By Andrew Corselli, Staff Writer
Few things scare Jim LaSala and Jim Roselli. The economy is not one of them.
The two men have opened up ArtisticEfex, a fine art photography studio and print gallery, in one of the worst economic downfalls since the Great Depression.
”It’s a known fact that people that start businesses in a downturn have a strong plan and the majority, if not all, will prosper in the future,” said Mr. Roselli. “We want to go against the tide because what we have to offer is a quality and a style that is dramatically different from everybody else. I am positive we’re going to succeed.”
ArtisticEfex, located on Route 206 in Towne Center Plaza, caters to photographers of all skill levels with workshops. At the store, you can learn how to take better photos, learn the finer points of photography, how to touch up pictures with Adobe Photoshop and what to do with photos on a digital camera after snapping them.
The business uses the latest technologies to host workshops that meet the needs of entry level, emerging and advanced photographers, said Mr. Roselli, a Hillsborough resident for more than 17 years, in a press release.
ArtisticEfex also specializes in printing and creative design. “Literally anything that you can conceive today we can print on,” Mr. Roselli said.
The men chose to open up shop in Hillsborough because “the community is a great place.” Also, he said they knew that location was paramount, and the store they found was just what they were looking for.
”The store has a storefront, which is important to me because people have an opportunity to see your work,” he said. “Having a space that has access to the street or walking by is tremendously important to the success of what we’re doing. I personally believe that a Web site is essentially just a name in a phone book; you’re a guppy in an ocean. You need to reach out and touch people. They need to see it, hence the storefront.”
The store opened Jan. 29 with Mayor Gloria McCauley on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “The opening was an overwhelming success,” said Mr. Roselli. “We had over 75 people join us for the day, and we’ve had a lot of foot traffic.”
ArtisticEfex can be reached at 908-904-9228 or on the Web at www.artisticefex.com.
