Hi! I'm Dom.
Story + History
Pink Folder Film House is a photo lab in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn that I originally started in 2017, and ran from my home. In 2018 I had to put it to the side because I didn't have enough equipment to make it viable
More recently, in 2019, I brought the idea to my two friends Sig and Victor. We came together, saved, and purchased a lot of necessary machinery for the bulk of our services which made PF far more functional. Still operating from home however was proving to be difficult - and still required me to bike to pick up and drop off the films.
In 2021, after searching tirelessly through the winter for a location, we were able to find space to rent from LaParis! Game changer. LaParis is the owner of Brooklyn Blooms Floral Boutique.
That being said, Pink Folder is located in the basement of Brooklyn Blooms's 2nd location at 1113 Fulton Street, 11238.
We officially opened our [physical] doors in March of 2021. No more tired legs, it has been very lit.
A few customers tumbled in during our first months; some of the same customers since the home days (thank you guys ❤️). However, over time, we've seen customers grow at a steady + manageable pace - not to mention some of you guys are so enthusiastic and happy to support and it means so much - so also thank you to those of you.
With the growth of customers it's been getting CRAZY. Everything is hand developed (though partially machine aided) and scanning still takes sometime.
We're completely grateful for where we’ve come, but very aware that we have somethings to get in order so we can grow with the pace of business - don’t want to have people waiting more than a couple days for their film.
Our Work Flow
Although we are three, Vic and Sig only have two days out of the week collectively to donate to PF. Often times I'm at the shop alone running upstairs to handle customers but also, organizing their orders, developing their orders, scanning their film, keeping track of finances, taking care of all our legal obligations, working with distributors on getting good prices for film, procrastinating, creating graphics, updating the instagram and much more.
Money that is made from the business is put directly back into the business but soon I'm going to run out of my savings and be forced to begin to pay myself which can stunt growth. Also we've had to take on an Intern who, although is super enthusiastic and glad just to be with us, at some point needs to be paid. My mans needs his coin.
Where the money will go
We could really use your support to help get:
- New machinery to properly handle our growing pains (help us to get people their film on time. This alone would cost $25,000-$35,000 )
- Insurance that we'll be able to pay our employees and ourselves wages for at least 5 months (would allow Sig, Vic and our intern Jośe to quit their jobs and give 100% to working on PF).
- Increase our film stock (we don't make much money from selling film - however we want to be a place photographers are able to get an assortment of films from. We've been slowly expanding our film stock with business profits since day 1, but since film cost so much our stock is still very small).
- Repair our work environment (we rent out the basement at 1113 Fulton Street, 11238. The basement has a crumbling infrastructure. It's dreary, wires are exposed, pipes are exposed, brick walls are constantly crumbling , it's humid during the summer and very cold during the winter).
Thank You!
Thank you all for taking the time out to read this.
For anyone donating thank you again.
If you’re wondering about alternative ways to help - simply promoting our business to your friends, dropping by and giving us a try, or sharing this Go Fund Me to your social media are just some ideas. Feel welcome to be creative though. ✨
Photos
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