Short term and long term goals!

Connor and I had a great meeting a couple of weeks ago and talked about our short term goals and long term goals.

In the short term, our first step is to hold a work day in December to get the storage space looking sharp and to make the scene shop space a safer and cleaner environment. These work days become necessary at least twice a year. With so many different companies in and out of our facilities and renting and return the set pieces, it becomes a bit of a mess. With a small army and a little grunt work we will make it sparkly again.

Next, we are going to create a thorough on-line database of our inventory. The inventory is constantly expanding and we no longer have an up to date list of all that we have in stock. After that list is completed, we are excited about getting the membership program rolling and getting the Co-op up on the website. As all of this is happening we are also going to start keeping regularly scheduled Co-op hours. These are the hours that our two other staff members, Jeannine and Eliot, will dedicate to being at the space ready to assist people and ready to check them in and out with their Co-op rentals.

And finally, we have discovered that people in the community want more information on local designers. So we are planning on creating a designers database that will have information on local designers and what their rates are. This list will also include running crew and stage manager information.

In the long term (within 5 years), we are hoping to expand our space and create bigger shop and storage space. We are hoping to expand to provide delivery and pick-up services. We are also interested in continuing to expand our services to include lights, costumes, and sound equipment. The trick right now, is that we don't want the artist who need to make money from renting their goods (lights, costumes, etc) to lose any business. Our plan right now is to try to find a way to subsidize those rentals. We think this will be a way to ensure that the artists who are renting their goods are still making a decent rate and simultaneously provide Co-op members a little discount.

In the meantime, the Co-op is still as busy as ever and providing sets and tools and shop space to companies all over Austin.

Jenny Larson
Salvage Vanguard Theater
Scenic Co-op