The Studio Shop at 100! The Benson Years
(Third in a series of posts describing the 100 year history of The Studio Shop. The last post left off with John and Martha Benson purchasing the business in 1955 from Mrs. Carolyn Misselwitz (The Studio Shop at 100, The First Forty Years). Previous posts:
The Early Years
The First Forty Years
Martha and John Benson were a young married couple with a one year old baby when they decided to give up the security of John’s teaching job to buy a small gallery and frame shop in Burlingame. It was 1955 and seeing a For Sale ad for The Studio Shop in the Chronicle offered the young couple with an opportunity that they had been hoping for. The art and framing business that they found would allow John and Martha to utilize their talents in art and woodworking, and also allow a certain freedom for their independent imaginations.
Martha’s father lent them $500 for the down-payment, and the Bensons took the leap of faith to own their own art and framing business. They bought the business from relatives of the founder, Dorothy Crawford, after she passed away in 1952. The Studio Shop’s tradition had been carried on by Dorothy’s brother, Sid Frink, and niece, Carolyn Misselwitz. John learned the craft of picture framing from Sid’s tutelage and quickly mastered the craft with his background in woodworking and photography. Always a true artisan, John completed everything by hand in the shop. He cut every mat, and moulding, and joined frames with the rabbit hide glue that had been used for centuries. The quality of a finished product was his ultimate goal, and he would never take a shortcut to get there. But John certainly did not run the business by himself.
Martha’s talents were an apt pairing for the business as well. Not only did she manage the store’s bookkeeping, merchandise, artwork, and gift items, but raised three young daughters to boot. Long before credit cards, and Quickbooks, Martha took care of all of the bookkeeping and invoicing with pen and paper. Together John and Martha dedicated themselves, and their business, to quality craftsmanship, creative design, and to customer service. They were a charismatic pair, and despite having a young family to raise, and a business to run, quickly became active members in the Burlingame community.
In the early 1960’s the Benson’s were able to purchase a home on Paloma Avenue, across from what was then Coolidge School. Janet remembers her Dad riding his bicycle by her classroom on the way to work, honking his horn as he passed by. John and Martha raised their three daughters in and around the shop, teaching and encouraging their creativity and craftsmanship. Even in the most frugal of times, John and Martha made sure the girls had art supplies with which to express their creativity. Until Janet was in high school, the couple worked six days a week. Sunday was left for church, grocery shopping, and garden work. In addition to teaching the girls about craftsmanship, art and framing, the philanthropic couple instilled in their daughters the importance of community, and giving back.
Both John and Martha were charter members of PPFA (Professional Picture Framers Association) in the 1960’s which was founded in Northern California and then expanded internationally. The PPFA established conservation standards in the picture framing industry with the use of acid free materials and UV glazing to insure the long term protection of framed artwork. Today, Studio Shop co-owner Carl Martin is president of the Northern California chapter of PPFA.
When John passed away in 2012 at the age of 86, he had over 55 years of perfect attendance at the Lions Club, and had donated well over 10 gallons of blood! He served on every position possible in the Lions, including a term as District Governor in 1982. Despite having three daughters, John was active in Boy Scouts, he was a Deacon at the Presbyterian Church, and his name is on a plaque in the Burlingame Main Library for serving as a trustee. Martha was active in the PTA and was also a Deacon at the Presbyterian Church. She served three terms (nine years) on the Burlingame Beautification Commission, and three terms on the Burlingame Civil Service Commission. Their unending spirit in giving time to philanthropy, running their own business, and raising three daughters, is a modern mystery!
For their years of service to the community, John and Martha were jointly awarded Burlingame Citizens of the Year in 1989. They were truly a beloved couple, for the quality of their work at The Studio Shop, for the continuity of their giving back, and for the gusto and heart with which they lived, and shared their lives.
By the late 1980’s John and Martha were nearing retirement, and their daughters Janet and Kristen took turns helping at the shop. In 1994 Janet and her husband Carl moved The Studio Shop to 1103 Burlingame Avenue, returning to the street where the business had begun 80 years before. Back on the main downtown avenue again, the business quickly grew. Happy to see the younger generation take the business into their own hands with such success and ambition, John and Martha soon retired.
As the business continued to grow in the 90s with the addition of a warehouse production facility and a later move to the gallery space at 244 Primrose, John and Martha would visit the shop almost daily to check that the “kids” were doing okay.
John passed away in 2012 at the age of 86, but not without attending his last party, hosted by his Burlingame Lions friends to honor John’s many years of achievement and service in the Burlingame community. It was a memorable evening attended by many friends and family from around the Bay Area.
As The Studio Shop enters its second century under the guidance of Benson daughters Janet and Kristen and Janet’s husband Carl, Martha continues to pay daily visits during her walks that keep her spry and healthy.
