Studio 204 was founded by college buddies Jake Smith and Marlin Devilliers. After meeting at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario Jake and Marlin knew they wanted to work together in some way. A year after they graduated from college, they decided to start a photography business. Not really knowing what that meant.. but they knew they would figure it out along the way. Nameless at the time Jake convinced his Mom to let them use the basement as their office. That was fun, eh mom? 😉 2 months later they opened their first Studio location in Orillia, Ontario. 150 SQFT of glory.. located in the arts district. After countless hours of grinding it out, they finally had space to call their own. Unit 204 was all theirs. They were stoked. But what would they call it? Jokingly they said Studio 204 for about a week. After family and friends' approval, the name stuck. Studio 204 was officially born on April 5th, 2014.
After 2 years at the Orillia location, they started to outgrow the space. Both still living at home they had this brilliant idea of renting a house together. After weeks of searching and contemplating moving the business back to Jake's parent's house.. (Just Kidding) they finally found a place in beautiful Barrie, Ontario. It was perfect. 3 Bedrooms. 1 for each of us, and 1 for the office. In theory, this sounded amazing, but in reality, working and living at home is a challenging thing to do. It worked, but they knew they needed a space just for work again. Something different than they had before, something that they could grow into.
Around that same time of looking for a new space, one of Jake and Marlin's mentors reached out to them with a great idea! Nervous and excited they couldn’t wait to hear this big plan he had. They met at Flying Monkeys Brewery in Barrie. All 3 of them sitting around the table having an epic IPA came to the idea of sharing a space with his business, and networking together to grow! BOOM.
They were sold. So officially began Studio 204 in beautiful Barrie, Ontario. 🎉
7 years later (WOW, that long already?) Studio 204 has now evolved to offer a variety of creative photo and video services all over Canada to help grow businesses and brands. Staying strong to its roots, Studio 204 is built on the foundations of trust, quality, and great service.
