It’s hard to go wrong with the free pizza and video games, and we had a great Friday lunch last week with all the friends who helped us polish off the ‘za.
In addition to the heaps of pizza, we gave away three LaCie 8gb USB keys (congrats to Kyle, Rob and Derek!) and someone won a couple of rounds of MarioKart Wii, but we can’t remember who.
Thanks to everyone who came out, and a big thanks to Dave Weis from Internet Solver for his support of our lunchtime mixer.
Here’s a quick overview of the upcoming events at Impromptu:
Impromptu Mobile Plan Members: Remember that every Wednesday offers late coworking. If you need to invest some late-night hours in your project, we’re open until 10 PM.
This Saturday, Impromptu member and artist Cat 
Rocketship invites the public to a preview of her new works in Demons and Worse Things. This event will be the only Des Moines exhibition of this show featuring over two dozen new oil and mixed media paintings exploring fear, monsters, demons and worse things. Find more information at the Facebook event or through www.catrocketship.com.
The Des Moines Mac Users Group meets at Impromptu on Tuesday, April 27 at 7 PM. More information at http://www.dmmug.org/.
Prepare yourself for Coding Dojo, a new event wherein coders will complete projects under a time limit and in front of an audience. The first event is May 3rd from 7-9 PM.
In a Coding Dojo, coders come together and complete a programming challenge in a fun environment that provides a night to refine ones’ skillz. Coders have no knowledge of the problem until they form teams on the evening of Coding Dojo. The Des Moines Dojo adds the challenge of coding from scratch in front of an audience.The solution of the night’s problem for may require use of various languages, tools, and exercise formats.
Coding Dojo is a non-competitive, collaborative event at which all skill levels are welcome. It’s a fantastic place to test new methods and ideas. Participants should bring their lappies!
Learn more at http://codingdojo.org/ and RSVP at the Facebook event!
And that takes us through the next two weeks. We have another fresh batch of events on the horizon, so stay tuned and stay informed.
We want to share the coworking experience with as many people as possible. To that end, coworking will be absotively posolutely free the first Wednesday of every month.
Drop in anytime between 9am and 10pm the first Wednesday of every month and experience coworking for yourself.
Can’t make our open coworking days but want to learn more? Drop us a line to set up a tour.
Here at Impromptu Studio we are asking the community to help participate and become more active in our space. Some of the opportunities are:
Community Manager: We are looking for a responsible individual that loves working around others. This individual would help spread the word, organize events with outside vendors, give tours to new members, and help maintain our blog. In exchange for helping us out we would carve out a spot in the studio for you to work from for little to no cost.
Community Ambassadors: We also would like to ask everyone to be on the lookout for people that should be utilizing coworking and possibly don’t realize that it exists. We have made amazing strides in educating the public as to the concept of coworking and how we feel that it benefits all types of fields and not just the tech related ones that it was founded by. Entrepreneurs and small business owners employ 70% of all workers and we want to be a place that helps then achieve their goals and realize their dreams. Even if that means that they eventually leave us because the become so successful that they need a bigger space. Our hope for all our members is that they will eventually become successful enough to “outgrow” us.
Finally, we are putting together a list of the top 25 things that came out of Impromptu Studio in 2009. We have a good sized list already but want to make sure nothing escapes our list. SO, shoot all of your suggestions for inclusion over to info@impromptustudio.com!
Official Movement Bash Poster (Click for Large Version)
DES MOINES, Iowa (October 8, 2009) – Impromptu Studio plays host to movers and shakers from across the Midwest at the first ever Movement Bash on Thursday, October 22. A select group from Des Moines’ growing tech and creative communities are joining forces to celebrate entrepreneurship with free food, free beverages, and free entertainment. Organizers are creating a casual networking evening for entrepreneurs and creatives from the Omaha, Kansas City, and Des Moines metro areas coming to town for Highlight Midwest.
“There’s a lot of good energy in Des Moines right now, and it’s connected in a big way to the same energy that’s growing across the whole Midwest,” said Dan Shipton, an organizer of the event and co-founder of Impromptu Studio. “Movement Bash will be a great way for big brains and big ideas to come together, network, and have a good time. No presentations, just conversations.”
To keep the event free and open, organizers tapped 18 19 different local businesses for support including tech start-ups, law firms, and creative agencies.
“Everyone I called was really excited,” Shipton said. “[Our sponsors] are a broad mix and involve a lot of businesses that are part of this movement of genuine innovation in flyover country. Events like Movement Bash, BarCamp, BIG Omaha, Ignite Des Moines, Advance Week…they’re tied to the new platform that real movers and shakers in the Midwest are building.”
Organizers are encouraging Movement Bash attendees to cut loose and come share their passions over food, drink, and activities. Rock Band, social games, an anonymous “suggestion box” for entrepreneurs, conversation-sparking nametags and other activities will help prevent wallflower-ing and keep the evening lively, Shipton said.
Movement Bash is being presented by Paragon IT, BitMethod, Law Offices Of Brett J. Trout, P.C., Public Relations Project, Grand Consulting, Click! Photography, Internet Solver, Napkin Sketch, Tweetup Badges, Test of Time Design, createWOWmedia, Market Street Media Foundry, Catchwind, 25 Connections, 48Web, Spindustry, SmartyPig, Olde Main Brewing Co. and Mars Café.
An RSVP is requested but not required and available at http://movementbash.eventbrite.com. Impromptu Studio is located at 300 SW 5th St, Des Moines IA 50309.
Impromptu Studio is known for a few things: being a hub for Des Moines entrepreneurs, highlighting and connecting our community, and throwing KICKASS shindigs! In October, Impromptu Studio plans to do ALL OF THEM AT ONCE! We lined up ~20 sponsors (which we kindly referred to as the Movers & Shakers of Des Moines) to help make this a reality so a BIG shout out is in order for them. A larger, more legible version of the poster below will be be gracing local businesses and available for download shortly!
On October 22nd, 2009 the Movers & Shakers of Des Moines are throwing a big party for all of the folks who are helping put the Midwest back on the map. This party is called the MOVEMENT BASH and it will include free bevvies, free food, and free entertainment:
Keep checking back for more info about the BASH but here is the lowdown-
It is time to start putting the world on notice. Des Moines is ready to step up.
Don’t let Des Moines’ polite people and little big city atmosphere fool you – it’s home to a tech savvy, hard workin’, ass kickin’ crowd of creative workers with opportunities to spare.
As local social networking consultant Nathan Wright puts it: “Des Moines is the greatest city in the world because you can make epic shit happen here, period.”
Des Moines is home to TweetUp Badges, the Sarah Lacy Square, a butter cow, 80/35, Market Street Media Foundry, and, of course, Impromptu Studio – the first (and most badass) coworking joint in the Midwest ran by Daniel Shipton. Des Moines has grown a lot in the two years since Fast Company proclaimed it “The Hippest City” in 2007 and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. Locals work hard and play harder, so we had to celebrate our first anniversary as part of Advance: A Week to Move Forward!
cultivate:dsm is launching with a week dedicated to collaboration, inspiration and Moving Forward. A partnership of Impromptu Studio and Market Street Media Foundry and the brainchild of Dan Shipton, cultivate:dsm is dedicated to providing a platform for big thinkers to rally the support they need to act big.
Advance will be held July 20-25 with events at Impromptu and Market Street. All Advance events are free and open to the public. The program is designed for creative and business professionals alike with useful, casual events encouraging people to work together and get to work.
Wednesday’s events will anchor Advance week with conversation, learning, and socializing. Acclaimed author Tara Hunt (The Whuffie Factor) will lead a presentation and Q&A about using social capital to build your business. A social meetup with conversation and karaoke led by local and national coworking and arts leaders will conclude the evening. Other Advance: A Week to Move Forward events include the Ignite Des Moines Remix luncheon, Your Baby’s Ugly aesthetic critique night, Rewrite copywriting workshop, Freelancer Friday, Expert Mode, and Market Day.
Did someone say Karaoke? HELL YES. Wednesday, July 22nd the Whuffaoke crew are helping us celebrate our one year anniversary in style!
“Shortly after the successful release of Tara’s book The Whuffie Factor, Tara desperately wanted a way to have the time and space to write her next book and continue to travel around. Taking a look at her current situation, she knew that, in order to do that, she would need to quit her job and move back to Canada (where she is a citizen). She picked Montreal, because it’s awesome and beautiful and incredibly affordable to be a writer in. Within minutes, it dawned on her that this was the PERFECT opportunity to pursue her dream of karaoke-ing across America. Why just move when you can move AND bring karaoke happiness in the process?” – via the Whuffaoke site
More information and the full schedule for Advance Week can be found the cultivate:dsm site.
Last week we held Hack Night for the first time. A dozen passion-filled folks showed up. Projects were pushed forward, pizza and a few cold brews were consumed, and everyone said “DO IT AGAIN.” So we are. The 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month will now officially be HACK NIGHTS! If you don’t know what Hack Night is….read on.
Do you have a side project (or three) that you have been neglecting? Do you desire an open environment to exchange ideas, concepts and demos? Want to garner input and feedback on your TOP SECRET project? If so, Hack Night is for you!
Hack Night is an open invitation for everyone to come and work on their projects at Impromptu Studio. It doesn’t matter if you are working on a php backend for a website, a digital art piece, or knitting your Grandma a sweater. Come out and interact with others and see what everyone is up to!
Hack Night starts around 6pm on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month. Hack Night goes until all the creative juices have been exhausted. Snacks are welcome. If a few people chip-in, pizza may get ordered. Of course, caffeine will be consumed in large quantities. We hope to see you at the next Hack Night!
On Thursday May 28, 2009 from 7:00pm – 9:00pm Dan Welk from Click! Photography will be guiding participants through digital photography so participants can start taking spectacular pictures.
The workshop will be split into two parts: The first hour will focus on general photography principles and how they apply to “point and click” digital cameras. The second hour will focus on more advanced techniques and how to harness the power of DSLR cameras.
Sign up on Upcoming to reserve your spot today! Oh, and bring your digital camera along to the workshop!
Art and business combine in coworking art galleryDes Moines, Iowa - Impromptu Studio, a membership-based coworking community in downtown Des Moines, will house a salon-style art gallery featuring work from members of Market Street Media Foundry beginning in June.
MSMF member Cat Rocketship – recently named Best Artist in Cityview’s Best of Des Moines reader survey – will be curating the exhibits. Work will be updated every other month and feature an assortment of pieces from MSMF members.
“We’re really excited to be able to share this space with our friends at Market Street,” said Daniel Shipton, founder of Impromptu Studio. “Their business and our business are different sides of the same coin. I hope that the entreprenuers and professionals working at Impromptu find inspiration for their projects in this gallery.”
Market Street Media Foundry (MSMF) is a collaborative art and media studio located in Des Moines’ downtown Market District just south of Court Avenue on East 4th. Members of MSMF include photographers, painters, textile artists, video editors and other creative entreprenuers.
Scott Kubie, co-owner of MSMF, said that he is excited to offer this benefit to their members. “Unless you want to rent your own space or deal with the same stale crowds, there aren’t a lot of options to get your work on display in Des Moines. Impromptu attracts a uniquely connected crowd and wil be a great outlet for our artists.”
The MSMF gallery at Impromptu will only occupy a portion of their available wall space, leaving the coworking space free to host larger exhibitions for individual artists.
Artists interested in participating in MSMF are encouraged to visit http://www.marketstreetmediafoundry.com or contact Kubie at scott@therevuecreative.com.
Visitors are always welcome at Impromptu Studio and coworking plans start at $25 a month. Impromptu is located at 300 Southwest 5th Street.
Websites: Market Street Media Foundry – http://www.marketstreetmediafoundry.com
Impromptu Studio – http://www.impromptustudio.com
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