(Photo courtesy of Next Studios)
Next Studios was born out of the necessity for accessible studio space to support the Bend and Central Oregon creative community. The founder of the studio space, Chris Fasan, originally came up with the concept of a shared studio space when he discovered that Bend is lacking in that area.
As the founder of Version-X Branding, Fasan was in constant need of studio space that could support his design agency, and other production companies in Bend, “We didn’t have many local options, but we wanted to provide for ourselves and other photo/video people a nice professional studio space.”
Founded in 2021, Next Studios has an in-house team of three people; Fasan, the owner; Lindsey Baumsteiger, the photographer; and Paige Anocibar, the marketing coordinator. Next Studios can host a variety of creative pursuits, including model shoots, brand photography, video shoots, classes, meetings and recording sessions. “With this in-house team, we also create photo and video content for our clients,” Fasan said.
Speaking on the need for a local studio, Baumsteiger said, “There are not a ton of photo studios for creatives. When I started working here, I found Next studio and got so excited. We’re a big little city and it’s exciting to learn that this creative outlet exists, and the more we get the word out, the more we realize that people are excited to have this available.
Baumsteiger also noted that along the way, she and her team learned that there are many more creatives in Bend and Central Oregon who are looking for a space like this, they just didn’t know where to go.
One of the main goals in Next Studios’ daily operations involves solving the puzzle of how to make the studio as accessible as realistically possible, “We’re still playing around with making this creative space accessible for brands, companies and individuals in town,” Fasan said. “We’ve been trying to figure out what that means and we’ve been trying to put that package together with an emphasis on supporting local. We’re still experimenting to find what works the best!”
In the Central Oregon creative community, Next Studios plays an important role; to provide individual creatives like photographers, videographers and models, a space where they can create professional content for an affordable price. By doing so, Next Studios is helping cultivate the new generation of creatives in the region.
For example, a prospective model might not be able to afford professional headshots and studio time, and this would inhibit how effectively they could market themselves. As a result, photographers, videographers and production studios have a hard time finding local talent, and are forced to outsource to other regions. In this way, even by supplying something seemingly small like studio space for a model’s headshots, Next Studios is inadvertently helping to grow the overall industry while supporting local creatives.
“We want creatives to be able to learn a living,” Fasan said. “Our emphasis is on local business and creating locally with local talent; not outsourcing to far away destinations. It is important to us to build those connections with local people, face to face.”
Adding to that, Anocibar said, “supporting local is important because of the personal relationships. I think about the businesses I frequent and how that human touch always makes me want to come back. I want to provide that for ourselves and our community”
Putting a final emphasis on how Next Studios is prioritizing local talent, Baumsteiger said, “It’s important to be a part of something bigger than you. The creative industry is not shrinking, instead, it is definitely growing. We have more large businesses coming to town and many small businesses growing larger. This provides exponentially more opportunity for creatives to make a living, and we want to set ourselves up to be ready for that growth.
While the business is still young, Fasan and the team are in the planning stages for future events, including a potential “model day” where models and prospective models can get professional headshots taken down for their portfolio, making it easier to apply for new work.
Looking to the future, Fasan and the team at Next Studios envisions Bend as a self-sufficient creative space, where companies and brands can connect with local production agencies to create professional work using local talent, creating more job opportunities for locals and more money staying in our Central Oregon economy.
Next Studios • 1001 SW Emkay Dr., Ste. 130
