Photography firm closes Lynn branch after 31 years

A photography shop which has been a part of Lynn’s town centre for more than three decades had its final day of trading at the weekend.

The owners of Wolfy’s Video and Photography are now set to concentrate on their shop on Greevegate in Hunstanton, after shutting the branch, which had been on Lynn’s Norfolk Street for 31 years, on Saturday.

Ivan Wolfe, 67, of Heacham, who runs Wolfy’s with his wife Maureen, said there were a number of factors which contributed to the decision to close the Lynn store.

He said: “I have been working six or seven days a week and I need to slow down. I’m still fit and well, but I’ve just got a life to lead like other people do – that’s the prime reason.”

Mr Wolfe said the Hunstanton shop will still be open six days a week, Monday to Saturday, but he will be semi-retiring and working about three days a week.

“Also business is quite hard, it’s harder now than I have seen it before,”he added.

For customers, Mr Wolfe said, parking has become more of an issue, in particular on Norfolk Street, where it is “a lot harder than it used to be”.

He said Brexit is also likely to “throw a spanner in the works”, as a number of their products, such as printing paper and printer parts, are sourced from the Netherlands and Germany.

“I think we are already seeing the effects, as some things used to arrive the next day and now it’s not quite as easy,” he added.

The business started out with video rentals on the markets in Lynn, Hunstanton, Swaffham and Fakenham in the late 70s/early 80s, when it had “quite a following”.

“Those days were very memorable,” Mr Wolfe said.

Around 10 years later, the first Wolfy’s shop was opened up in Hunstanton, the second in Lynn and two more in Swaffham and Fakenham, when they had about 10,000 tapes to rent.

After a further decade, the business started to move away from videos and started to focus on photography.

Wolfy’s will continue to offer photographic services from its Hunstanton shop such as printing and framing photographs, printing canvases, wedding photography, school photography and converting tapes to DVDs.

Mr Wolfe said closing down has been “extremely hard” and it may take a “little while” to reach normal capacity at the Hunstanton shop.

“I have enjoyed all of it,” Mr Wolfe added.

“I want to say a special thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years.”

Mr Wolfe said he is hoping to spend some of his free time on his hobbies such as cycling, paddleboarding and cross-country skiing.

For more information, visit www.wolfysphoto.co.uk or call 01485 533573.