Briefing.A FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT OF RUNNING A SMALL BUSINESS WHAT looks like a rock or a pillar pillar, freestanding columnar supporting member. It is a general term, little used as an exact architectural definition except as applied to an upright support in the medieval styles, consisting of an assemblage of juxtaposed shafts and moldings; unlike the column, on the silver screen is probably just a piece of painted foam. Just ask Jim Kelley Jim Kelley is a professional sports news columnist whose 30-year career has focused primarily on the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League, and the greater Buffalo area. , founder of Studio Foam Shop, a company that supplies foam and other materials for sets and props prop 1 n. 1. An object placed beneath or against a structure to keep it from falling or shaking; a support. 2. One that serves as a means of support or assistance. tr.v. . Started in 1998, Studio Foam has provided more than 20 types of foam and other materials for videos, stage plays and films, including "Jurassic Park 3" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Kelley runs his business while maintaining a fill-time job at a foam-manufacturing company in the area. Staff writer Claudia Peschiutta talked with Kelley about his business and the fundamentals of foam. "I was working for one (foam) manufacturer, and I had only one product to sell at that time. That's when I got pulled aside by two of the most notable construction coordinators in the (entertainment) industry who said, 'Start up your own business and supply all the materials that we need and we'll give you our business.' "That's when I went out and solicited seven or eight manufacturers of different products and Studio Foam Shop was born. That was three years ago. "I started it out of my house, and then, it just grew by word of mouth and by advertising in local trades and local trade shows. The company grew and, therefore, we set up an office in Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach, city (1990 pop. 32,063), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1912. It is a residential and beach community with an oil refinery and nearby factories that produce transportation and electrical equipment, computers, and pottery. . "The foam is used in lieu of Instead of; in place of; in substitution of. It does not mean in addition to. typical construction materials because it's lightweight, cost-effective, recyclable re·cy·cle tr.v. re·cy·cled, re·cy·cling, re·cy·cles 1. To put or pass through a cycle again, as for further treatment. 2. To start a different cycle in. 3. a. and (allows for) faster construction. "On the movie 'Time Machine,' they saved over $250,000 by using foam rather than regular construction methods and wood. "It's completely rewarding when you see all of your materials that you supplied in the movie in the form of a set or a prop. "Now, we're doing a lot of in-house fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. . We do columns, domes, spheres things like that. "Anything that can be drawn on a piece of paper can be programmed into a computer and cut (into foam) with hot wires. "We're bidding over in Japan (to make) three 75-foot-tall space shuttles The term Space Shuttles refers to partly or fully reusable launch vehicles for regularly placing payloads into low earth orbit. See:
"We've done over $1 million in sales our last three years in business. "It's a small business, and I want to keep it that way because I have another job, too. "My normal job is out in the real world, where I'm dealing with a whole variety of industries." |
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