Two downtown businesses are expanding on the second floor at East Main and Old School Way.

Jennie Root’s photography studios are moving across the hall to a bigger space, and Erica Weddle’s Simply Fitness is taking over the space she left.

The move will more than double the class space Weddle currently has on Jefferson Street, from 400 to about 900 square feet. That means no limitations on how many people can participate.

“We are at a maximum of eight people now, but they are pumped to know that they’re not going to be as ‘intimate’ as we have been,” Weddle said.

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For Root, the move means she can set up three different areas to shoot portraits and have six backdrops ready to go.

“(At the previous studio) I was tripping over stuff. My props were everywhere to where I didn’t have one area to shoot in. I was climbing on furniture to get back far enough,” Root said.

A larger space also means Root can offer photography classes, perhaps this summer, she said.

Root has been a professional photographer since 2009, when she graduated from Indiana University with a degree in interior design and a minor in photography.

“(Photography) is really my true passion anyway, because I can do this 24 hours, but with interior design I get worn out and I have to go for a walk,” Root said.

Root shoots all types of photos, from newborns to senior portraits.

“I don’t have any specific niche, because there’s not a ton of competition and there are so few of us,” she said.

Weddle started Simply Fitness early in 2016 in Launch Brown County, a space created through the Brown County Chamber of Commerce to help new businesses get started.

From that office space — above PNC Bank in Nashville — Weddle moved to the Brown County Inn and then to her current spot on Jefferson Street.

Weddle has been a certified personal trainer for two years, then later began teaching yoga.

“I had random people that wanted it. That just took off,” she said.

Weddle and Root, who knew each other from high school, began talking about making their moves last fall. The photography studio is now up and running; Weddle’s Jefferson Street lease ends in May.

An open house for both businesses is planned for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 19.

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Website: jennierootphotography.com and on Facebook

Email: [email protected]

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Website: squareup.com/store/simply-fitness and on Facebook

Email: [email protected]

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