After 35 years in business, Walnut House Films closed its doors on Galena Street at the end of February. Founded in 1970 by Rick Newton, Walnut House first started making ski movies and taking still photographs of families on vacation in Aspen. During its first summer of operation, Walnut House worked closely with the Center of the Eye photography school and quickly evolved into Aspen's first full-service camera specialty store, featuring its own custom black and white lab. As the photography and camera business changed over the years, Walnut House stayed ahead of the curve, installing a waterless, one-hour lab in the early 1980s, and a full digital lab in 2000. "Changes that are taking place today in the world of digital photography, big box retailing, the Internet and e-commerce, and the buying habits of retail customers in general, have made it impossible for us to go on as a small, stand-alone retail shop," said Newton. "But it has been a great 35 years." "I came here as a 23-year-old ex-musician and college student in 1970. Aspen became my home and Walnut House became an integral part of the Aspen Community," recalled Newton, who remembers when Ruth Whyte (a familiar face in community fundraising at the time) came into his store in 1972 and told him that he needed to donate film and processing for an Aspen Historical Society event. "She made it very clear that if you lived here, you had a responsibility to donate however and whenever you could to the community," said Newton. "That's been our policy ever since, and it has been something I've tried to instill in all of my employees, one of whom, Sue Jackson, has been with me for over 30 years. We've donated to just about everything, and I've been happy to do it. I think that business people giving back to the community makes Aspen unique." Walnut House has rented a small office at the Airport Business Center and will continue to do customized digital printing and design, digital consulting, digital workshops, and operate its new eBay business. |