Family business takes leap
Owen Camera House moves site after 56 years
ONE OF the city’s long-time family businesses has packed up, moved and expanded after almost 70 years.
Syd Owen owns Owen Camera Studio and Owen Studio Toowoomba, combining photographic equipment sales and his passion for taking pictures.
His father stared the business in 1949 and it had been in its previous location in Ruthven St for 56 years before moving to a James St building earlier this month.
“It has been pretty daunting. There is a lot of history there,” Mr Owen said.
Mr Owen joked he had been involved in the business since he was born, which isn’t far from the truth.
He started working at the business after school and on weekends when he was 15 and full-time since he left school in 1978.
“There is a lot of family history. It has been in Toowoomba a long time,” Mr Owen said.
“There are not many businesses who have been around for that long and are now expanding to a bigger location.”
As for his secret to success? Mr Owen said there was no secret.
“It is mainly hard work and just looking after your customers and making sure they are happy to come back,” he said.
Being that he has been involved in the business for about 40 years, Mr Owen has seen some changes with everything from the evolution of black and white film to digital photography.
His dad started working for Kodak when he was also just 15, before he went to war and returned to create his own business and his son, Syd, has turned it into what it is today.
“My favourite thing, I suppose, is making sure people know that they are going to be using their camera properly, that is what I like doing,” he said.
Mr Owen said moving to the bigger location was years in the making and had allowed them to double their space. He added they now had their own car park.
Owen Camera House is now located at 169 James St, on the corner of James and Neil Sts. The building was previously a car show room and Dixon Homes show room before being vacant for about 12 months until the camera house moved in.
Find Owen Camera House at 169 James St, on the corner of Neil St.