What started in a tiny studio in Appleton’s Zuelke Building during the “Mad Men” era of advertising is today a photography and videography powerhouse in the city’s Industrial Flats that competes nationally for high-profile clients. Image Studios co-owner Donna Gehl, who has spent 37 years with the firm and is this year celebrating her 15th anniversary as the firm’s president, says Image Studios has introduced her to Harrison Ford and the Dalai Lama and taken her to Fortune 500 companies near and far.
“I’m most proud of the relationships we’ve had with Fortune 500 companies and large corporations that have lasted for years and years,” Gehl says.
The list includes Kimberly-Clark Corporation and KI, which have worked with Image Studios for decades. It also includes Kohler, Sargento, Johnsonville and Oshkosh Corporation. Farther-flung clients have included Meredith Corporation, Stanley Tool, Home Depot and CVS; Image Studios has done all of CVS’s food packaging photography for years, Gehl says.
But while Image Studios’ work reaches every corner of the world, Gehl says its Appleton roots remain strong. Some of those major clients happen to be in her backyard, she notes, but the company has also relished opportunities to serve smaller local clients — especially nonprofits.
“The one thing that has been consistent since I’ve been here is our interest in and willingness to support dozens and dozens of nonprofit organizations,” Gehl says. “And some of these have also been our best supporters in business, so it really is an example of ‘you get what you give.’”
One of the small businesses with which Image Studios has partnered for 15 years is Insight; Gehl says the decision to work with Insight co-founders Brian Rasmussen and Margaret LeBrun was one of the first and most important decisions she made as company president in 2008. The work of Image Studios’ Shane Van Boxtel has graced every issue to this day.
Gehl says the company’s size has fluctuated over the years based on demand. Image Studios currently employs 17, and its work is essentially a 50/50 mix of photo and video services. Video was added in 2006. Video animation, both 2D and 3D, and CGI services were added in 2008.
The introduction of video was a major turning point for the business, but Gehl says Image Studios also benefitted from its early adoption of digital photography. Image Studios purchased its first digital camera for $100,000 in the late 1980s. This spun into a highly successful business — one of the country’s first stand-alone digital prepress companies, Image I.T., which split into a separate corporation in 2001 and was sold to O.E.C. Graphics in 2004.
Gehl says the business has thrived through six decades because of its consistent commitment to quality, fine details and continuous improvement.
“Every job that we do, we take very seriously,” she says. “The job is the boss. All I want to do is the best job. We never settle for ‘good enough.’”
