New Business Update: Noumenon
Owners: Kendra Baxter and Scott Hellebusch
23 N. 10th St. • 441-0300, 819-9886
[email protected]
A photographer and a graphic artist have transformed the original Ragtag Cinema into an art gallery and print shop.
Noumenon Print Studio and Gallery opened this month on 10th Street after workers spent four months renovating the space, which includes 1,200 square feet of wall space for artists to display their work.
“We really want to help local artists get their foot in the door with the gallery space and provide the community with great quality printing,” Creative Manager Kendra Baxter said.
Baxter said she has a graphic design business based in her home, and Scott Hellebusch has a photography business. They decided to “incorporate the two.”
They perceived a need for high-quality printing in Columbia, she said. Hellebusch “looked into getting a nice printer, but it wouldn’t fit in his house, so that’s when we started getting serious about opening a print shop and gallery,” she said. “We started brainstorming ideas on how we could benefit the art community and decided that a print shop would be best.”
Noumenon Studio offers archival quality prints made on canvas, glossy surfaces, wood and museum-quality photo paper using large-format printers.
“We print large format on Hahnemuhle paper and also do mounting to foam core board, face mounting to plexiglass and laminating,” Baxter said. “The laminating gives us the ability to offer different types of mounting capabilities, which is new technology that’s being used in galleries in New York, California and Europe.”
The studio also offers portfolio consultation, art reproduction, graphic design, website design and print media design services.
The studio will maintain a gallery of artists’ works both in the store and online. (The website, www.noumenonstudio.com, is still under construction.) Customers can purchase the artwork or order prints. The studio will also have a database of local artists available for hire as independent contractors.
“We have certified Adobe specialists to do all the retouching and editing and experienced photographers and designers on staff to help answer questions anyone has,” Baxter said.
“Our goal is to become a central hub for local artists to print, digitize and promote their works,” Baxter said. “It’s not just for artists; we want people to come in and bring their vacation photos to print off and have nice quality prints for their walls at home as well.”
Editor’s Note: CBT staff photographer Jennifer Kettler works part-time at Noumenon Studio.