Business & Tech

Photography and Hardware Unite on State Street

Five BCCC students have put up a display at the Newtown Hardware House with the hopes of spreading awareness about the importance of shopping local.

It’s an interesting combination and one that probably doesn’t happen often: photography and hardware.

But the exhibit by Bucks County Community College photography students, displayed in a window of the Newtown Hardware House, makes a lot of sense. It’s the epitome of community.

On Thursday, five BCCC photography students, with the blessing of Newtown Hardware House owner Dave Callahan, hung an exhibit of nine photographs from the store window.

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The students hope it will draw people into the Hardware House, which is facing economic peril and is in danger of closing.

“I would hate to see it close because it's just part of the town. It’s like a landmark,” said BCCC student Susan Kott, whose photo of sheep at a snowy Washington Crossing Park anchors the top left corner of the exhibit.

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The idea for the exhibit came about after student Kristina Tregnan bumped into longtime resident and community volunteer Skip Gittens at the Garden of Reflection, for which he is the public relations director.

Gittens mentioned to Tregnan that the Hardware House was facing troubled times and suggested she organize an exhibit to bring visibility. When Tregnan approached Callahan about it, he was enthusiastic.

The exhibit was displayed just in time for Welcome Day, which is Sunday.

The photos range from a portrait of a mother and baby, to foxes at Tyler State Park, and Newtown streetscapes.

“We tried to keep it local to the surrounding area,” Tregnan said.

The display won’t just add interest to the exterior. Organizers hope it’s also a moneymaker for the store.  Proceeds from the sale of the photographs will go directly to the Hardware House, Tregnan said. Photographs range in price from $150 to $300.

Tregnan said the group hopes to rotate the photographs in the display on a regular basis.

“People that live in and around here don’t even know it may close,” Kott said, adding she hopes their artistic effort raises awareness of shopping at the local store.


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