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Sweet marketing music

Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?

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by Beth Ewen
February 2007

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Management

Art-Tech’s owners find new business in unexpected places

They’re making molds for concrete retaining walls these days, complete with artistic detailing, in the shop at Art-Tech Productions in Minneapolis.

The molds share space with other projects: trade show backdrops for Manhattan Toy Co., sets for Lorie Line’s shows.

Co-owners Carey and Marge Thornton say that’s how their production business goes: They can’t plan their future.

“As much as we try to pursue some sort of genre of work, the work is very organic,” says Carey Thornton, senior designer and owner. “We go where the work is.”

He and Marge met at the Children’s Theater in Minneapolis years ago — he made sets and she made costumes. Their company is 12 years old. Carey describes it like this: “We’re a theatrically based scene shop that does commercial, retail and themed environments.”

They’ve become comfortable with the fluid nature of their business, even though they know it goes against what people preach in business school.

“Our type of business is not very exact,” Carey says. “If you’re making the giant spider, there’s no book that tells you how long that’s going to take.”

Adds Marge: “What you can’t imagine, that’s what we’re selling you.”

Marge says she’s most pleased with a growing niche in educational creations, “This is so thrilling because I’m passionate about education.” They build the scenery for model cities all over the country, often operated by Junior Achievement or similar groups. There’s one in Maple Grove. “Kids come in and learn about running a business, running a city.”

Marge says they’ve tried to set more ambitious growth goals in the past but have fallen short. They now have identified a revenue “threshold” that’s right for their company: $1.2 million.

Carey sums up their philosophy: “We don’t want to do things that somebody else can do.”

Carey and Marge Thornton, Art-Tech Productions: 612.379.4840; fab@art-tech.net; www.art-tech.net