A weblog about theatrical drapery and stage curtains for Production Managers, Set Designers, Custom Drapery Resellers, and local/school/church Productions
Recently Rent What? was able to add a gorgeous, shiny, beautifully created drape to its Rock ‘n Red and Timeless and Traditional Series. It is an unbelievable 30′ high by 60′ wide Red Satin Austrian Drape, with close to 50% horizontal and 25% vertical fullness in its beautifully sculpted folds.
Our client needed something spectacular for a special edition of an internationally famous play here at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Utilizing our fabulous and easy to assemble rental Drapery Lift System (more on the different types of drapery automation to come in a future blog), this refined yet exotic Austrian Drape was able to be lifted and dropped with complete control from our client.
With the help of our sister company Sew What? and the brilliance of their representative Gwen Winter, we were able to have them make this luscious drape merely from an simple idea in our client’s vision, and actually create it completely from scratch.
With the incredibly hard work of an amazing sewing staff, she was instrumental in helping organize its development and creation in just two days– unheard of in the drapery design industry. A drape of this size takes more than 240 yards of material to construct, which is more than 720 feet, or 8640 inches, or 22,000 centimeters of material! And each panel is painstakingly sewn one at a time, with the lift line sewn right through the back of the seams. The seamstress has to gather all of this material on the vertical seams in order to create the iconic “smiles”, or soft swags, that an Austrian drape is known for. The greater the horizonal fullness, the longer and deeper these swags will become. Because it’s being lifted and lowered by a lift mechanism and not human hands, the lift lines have to be stragetically and evenly placed exactly right. The drape’s extremely elaborate construction takes a HUGE amount of man hours to sew and create, so that when the lift mechanism is activated, this beautiful drape will ride up and down smoothly and flawlessly so the audience will be completely blown away.
You can see now why it is so impressive that our sewing masters were able to cut, sew, and design this gorgeous 30×60 foot Red Satin Austrian drape in just two days!
Now that we have added this amazingly versatile and gorgeous drape to our Rent What? collection, we know it will be a huge hit for all sorts of events– from holiday parties, rock concerts, stage productions, television shows, and everything in between. We can’t wait to see what else our clients will come up with next for us to help design for them!
We’re so very excited to be in the midst of our fourth year of business here at Rent What?, and are even MORE excited at how great the company is doing! Getting to provide drape rentals for major tours and concerts, and helping our clients conceive their visions for these events, is something we have always enjoyed. But lately, we are providing a LOT more than “just drapes” for many different types of events. We are able to help create the overall feel of almost any event that crosses our path. We aren’t just all about Rock and Roll anymore!
Rent What? has expanded our inventory to not just include, but to now also specialize in, everything from our wide variety of Flame Retardant Drapery, Kabuki Drops/Solenoid Systems, Traveller Track, Drapery Lift Systems, Pop-Up Portable Dressing Rooms, Pipe and Drape, and Shadowboxes. This incredible diversity has grabbed the attention of those outside the rock and roll touring industry that has been our “bread and butter” so far. With our expanding inventory, our clientele has also expanded, to include churches, schools (high school and universities), conventions, casinos, trade shows, community theatre, major television shows, and everything in between.
What I think sets us apart from our competition is having such a close relationship with our sister company Sew What?, who can help create any custom-made draping that our clients might have envisioned. With the combination of our ever-growing rental inventory, along with the custom-made soft goods that Sew What? can also create, our clients are able to get exactly what they dreamed for their event, at very competitive pricing.
This is an incredibly exciting time to be a part of the Rent What? team, and we know that with our continued “Extreme Service”, we will always continue to expand and grow to fit our growing clientele’s needs, too.
We here at Rent What? Inc. pride ourselves not only on our competitive pricing, our amazing selection, our prompt deliveries and pickups, and our innovative designs, but also on our amazing customer service, or as we like to put it, “Ultimate Rentals, Extreme Service”. But I was thinking recently, what exactly is great customer service?
I did a little internet research on customer service, and I found a lot of good information on the subject. One article, 8 Rules of Good Customer Service, had some great points about listening to your customers, being helpful, and much more. I agree with the article wholeheartedly. But to me, while the eight rules constitute good customer service, you really have to go above and beyond to provide great customer service.
To me, when your goal is not only to give your customers what they expect, but to also go above and beyond to give them more than they ever dreamed they’d even want, then THAT is great customer service. When you can think ahead to any possible issue that might come up, and you are able to stop it before it even begins, then THAT is great customer service. When you go the extra step to make sure your clients get more than they dreamed they could get for a price within their budget, then THAT is great customer service. And when you consider every single detail and make sure that everything that is important to your client is now important to you too, then THAT is great customer service.
In today’s tough economy, there are a lot of companies out there competing for customers, so here at Rent What? we strive to be the easiest, friendliest, most creative, and most organized drapery rental business out there. But above everything else, I think that it is outstanding customer service that makes a good company great, and I am proud to say that, in my opinion, this is truly an area in which Rent What excels.
As you probably already know, the co-owner and president of Sew What? and Rent What? is Megan Duckett, who is a woman of many skills and talents. One of them is her unbelievably-rockin’ band Without Warning. We had a treat last week and were able to go see her band perform live at a wonderful little concert hall in Redondo Beach. Not only was it great for all of us to get together outside of work and help celebrate our boss’s amazing talents as a singer and most of all as a *ROCKER!*, but it was so much fun to be able to hang out with one another outside of the work environment!
Without Warning members Megan Dawn, Doug, DC, David, and Hughes
Even better was bringing several companies that we work so closely with on a day to day basis to come join in the festivities. We here at Sew What? and Rent What? really are a “family”, and a lot of these other companies are like family to us too. One business in particular has been a huge sponsor of Without Warning, and has also been an incredible company for Rent What? to have worked with for years. This company is All Access, who, with the help of Bob Hughes, encouraged Megan to audition for the band earlier this year, and has been indispensable with the band’s swiftly growing popularity ever since.
There’s nothing like “Rock and Roll Camaraderie” to bring everyone together on a Saturday night, and not have to worry about which black poly silk drapes are going where, what solenoid delivery needs to be made that next week, or the huge Austrian drape order that is next on the horizon. By spending some fun quality time with one another, we get to really get to know one another on a more personal level, and that grows into a richer admiration and respect for each other that we might not otherwise have.
This makes us stronger as a company, and that translates into better customer service and quality of product for our clients. Who knew that getting together to enjoy a little rock and roll could have such far reaching benefits for everyone?
With the end of summer coming fast upon us, it’s a great time to start thinking about the holidays that are quickly approaching, and ways to make your special event even more memorable. I recently came across some incredible photos of the amazing LED Stardrop Drape rentals that Rent What? has.
We offer these gorgeous drapes for every type of occasion you might want to add a “little sparkle” to! With a rich black background, you can choose from either beautiful and inspiring white twinkly lights, or really breathtaking “chameleon” changing-colored lights. For these drapes you also have a dmx controller so you can decide how fast you want the lights to blink, in what succession, what colors it changes through, etc. Rent What also offers a very unique Low Tech LED drape, which is a sheer white voile with the beautiful static white lights running through it!
We’ve had some very happy customers use these drapes for their special events. Everyone from Mary J Blige to the Jonas Brothers, ballet and church performances, trade shows, bridal fairs, unforgettable stage productions, and everything in between! These drapes are so versatile, and can help create some really amazing showcases. With some colorful lighting, you can literally create the most dramatic vision on your stage imaginable. Try layering them with other drapes (especially our Silver Satin Series) to create some very spectacular scenes that will not soon be forgotten!
Take a look at our LED Stardrop Rental Drapes on our website, and get ready to be completely wow’ed like I was!
Hi there everyone reading this blog! My name is Marianne, and I’m the newest member to join the team at Rent What? They’ve asked me to help give new insight and a fresh perspective to our blog, and I am thrilled to do so!
First, let me tell you a little bit about my background. I’ve been an event planner for over 10 years, with the last three years working primarily as a wedding planner and coordinator in Las Vegas, Nevada. After moving back out to Southern California, I knew I wanted to stay in the field of planning events, but wasn’t sure exactly which angle I would choose. Once I heard about Rent What? Inc., and their amazing products and business model, I knew I had to be a part of this female owned and operated company! Now I get to help plan events, concerts, productions, trade shows, festivals, tours, and other special occasions through an aspect that I truly love—production design! Through creative use of rental stage drapes, pipe and drape systems, kabuki drops, track systems, and all different styles of fabrics and textures, we can create any look and feel that our clients want, and to me that is absolutely amazing.
Being a part of this “family” has been a dream come true for me, and I am honored and grateful to be a part of something so wonderful. I hope to help give you some of my perspective as someone who is both a long-standing member of this industry, as well as a “newbie” to this specific field. I can’t wait to share with you everything I learn about this fascinating and exciting business!
I have posted about the wide variety of specialty drapery collections that Rent What? has available for rent, from “Rockin’ Red” to “Industrial Textures” to “Delightfully White” and beyond. At Rent What? we have tried to think “outside the box” to continually re-imagine soft goods and stage decor to create interesting and beautiful new drapery options for our clients.
Today, I want to give you a sneak preview of our newest specialty collection, the “Swanky Collection.” We have just added the first piece in the collection, and it is definitely something different. Rather than a traditional custom stage curtain made of fabric, instead this piece is actually a series of individual linear pieces composed of mirrored plates suspended on invisible threads.
Each thread of mirrored plates is separate and distinct – different heights, different placement of mirrored plates – allowing a completely customizable dazzling linear mobile. By attaching each thread to a different location on the stage truss, you can create a unique mobile “drape” for every show.
I am so excited about this new piece. I hope you like it as much as I do. Stand by as we add more “Swanky” pieces to the collection – I’ll keep you posted.
Recently, Rent What? had the honor to be selected by Dell Computers to be featured in an online video on America’s Favorite Small Business. It was a great opportunity for Megan and Marce and all the folks at Rent What? to discuss the committment that the company has to provide high quality, innovative custom stage curtains and hardware for rental.
I think the folks at Dell did a great job in capturing what it is like to run a small business, ensuring that your business is well run and your customers are provided the highest quality product along with the best customer service possible. As the Rent What? motto goes, “Ultimate Rentals. Extreme Service.”
I have posted in the past about the various stage curtains that Sew What? and Rent What? have provided to Glee, both the television show and the touring show. It is such a fun and innovative show (recently nominated for 12 Primetime Emmy® Awards, including “Outstanding Comedy Series”) that it is exciting to be selected to provide custom stage curtains to the franchise.
Recently, Rent What? provided a gorgeous 30′ h x 60′ w Gold Satin Austrian Curtain to the show, which was used as a backdrop to numerous musical numbers in the show’s Season Two finale. This beautiful drape, along with a portable lift system (also provided by Rent What?) then “went on the road” with the Glee Live tour. Also on the tour were several other rental drapes, including a Red Contour Drape and a White Silk Austrian.
Continuing with my series of hardware systems available for rent at Rent What? (including kabuki solenoid systems, traveler track, and pop up! dressing rooms), today I thought I’d tell you about our rental lift systems. When you are touring with an Austrian, a Braille, or any curtain that you want to lift, this system does the job.
Rental Hardware Collection – Lift Systems
Specifics
60 foot wide life system with 16 lines 4′ on center
Lifts an Austrian or Braille drape up to 40 feet high
Proven Reliability
Fixed speed / Up, Down & Stop
Operates on Single Phase 220v power.
A La Carte or Turn-key System
Compatible with any curtain which has lift lines on 4 foot centers. 16 fully connected lines spanning 60 continuous running feet. Single Controller for Up, Down and Stop commands. Centralized Motor. Ships in one crate with (optional) drape attached.
Why We Love It:
A motorized drape reveal with an exotic detailed drapery does not have to be a designer fantasy. This system is compact, user friendly and affordable . Take your show or event to the next level………whatever you plan to reveal – make it special
Famous Friends:
Our Ivory Austrian on this lift system is a tough act to follow…. Luckily the act was Lady Gaga! One of the most (in)famous artists in the industry, she wowed audiences with her performance “in between” our spectacular curtain moves.
