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!
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!
Nathan T. Wright, Andy Brudtkuhl, James Eliason, Karri Wells, Rich Drake, Andrew Roger and Hillary Brown will be presenting at Impromptu Studio for What I Learned at South by Southwest 2009. For those who were not able to attend SXSW you will get to hear about everything they learned.
Like most of our great events, there will be a keg of beer from Olde Main and snacks on hand donated by Technology Association of Iowa.
RSVP today, tickets are limited.
Doug Mitchell, of CreateWow Media and a member here at Impromptu Studio is hosting a private tax day launch party for their new website operationredstate.com. If you are interested for more information about the event check it out here.
Operation Red State is a membership based website that offers technology and new media training. Operation Red State was conceived by Doug Mitchell after noting a distinct gap of effective technology use between the parties in the last election.
Impromptu Studio will serve as their home for training, creating video, audio tutorials, and political tech boot camps that will be held this summer.
Mike Wagner of The White Rabbit Group and Mike Ferrari of SmartyPig were our speakers for the final installment of the WhatNow? lunch and learn series. And they certainly did a fantastic job of wrapping things up for us. Mike Ferrari reminded us “you’ll be surprised what you can do yourself” and Mike Wagner emphasized that “Advertising is the price you pay for being UN-remarkable”. Ferrari told us about how he sets aside a few hours everyday to monitor SmartyPig’s online presence. He told us a story about how a small “snafu” early on made him wonder if it was all over before it started but by handling the mess and responding to EVERYONE in a matter of days (from a Friday to a Monday which is unheard of for “banker hours”) they wiped the egg from their face and emerged a more credible and trusted company. Wagner spoke heavily on the relationship with clients affecting a companies marketing strategy and how it fails when the client is no longer in love with their customers.
We want to extend a big Thank You to Nathan Wright of Lava Row and Andy Brudtkuhl of 48Web for planning speakers and hosting the WhatNow? A six part entrepreneur survival guide. We may provide the space to do great things but our wonderful community of businesses and friends make these great things happen.
View of Downtown from Impromptu Studio
Impromptu Studio is asking those out there that support us and our mission to come out be a part of our Town Hall style meeting and discussion Wednesday, March 25th at 7pm. Initially we are organizing a community driven marketing committee headed up by Holly Eggleston and Andy Drish that will need volunteers to help with their goals and ideas. A main component of this will be a membership drive. We will also be announcing our next big event and giving you a sneak peek of Impromptu Studio 2.0.
If you are interested in volunteering to help Impromptu Studio continue on its mission then please come out Wednesday March 25th at 7pm to our space and see if there’s anything that you can help us with.
Update:
Agenda and additional details have been posted.
Des Moines Web Geeks Hack Day
DSM Web Geeks has re-convened after the Holidays and is bringing “Hack Day” to Impromptu Studio. Hack Day will be held Saturday March 28th starting at nine o’clock. Two topics will be voted on and chosen for the development of “solutions” for the day. One will be Wordpress and the other Drupal. Teams will form to tackle the tasks and at the end of the day everyone will get back together and show off what they’ve accomplished.
If you’ve never been to a DSM Web Geeks meeting you should definitely stop by and check them out. Their next meeting is April 6th at 7pm and Josh More will be speaking.
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!
