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When Jody Westerfeld accepted the challenge to gather her family and coordinate everyone for Christmas pictures at an out-of-state location last year, the result was more than just stunning images.

It was the birth of an idea that would change the face of downtown Hope with the official ribbon cutting for Frame55 in August.

‘I am here because it was a calling,” Westerfeld, who is owner and creative director for Frame55, says.

Named for her family – daughters, Frann and Regan, and husband, Miah (Jeremiah) – Frame55 is also a nod to Westerfeld’s late grandmother, Geneva, as the number 55 became a ubiquitous pop-up in various situations following her passing.

“It’s just a number since my grandma passed,” Westerfeld says. “We were close.”

Last December, the Westerfeld family was scheduled to get family Christmas pictures taken in Kentucky. Admittedly a fantasy football family, gathering everyone during an important game day to pose for pictures seemed a sketchy proposition at best.

“’How am I going to get these people to Kentucky?’” Westerfeld wondered.

Food.

“I thought, ‘They really love good food,’” she recalls. “I told them we are going to get family pictures, but we are going to eat at a really great place.”

Offer accepted.

The family arrived at the location to find a stately lodge hall – dating back to the 1880s – that had been meticulously restored and transformed into a uniquely inviting space comprised of nearly a dozen thematic individual studio spaces which ran the gamut from futuristic and modern to traditional, the spiritual, and elegant grace of eras gone by.  

“It was a huge building,” Westerfeld says. “We were on the ballroom floor and it is gorgeous with hardwood floors and lots of windows – a show-stopper.”

Intrigued by her experience, Westerfeld did some homework.

Turns out, studios such as Studio 821, in Newport, Kentucky, are a unique discovery for many people in central and southern Indiana. A few rent-by-the-hour studios can be found in northern Indiana but, for the most part, the idea of such a space is foreign to many outside the professional community of photographers.

As a healthcare professional and realtor, spare time for Westerfeld is a rare commodity. But with only two gears: sleep and full throttle, Westerfeld was determined to bring the studio experience to Hope.

“I thought, ‘We need one of these,’” she says. “I came back to town and got on it immediately.”

Westerfeld grew up in Greensburg and admittedly didn’t know much about Hope prior to this venture. While checking the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), a database used by licensed realtors to share property and listing information, for a space she could rent, Westerfeld noticed a recurrent listing for a storefront in downtown Hope.

“I drove to Hope several times,” she recalls. “I would go different days, different times of day. It was always busy and I absolutely loved the music on the Square. It is darling and really cozy and it checked all the boxes of how I wanted it to feel.”

When she discovered the space the original name she’d chosen didn’t seem to fit. It didn’t feel right, she says.

Then, it came to her.

Frame55.

Ribbon cutting ceremony for Frame55 on August 15, 2025 on site in downtown Hope. Photo credit: Natalie Petro- Hamilton Photography.The 700-square-foot studio space, located at 343 Washington St., offers clients access to nearly half a dozen thematic scenes, including a living room, kid scene, and a rotating seasonal set, as well as a prop closet and additional professional backdrop options.

Available to rent by the hour, the studio space can be booked via the Frame55 site, Westerfeld says.

And the set-up is essentially self-serve.

In addition to the studio space, Westerfeld anticipates opening an additional 1,500- square-feet of space at a later date that could comfortably host small, intimate gatherings.

“You don’t have to be a photographer to rent our space,” she says.

Admittedly, Westerfeld says she isn’t a photographer. In fact, she finds this situation quite ironic.

Not only has everything fallen together seamlessly, but almost to the point of exception.

“The business has opened without a hiccup and that is so rare,” Westerfeld says.

When asked how she keeps up with such a full schedule of commitments, the mother of two says that despite her full-speed approach to life, self-care is important to keep the tank full.

Beach therapy is a necessity every so often.

"I got to Florida every other month and just listen to the waves,” she says. “It’s what I do, I go to the beach.”

Following the success of Hope Heritage Days, Westerfeld says she’s prepping the space for the upcoming spooktacular festivities of Halloween. And it will be a quick turnaround for the holiday season around the corner.

Regardless of the seeming frantic nature of things, Westerfeld couldn’t be happier. Or more content.

“This is meant to be, it’s a calling and I followed it,” she says. ““Everything I did, it paved the way and here we are at Frame55.”