A weblog about theatrical drapery and stage curtains for Production Managers, Set Designers, Custom Drapery Resellers, and local/school/church Productions
We here at Rent What? Inc. try to stay on the forefront of technology in order to provide our clients with the best, most innovative service. In light of that, we have developed a QR Code for our website, which we’ve attached to all of our pipe and drape hardware, hampers, dressing rooms, and other rented goods.
All you have to do is download a free app on your smartphone which is called a “scanner” or “QR reader”, which gives you the ability to literally “take a picture” of these funny looking squares filled with what looks like random dots. However, once you scan it (even on your computer moniter—go ahead and give it a try!), all of our company’s vital information pops up on your phone. You can see our website, address, email, phone number, and even GPS location which can be used in any mapping program your phone has. You can then save us on your master Contact list, which is a great way for our clients to have all of our information at the tip of their fingertips in case they are out on an install and need some assistance from us.
We strive to stay ahead of the game here at Rent What? Inc., and utilizing new technology has proven to be a great way for us to do that.
One thing I do as an illustrator is mixed media. The thought occurred to me that this might be a great approach with soft goods. I mean, why not mix printed pieces with fabric that is lush or textural? Mixing things up opens creative doors and makes things possible that aren’t possible with just one fabric or process.
Thinking out of the box like an interior designer/decorator. Create an experience and mood with your far out ideas, mixing smooth printed pieces with textured lush fabric, cutouts or icons or logos tour theme art will give your backdrop dimension and set you apart.
Creating graphics the size of a building can be an intimidating prospect for some people. I deal with the issues of proper files set up all day. Questions like “should the art be vector or raster, what resolution do I need to provide and so on come up every day. I’ve found, over the last few months, that if you provide your artwork as a .tif file with an end resolution of at least 75 ppi, you should be golden. Most artwork doesn’t need more than that. If you are doing something complex in Illustrator, I find that it’s the file rips and works better if you rasterize your art before you send it to us. In other words, give us a .tif file. For the most part, a .tif is the least complex of digital files from a data standpoint and the simplicity rips and prints much easier. You can call me if you are in doubt but for the most part, this is the case.
This was a very interesting project to work on. With this stage we used both our Heavy Knit product for the more opaque pieces like the main body of the backdrop and we used a Supreme Mesh product for the legs and the eye in the center of the main backdrop so that a large video screen could be viewed at a particular times during the show, through the eye, yet appear opaque when lighted from the front during the rest of the show. The challenge on this project was to make the two piece come together and appear seamless. The background art came to us as one piece and we digitally cut so it would print exactly the same size on the Supreme Mesh as it did on the Heavy Knit without excessive overlap. The end result is a stunning visual feast for the eyes. View pictures at by clicking here.
Every now and then we all can get into a funk when it comes to generating new ideas. The pressure of deadlines and other outside forces can create an environment that is less than conducive for us to be our creative best. How do you get that back and make the creative sparks happen. I’ve found over the years that some of my best ideas come when Im able to walk away and completely forget about the task, even just a short time. This might be after a good nights rest or a good talk with an old friend you haven’t seen in awhile . Maybe it’s taking a walk in an area that forces you to think about what’s going on around you at the moment and not the task at hand. Forcing yourself to focus on other tasks helps clear the creative block and allow new ideas to come in. When you don’t force it, it allows the ideas to flow.
Creating mood and taking a crowd to another place at a show is the ultimate goal of designing a concert experience. People often only think of stage lights in terms of the trusses that hang over the stage to create color and sometime patterns.
One thing you might want to consider in the planing stages is the use of lights through cutouts in your printed backdrop. We can print directly to opaque and see through mesh materials. Integrating both materials buy cutting out either structured shapes (windows, doors) or more random free form shapes (abstract patterns, eyes?) and then bringing the entire piece together to create awesome effects, glows and ambience. Be it a sunset effect, lights in the windows of a building or glowing eyes, etc… its up to your imagination.
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.”
As faithful readers know, I have been blogging for about a year and a half, since March 2009. I started out knowing almost nothing about the “mechanics” of it – specifically, WordPress. I didn’t have any problem figuring out the basics – I’ve been using computers for 20 odd years.
But one thing that gave me problems was video. This past summer, Michael with Imagination Entertainment sent us a short video of a performance of iL CiRCo in which custom stage drapes made by Sew What? are a prominent part of the scene.
Unfortunately, try as I might, I could not figure out how to include a video in a post. I finally gave up, pulled a still image from the video, and used that in the post.
However, recently Megan discovered in her e-mail a video sent to her last year by another client, Dan with “Sonic Youth.” She forwarded it to me and suggested I include it in a post. I decided that it was time I figure out how to include videos in my post.
So, I sat down at the computer this evening, started this post, and clicked on every single button on the “Kitchen Sink” in WordPress. Low and behold – I figured out how to add a video to the Media Library and then how to embed it into a post. Woo hoo!
So, to show that I really can do it, here is the iL CiRCo video that I was unable to post in August (click here to read the original post):
Pretty cool! I’ll be posting soon on the “Sonic Youth” project and will definitely include Dan’s video in that post!
Shortly after Megan returned from her trip to Australia as a Dell Computers “Take Your Own Path” Trailblazer, her father (who still lives in Australia) was flipping through the October 20th edition of Australian Financial Review.
He was surprised and delight to come upon a great Dell Computers ad featuring Megan. He couldn’t wait to send us photos of himself reading the ad. Take a look!
With making custom stage drapes and theatrical backdrops for major artists such as Green Day and Lady Gaga, we have become (somewhat) used to seeing our drapes in a variety of magazines and videos. But seeing Megan’s photo in a full-page ad in a magazine in Australia is almost surreal! And so fun to see the photo of her dad reading the ad.
Right now, Megan is in the midst of a long plane ride, returning to Sew What? after a productive trip that included Washington D.C. (for Inc 500/5000) and Australia (for Dell Computer’s “Take Your Own Path”). We are so looking forward to having her back, and I’m sure once she settles back in, she’ll be posting about her trip.
In the meantime, I thought you might be interested in content that Dell Computers has posted regarding the Australia Trailblazers (including Megan). Check it out! Yes, the focus is on technology, but I find it quite interesting to learn how people in various aspects of business utilize technology to improve their businesses.
