South Ave., the former Mace Gallery. The photo laboratory shares space and ownership with ABM Secretarial, a computer and secretarial service company. Colorspace has been open since November, but really got "up to full speed" at the beginning of January, said its president, Gregory Chittenden.

Colorspace is owned by the Chittenden family, who owned Ozark Camera Center for 3 1/2 years before the Ozark Camera Center building, merchandise and equipment were sold in a foreclosure sale to its previous owners, Eugene and Virginia Anderson. The Chittenden family has owned ABM for several years, said Chittenden. Chittenden's grandfather founded ABM.

Colorspace offers services similar to those of Ozark Camera, with a few changes, Chittenden said. One such change is the addition of an in-house portrait studio.

"We felt there was a need for a quick portrait studio, one that could take a photo for someone who needed it for business or to send out, and have it ready that same day," Chittenden said.

Like Ozark Camera, Colorspace will process and print color film in an hour and is now building a dark room for processing black-and-white film. The lab also restores older color and black-and-white photos, processes slides and laminates and mounts items as wide as 41 inches, Chittenden said.

Colorspace will not stock cameras and accessories to sell, but can special order camera products, Chittenden said.

"If we can get it from a particular vendor, we'll special order it," Chittenden said.

The company now has three employees: Gregory, Kevin and Michael Chittenden, but may add more employees as business picks up, Chittenden said.

Eugene and Virginia Anderson purchased the Ozark Camera building and equipment in a foreclosure sale Nov. 12, 1998. The Andersons have not yet determined what they will do with the property, said Bill Hart, an attorney representing the Andersons.

The family may donate the building to charity or list it for sale, but no decisions have been made, Hart said. The store's equipment and merchandise has already been sold to a number of different parties, Hart added.

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Gregory Chittenden is president of Colorspace, a new photo lab downtown.[[In-content Ad]]