Many of us have hears about all the negative things that go in inside and around self storage; not so much out of personal experience, but more because of the way they are portrayed in movies and television shows. However, little most people know the inspiration and encouragement that the self storage industry can provide.
When you are an artist, it can be very difficult to find a place to work on developing your craft. Getting the opportunity to display your craft can be even more difficult. In many ways, the self storage industry has helped people do just that.
One of the hardest things about being an up and coming artist can be feeling that you are doing something that people appreciate. Storage Post Self Storage in Yonkers, New York is doing something about that.
They have agreed to sponsor the Duricimo Latin Awards on September 16 at the Ukranian Ballroom. The awards are being given to local area youth that dreams and aspirations of becoming an artist or performer.
"As part of the community, Storage Post's values encourage all locations to participate in local events. When we heard about the Duricimo Latin Awards, we were happy to sponsor and support the vitality and talent in Latin-American artistic youth," said Ken McGuire, Storage Post's store manager at Yonkers.
Often times the encouragement and inspiration is a lot more literal and not so much metaphorical. Stories and events that have occurred in and around self storage facilities have led to the creation of plays, television shows, web series, and more.
CV Productions is taking a pretty straight forward route with the creation of “Stuff the Show.” What they are trying to do is create a show that bring s aspects of “The Office” to the camaraderie of “Cheers” with their show about a family run self storage facility in Torrington, CT.
Their interpretation is pretty true to life. The majority of self storage facilities in the United States are owned by owners with just one facility. To add to the authenticity of the show they take inspiration from stories people have sent them or that they heard at a convention.
A pair of writers received their inspiration via the self storage industry in another way. After buying a storage unit’s contents through an auction, they came up with the idea for a play called “Locker 4173b.”
Anyone who has watched “Storage Wars” knows that people essentially buy the contents of storage units at auction without really having any idea what is inside them. Sometimes they find incredible treasures worth much more than they paid. At other times it ends up being nothing but junk that meant something to the old owners, but is essentially worthless to the new owners.
Either way, the process of buying a unit and discovering what lies inside can be a bit of an adventure which is what the play is about.
Whether it is for future artists or the direct inspiration for the next great play or television show, the self storage industry can be the source of inspiration for many different things.
Sources Used:
“Storage Post pledges a silver sponsorship to the Duricimo Latin Awards in Yonkers, New York.” PR Newswire; 12 September 2011.
"Finding the Drama in What Life Has Left Behind." The New York TImes; 01 May 2011.
About the Show; Stuff the Show.