Last week, Sara Button, the owner of Marfa Film Shop, announced that the business will close on November 30, 2023.
Ms. Button told Glasstire that prior to moving to Marfa in 2019, she had been traveling frequently to the West Texas town. That year, during a trip, Ms. Button and her family identified a home and, though they had to return to East Texas briefly, they put an offer on the house. About the area, she said, “It’s just super quiet and beautiful… I mean, I feel like I’m not even in Texas when I’m in Marfa. [You have] access to mountains and the river, and you’re just an hour away from Mexico, which is so cool.”
Though according to Ms. Button the business is doing well, the remoteness of the location has posed other issues. Specifically, Ms. Button’s mother has had health issues and is unable to receive adequate care in Marfa. The nearest hospital, which is a 30-minute drive away in Alpine, has been unable to provide the medical care that she needs.
Ms. Button said, “Moving out here, we understood we’d be giving up a lot of convenience. Absolutely no Uber or UberEats or delivery of any kind… and that’s fine. We like cooking… we have a garden. We started gardening because we missed fresh produce, which you just can’t get out here most of the time. I think mostly the biggest concern or drawback I guess, living out here, is the medical care.”
Marfa Film Shop
After making the move in 2019, Ms. Button opened the Marfa Film Shop in October 2021. She has attributed the success of the business to the fact that there are photographers living in and around Marfa, and also that many people pass through or visit specifically to photograph the area. “There was a huge gap in local service and I think I filled that gap with opening the film shop… the film community in general is super supportive. People from all over have come into the shop and said ‘Oh! I’ve wanted to come in here for so long!’ and it’s only been open for two years.”
With the business closing at the end of next month, Ms. Button plans to relocate her family to the North Texas area, where her mother can receive the care she needs and where Ms. Button has roots from her time attending the University of North Texas. She hopes that once she’s settled, she will be able to embark on a new business venture with a friend that will offer full film processing, printing, and scanning services.
Before leaving Marfa, Ms. Button hopes to finish building a community darkroom in Marfa, a project she has been working toward for over a year. Ms. Button noted that prior to her involvement in the project Shea Carley, a photography professor at Sul Ross University in Alpine, had been working toward the goal of creating a community darkroom for years. A GoFundMe site has been created for the project, but the biggest hurdle at the moment is finding a location.
As Marfa Film Shop begins to wind down its time, the shop is offering discounted cameras and film in the store and a 20% discount on merchandise online.
