By renting out their spaces as event venues, two Spokane studios have created additional revenue streams to help cover costs and supplement their other areas of business.

Hamilton Studio, a photography and video production studio located at 1427 W. Dean, in Spokane’s West Central neighborhood, recently has added a new layer to its business model. The building, which is listed on the Spokane Register of Historic Places, is now available to book as a concert and event venue.

“When somebody comes to us to do an event, it becomes one of our productions,” says the studio’s owner, Don Hamilton, who purchased the former St. Joseph’s Catholic School auditorium in 1985. “Everything we do here is a production.”

Hamilton Studio offers a variety of photography services and produces television commercials and feature films.

Less than a mile south of Hamilton Studio, in downtown Spokane, is Elevar Studios LLC, which does business as Elevar.

Located at 1407 W. First, Elevar is home to two businesses—Misty Mason Design & Development, a commercial and residential design company, and Livvy Rose Studios LLC, a portrait and wedding photography company. Elevar is also a rentable event space.

“Essentially, there’s three entities,” says Brittani Simpson, who owns Livvy Rose Studios and co-owns Elevar with Misty Mason. “Elevar is like the umbrella.”

Simpson and Mason opened Elevar last August. The name, Elevar, is inspired by the Italian word “elevare,” which means, “to elevate,” says Simpson.

                                                                                                                                                                                             -Elevar
Brittani Simpson, left, and Misty Mason operate their companies Livvy Rose Studios and Misty Mason Design & Development out of Elevar, the downtown Spokane studio and event venue they opened in August. 

“I really wanted a space and she’s always wanted a studio,” says Mason. “How do we get a space, but have it pay for itself?”

The event-rental aspect of Elevar helps supplement the business partners’ individual companies and is intended to cover their rent and other overhead costs.

“For my photography business, I was always renting out other studios, and it’s hard to make a profit off of that,” says Simpson. “I feel like it’s elevated my photography professionally, and I feel like I’m getting higher-end clients, especially for weddings, to be able to have a space to meet them.”

At Hamilton Studio, renting out the space helps Hamilton maintain his full-time five-person team while getting the most out of his building.

“It’s not as if I bought a building and I have to make it work as an event venue, or I’m in trouble,” says Hamilton. “We’re just trying to maximize the asset, and it seems to be working so far. We’ve done a little research into what people spend for event venues, and it does seem like it should be profitable.”

Hamilton Studio had held events in the past, but on an unofficial basis. Hamilton wasn’t advertising the building as an event space, but people would ask him if they could use it.

Around 2018, however, the city’s fire department began cracking down more on people applying for banquet permits, and said that Hamilton’s building was registered as a photography studio, not an event venue. Hamilton then began jumping through the hoops to become an event venue, he says.

“We got the place registered as a street-legal event venue just in time for the COVID lockdown,” he says.

Last summer, the two-time Grammy award-winning musical ensemble Attacca Quartet was double-booked for a concert at Barrister Winery, so the group held its concert at Hamilton Studio.

“Suddenly, we had a concert in here,” Hamilton says. “We had like 85 people, and it was stunning.”

After multiple concerts since then, Hamilton received feedback from a manager of one of his musical guests that the studio made for a great intimate listening room.

“When I first moved in here in ’85, I sprayed in sound insulation on the ceiling and on some walls,” he says. “This room has fabulous acoustics. People just can’t believe how good the acoustics are.”

In addition to the concerts, Hamilton Studio is available for a wide variety of events.

“What we’re tooled up for, and what we were thinking is a business meeting, or reception, any number of things,” Hamilton says.

The space also works for weddings and memorial services, he adds.

“It’s a unique event space,” Hamilton says. “It’s not like a ballroom in a brand-new building. It’s an acquired taste, but some people really like it.”

Hamilton Studio has a capacity of up to 199 people, depending on the event. The entire building is about 7,000 square feet, but the rentable main-floor event space is roughly 4,000 square feet.

The main event space at Elevar is 1,060 square feet, but there’s an additional 300-square-foot back room that also can be rented out. The downtown venue has a 75-person capacity.

Since opening, Elevar has been rented out for wedding showers, bridal showers, birthday parties, baby showers, and company gatherings. Photographers have also rented the space for day-long sessions, as well as on an hourly basis for photoshoots.

The space would also work for small weddings, Mason and Simpson say.

“There’s a real trend in elopement and micro weddings now,” Mason says. “We’re hoping to get into that space a little bit more.”

With a variety of furniture, tables, and decor available, Elevar is also meant to be a flexible space for those who rent it out, Mason says.

“We wanted people to be able to use the space multiple times and feel like they had unique experiences,” says Mason. “Their photos and their events could look completely different all the time.”

Renters of Elevar can hire Mason and Simpson to help plan and set up events, or they can just rent the event space and receive a door code for their time slot, Simpson says.

“People want the autonomy of doing what they want to do and not feel like somebody’s watching them,” Simpson says.

Elevar has been hosting about four events each month, Simpson says.

“We’ve been keeping busy,” Mason adds. “We’d like to be busier of course.”

Hamilton says his studio has generated a lot of interest since making his space available for concerts and other events.

“Here in the age of AI, and in the age of coming out of COVID, people are looking for more reasons to get together, and so I see a lot of interest in our space,” Hamilton says.

As is the case at Elevar, hosting events is another way to meet potential new clientele, Hamilton says.

“It’s always great to have people be aware of who you are,” he says.

The Elevar studio costs $95 per hour to rent, in addition to a $150 cleaning fee. Hamilton Studio event pricing ranges from $500 to $5,000, depending on the type and size of event.