IONIA — Brick Street Studio in Ionia just completed a major upgrade.
415 W. Main St. in Ionia has been converted into a photography studio and, hopefully soon, an artist hub as Karlee and Logan Bailey purchased the place and moved their business, Brick Street Studio, inside. — DN Photo | Brandon Schreur
Owners Karlee and Logan Bailey recently moved their photography business into 415 W. Main St., formerly home to Main Street Music.
Having previously operated out of a smaller storefront next to the Ionia Theater, Karlee says the move to the new location was necessary and long overdue.
“We were just renting that space, but we were able to officially purchase this building,” she said. “We were outgrowing the other place way too quickly. This space allows for more opportunities for us to expand into.”
Brick Street Studio primarily offers photography sessions hosted by Karlee and Keysha Hanes for weddings, senior pictures, portraits and other events.
Karlee and Logan, who have both lived in Ionia for the past three years, are additionally hoping they’ll be able to turn their new space into a hub for local artists.
Logan and Karlee Bailey have owned and operated Brick Street Studio for the past three years. Having previously worked out of a small building next to the Ionia Theater, the two are now celebrating as they recently purchased 415 W. Main St., formerly home to Main Street Music.— DN Photo | Brandon Schreur
“People will be able to come in and rent the space to use for workshops,” Karlee explained. “They can also just use it for personal space, whether that be for photography, drawing, painting or anything.”
“A big thing, too, is that we’re hoping to use it to host some workshops of our own,” Logan added. “Whether that’s in photography, camera use, lighting, etc. We want to use the space to champion the local art around Ionia a little bit.”
That workshop or artist area inside of the building will be called New Bailey Place — a name that comes from the old hotel the storefront was once home to.
“This was once a historic hotel on Main Street, like, 100 years ago or however long ago it was,” Logan said. “We wanted to bring that name back.
“The photography studio upfront is still called Brick Street Studio, but the whole building is New Bailey Place,” he continued. “We have another photographer that’s utilizing a lot of the space in the back, and there are still music lessons going on in some of the rooms to the side. All of that falls under the New Bailey Place name.”
To celebrate the business’ big move and introduce the community to the new look, Brick Street Studio will be hosting an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
“The open house is in the evening, but we should be here for most of the day,” Karlee said. “We’ll have different booking deals going on for seniors, weddings and families, and we’ll be doing giveaways. We’ll have a photo booth, food and drink. It’ll just be a night of fun.”
Brick Street Studio recently moved into the storefront at 415 W. Main St. in Ionia, which was formerly home to Main Street Music. The business will be hosting an open house event from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. — DN Photo | Brandon Schreur
