Impromptu Studio has had tremendous luck when it comes to attracting sponsors for events.  The newest sponsor to step forward to connect with our community is The Technology Assocation of Iowa.

The Technology Association of Iowa bills themselves as the voice of Iowa’s high tech industry:

The Technology Association of Iowa (TAI) is a member-based, not-for-profit organization accelerating the success of Iowa’s technology industry.  TAI works to create and sustain a positive environment for technology-based economic growth and job creation through innovation, advocacy and leadership.  Visit their website at www.technologyiowa.org.

The Technology Association of Iowa also runs the “academy awards” of Iowa’s technology industry, the Prometheus Awards:

Iowa’s largest and most prestigious awards devoted to promoting and celebrating the innovation and high-tech excellence in Iowa. This showcase honors companies and individuals who represent the best and brightest in technology and business and have demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovation. For more information on the 2009 Prometheus Awards and to see the criteria for the 17 award categories, visit www.technologyiowa.org/awards/2009/.  The nomination period ends December 22, 2008.

So, please visit their website to submit your nomination for the 2009 Prometheus Awards. You can also check out @TechnologyIowa on Twitter.

We also want to acknowledge one of our guests favorite sponsors, which is Olde Main Brewery. We reached out to Olde Main through their @OldeMain Twitter account which is ran by Jill Haverkamp.  Jill and the folks at Olde Main have been great to work with and we are glad to work with them again for the Ugly Sweater Party! They will be supplying two kinds of their tasty beer that are brewed locally in Ames, Iowa.  Everyone should stop in at Olde Main when they are in Ames for good eats and great beer.

All of the event info: The Epic Ugly Sweater Party

Click! Photography is holding their first ever Quick Clicks! Holiday portrait special!  Click! is offering $10 sessions in a studio setting with holiday decor and the fun and relaxed atmosphere of a Click! photo experience which is happening here at Impromptu Studio. Click! held their first set of sessions last weekend and it was a great time. Big lovable dogs, nice people, and holiday cheer.

Grab your family and pets this weekend and head over for a great way to jump-start the holiday season! You can choose from three different unique Click! designed 5×7″ photo cards and take advantage of specials on print prices too! Session bookings can be made for Saturday December 6 from 10am - 4pm. You can call Click! Photography at  (515) 229-2825 to get your session booked.

Dan Welk from Click! has graciously offered to waive the $10 session fee if you are participating in ActionCamp (which is also taking place this weekend at Impromptu Studio). So grab your spouse or significant other, give back to the community, and cross Holiday pictures off your todo list this weekend!

In case you’ve missed any of our recent press coverage we’ve been in print and web:

The Business Record

Living Downtown Des Moines

Star 102.5 Blog

We’ve been on the news:

KCCI

KDSM

And on the radio:

IPR

During Ignite Des Moines, Claire Celsi talked about the growing homeless population in Des Moines.  To that end we are organizing a #dmtweetup that will band tweeps together to feed the homeless at a local shelter.  This is a great idea and we thank Claire for bringing it to our attention.

Feeding off Claire’s energy and passion, we wanted to find other ways to take the scale of Ignite Des Moines and use it to harness the power of our community for good deeds.  Our founder, Daniel Shipton, had an idea come to mind that could help out ALL charities and causes: ActionCamp.

ActionCamp is about gathering really smart people with diverse backgrounds that want to make a difference in their local communities.  We put these bright minds in the same room, provide information about the important local causes and charities, then let them brainstorm about how to make a difference.  What can the power of people accomplish in 30 hours? We will find out!

Mark your calendars! ActionCamp Des Moines will take place on December 6th & 7th here at Impromptu Studio.

Visit the ActionCamp Des Moines website to find out more details!

Sign up for ActionCamp Des Moines on Upcoming.

Impromptu Studio Action Camp Press Release

WOW! That is all we can say. It has been 4 days since Ignite Des Moines and we still can’t believe how great it went. The next day we figured it up and there were 80 people at Impromptu Studio that night. We had six entries to the egg catapult contest including a creative approach involving a contestant attempting to catch his egg before it splat against the wall.

Thank you to everyone who presented that night! All of the presentations are were inspiring, and everyone did a fantastic job with the 5 minutes time limit. The improv power points were extremely funny and sufficiently embarrassed our own Abbie Shipton.

All in all we had a wonderful time at the event and feel so blessed to have the support of our friends and the community. Thank you all for supporting us, we hope you had as much fun as we did.

Check out some of our photos.

Video recap by CreateWowMedia:

Ignite Des Moines was a huge success and had an amazing turnout.  Filling Impromptu Studio  with talented energetic people is what we have always aimed for. We would like nothing more than to have you all there working with us everyday and seeing you all there gave us a great idea.  We would like to extend an offer to Des Moines: come and cowork with us for the month of November for FREE.

Those who come and cowork will be taking advantage of our Lite Membership.  If you sign up for a Full Membership during November you will get the first month at the Lite Membership ($175) price. Take a look at the plans for more details.

We are so excited to be welcoming the Big Dream Gathering to Impromptu Studio. The Big Dream Gathering is put on by Mitch Matthews and his wife Melissa and their team. They know how hard it is to make your dream come true when know one believes in you. That’s why they started the Big Dream Gathering in order to provide a safe and fun atmosphere for people to share their dreams and take that first step toward making them a reality. Here at Impromptu Studio we are providing that same type of atmosphere and community for these dreamers and entrepreneurs to continue to realize their dreams. We couldn’t imagine a better match and we want to thank one of our coworkers Chris Punke for introducing us.

The Big Dream Gathering will be at Impromptu Studio on November 5th and 12th from 6-8 pm both nights.

Last Friday Oct. 24th  Abbie Shipton hosted a fun pumpkin carving party at Impromptu Studio. Everyone brought their own own pumpkin and carving utensil of choice.

Susanne (@garlicgirl) brought some fantastic halloween table cloths and napkins, and several people brought snacks to share. It was messy and stinky… someone inadvertantly had selected a rotten pumpkin but all in all a great time. Abbie Shipton put her carving skills to good use and carved the Impromptu logo into her pumpkin.

Check out the photos over at Flickr.

Impromptu Studio’s Founder, Daniel Shipton, is organizing Ignite Des Moines. Ignite Des Moines is built off a very simple premise: If you had five minutes to talk to the people of Des Moines what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds?

Ignite Des Moines will be a chance for its finest to gather, network, and IGNITE! Participants should be ready to learn and laugh, be inspired and entertained. The event will showcase the creative class of Des Moines by listening to the Ignite Talks, participating in short impromptu presentations, and entering into the Egg Catapult Contest. Additionally, the Iowa Web Awards will be announcing its winners throughout the night. Mark your calendars and RSVP now because is an event you won’t want to miss.

We are hoping to fill Impromptu to the gills with local entrepreneurs, innovators, and up and comers. We are looking for sponsors to help us make this event great. So whether you just want to participate or would like to be a sponsor, check out www.ignitedesmoines.com.

Our own Daniel Shipton was invited to discuss his take on coworking at the upcoming Highlight Midwest Conference in Kansas City on Oct 29th. Highlight Midwest focuses on local entrepreneurs specifically those using cutting edge technology to grow and advance not only their businesses but the surrounding community.

Daniel’s presentation is entitled “Intrinsic Intangibles of Coworking and Open Source”. He will be discussing how his background in open source code developement has provided a foundation for the philosophies that  Impromptu Studio is based in.  He will highlight a few of the intangible benefits that go along with creating a coworking community and working on Open Source projects.

Daniel is honored to be presenting alongside some of his local cohorts: Patent Attorney and Blogger Brett Trout, Mike Templeton of Microblink, and Andy Brudtkuhl of 48Web. We are also looking forward to hearing Dusty Davidson of Brightmix present, and hopefully chat with Jeff Slobotski of Silicon Prairie News again.