Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Alducin.
Maria, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Ever since I can remember, I have always paid great attention to details.
I remember being a little girl and arranging things in my room trying to be creative. I love working on hands-on projects, creating content, and simply just being able to be creative in anything I do.
I believe a lot of my creative influence has come from traveling around different cities in Mexico. I have traveled there almost every year since I moved to Houston, and each time I go, I find more and more inspiration. Seeing people being passionate about their craft makes you realize how people also have to get creative to make a living in order to keep doing what they love, and it’s truly inspiring!
I believe my journey started when I started taking photos and learning Photoshop. I took a Photoshop class in college. However, I can say I learned so much more by watching videos on YouTube on how to edit and therefore created my own projects to learn it. I started taking my own photos just so I could use the program to make the photos I loved.
My passion for photography grew even further when I started shooting with film (35mm). Once I started shooting film, I couldn’t stop creating. At the same time, I was constantly driving around Houston scouting for locations to shoot models at. As I took more and more photos and found more and more places, my love for our city of Houston grew immensely.
I took a break from photography because I realized how much I enjoyed editing photos. So, I focused my career solely on working for different studios and photographers around the city.
I then decided to start an online post-production company by working before work, during my lunch breaks and after the current job I had. Yes. I was working all the time! But I was too excited to be able to have something of my own. It was then when I realized I wanted to have my own business. So, I went back to college and started taking some classes at the University of Houston – Main.
During this time, I also started a blog with my friends called Xplore Houston (@hxplore) where we would share cool locations around Houston and have meetups every other Sunday – and we hope to bring it back soon!
A year after I started my online business, I decided I wanted to have a location in the city to have the headquarters for both the company and the blog. At first, we had designed the studio to be plain with neutral backdrops. However, during that time, as we were looking for designs I ran into so many creative setups online, I decided to do an Open House with a room full of confetti and balloons. Everyone I told this concept to thought I was crazy but I did it anyway. And the rest is history!
We are now the Montrose Studios, known for the confetti and balloons room! And for bringing families and friends around Houston together to have fun at our space with ever-changing setups.
Has it been a smooth road?
When they say that having a business is a collection of “blood, sweat, and tears” is definitely true.
I can certainly say I never expected to run into so many things I have run into. But at the same time, I have never learned so much. There have been many times when we didn’t even know if people were going to like the concept or if it was even going to work from day one.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The Montrose Studios is not just a creative space, it is a place to make memories.
We create setups and work with other professionals in the industry to create the most creative backdrops that you can find in our beautiful city of Houston. We also take photos that families can cherish for many years to come.
We are known for the confetti and balloons room but we also have different setups in the whole place, and even outside the building.
As a company, we are most proud of on being a space where families and friends gather to create memories and to have a fun experience.
What sets us apart from others is that the concept of family is deeply rooted in our mission as a creative studio. We truly believe that families that take photos together stay together.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I believe Houston needs more creativity. If you look at other big cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas or New York, you can find so many spaces with so many different concepts. I feel like we should bring that creativity to Houston to make our city stand out even more. Houston is the perfect place to start.
Pricing:
- HOURLY RENTALS $50-60/HR
- PHOTO SESSIONS $100 – 180
- PHOTOSHOP / BRANDING CLASSES $50/HR
Contact Info:
- Address: 1604 West Alabama St.
Houston, TX 77006 - Website: www.montrosestudios.com
- Phone: 281-740-2789
- Email: themontrosestudios@gmail.com
- Instagram: themontrosestudios
- Facebook: montroserental
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-montrose-studio-houston
Image Credit:
My main photo was taken by Douglas Marquez, the one with the flower wall by Anita Josephine Photography (last one), The rest by me Maria Alducin
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