One of the most historic buildings in Miller Place has a new tenant: .
The Davis General Store was built by Erastus Brown in 1889 on North Country Road, where currently preside, across the street from its current location. Just a few years later, Jane Carter's grandfather Hewlett H. Davis stepped in.
“After about four years he [Brown] decided he didn’t want a store anymore," Carter said. "So my grandfather purchased it and moved it across the street.”
Davis purchased the store in 1894, put it on logs and moved it across the then dirt road with horses to where it sits today. It was originally just a General Store, but then became half Post Office, half store in 1914 when Davis became the Postmaster for the third time. It stayed that way until the Post Office moved out in the 1950’s.
Since then the building, which sits on the property of the , has had many tenants. The latest are Keith and Alexis of , who opened on Dec. 1. It is the young couple's first studio together.
"We’ve been dreaming," Keith said. "It's been only in our sleep where we ever thought we’d been in a studio this soon."
"Every single other opportunity we thought could be possible [were] in very commercial spaces," Alexis said. "The rent was much higher and it didn’t really fit our aesthetics. We saw this and, it was the right price and it feels like home."
The couple lives in Port Jeff and normally takes the quiet commute down North Country to their new studio.
"It boosts our confidence knowing we have something to present," Keith said. "It’s finally nice after two years of living together and doing business together of having that separation of 'OK this is what we’re going to do at work today and this is what we’re going to do when we get home.'"
Keith, Alexis and their kitten Hurricane spend hours in the studio, and they have an extensive history in the photography business. Alexis earned her degree in photography from the Rhode Island School of Design and Keith has a history doing work for former President Bill Clinton and local politician Steve Levy.
Together, the two have photographed everything from still life, architecture, musicians, weddings and more.
"If we had to sum it up, we do creative and artistic wedding photography, lifestyle portraits and environmental portraits," Keith said.
The couple is excited for the foot traffic will bring during the warmer months, as well as the traffic from the Christmas Tree Farm in the Fall and Winter.
There are obviously tons of local resources in terms of where to shoot at," Keith said. "You have Cedar Beach, you can go right here on the Christmas Tree Farm, the Duck Pond...there are endless possibilities it’s just about spreading the word."
