Tucked under the stairs at the Wallingford Center is a new business where you can have professional portraits produced of your kids, your family, even your pets. Mud Puddle Club Photography has set up shop permanently after a stint Donna Murphy did last year at the Center–she was Santa’s official portraitist, and her husband, Steven, was Santa.
Murphy specializes in Victorian-looking images (she has a storeroom full of props and costumes) that have a hand-tinted feel to them. She has a fine arts degree and more than 20 years of experience that began with darkroom work and hand-tinting. She thought that the style of her work (which is now all digital) would appeal o Wallingfordians, whom she told us “appreciate the handmade, the unique.”
Mud Puddle Club is one of many new businesses that have opened recently at Wallingford Center that appeal to families (Izilla Toys and Fabric Crush are the most recent additions). Building manager Amy Singer said that this evolution happened organically: “It was a natural because of the demand for it,” she told us. “You see families and kids, and that attracts businesses that cater to it.”
And yes, Steven Murphy will don the Santa suit again later this year, when Donna thinks they’ll be able to accommodate 500 families (200 came last year).
