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ARA event-rental member shelters the stars -
Miller’s time at the MTV Music Awards
Kim Phelan
Contributing Editor
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| It wouldn’t be surprising if Stuart and Steve Kohn, their staff of designers and installers, were seeing visions of little silver moon men after the MTV Music Awards last August 28.
But the two brothers, co-owners of Miller’s Rentals in Edison, N. J., and their faithful sidekicks weren’t overtired, overstressed or over the cuckoo’s nest, though you couldn’t blame them if they were a little worn out.
Far from hallucinations, those little moon men were the coveted award statues presented at the MTV Music Video Awards held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Miller’s was one of several rental companies behind the scenes, seamlessly serving the glittery gala event with a few of their fancy premier products.
Succumbing only now and then to the temptation to gawk at passing stars, onsite coordinator Aaron Boyum and event coordinator Karen Rosenthal, along with their crews, zipped in and out efficiently, with tediously earned NYC permits in hand. They installed elegant tents and plush carpeting, as well as 6,200 square feet of red carpet, all before the rains fell on the main Red Carpet awards event. Miller’s also provided a week’s worth of color- and pattern-coordinated dishes and table linens fit for the gods and goddesses of pop music.
Thousands of adoring fans dotted 6th Ave. to watch and cheer idols, from Michael Jackson to Britney Spears, James Brown to Eminem, Christina Aguilera to Pink, and a wide cast of other music icons, many of whose names resemble cartoon characters and whose outfits were cut from approximately six inches of glitter-studded Saran Wrap. Such were the dizzying distractions Miller’s worker bees were up against.
A Moby concert on Pier 54 in Manhattan was MTV’s big kickoff, and Miller’s was a key player, erecting 18 tents of varying dimensions, all lit for evening and dressed to the nines. And all up to regulation snuff, as well, including 50-mph wind resistance and rigorous engineering specs. One tent had to be artfully, not to mention securely, installed on a stage, but that was just the beginning of Miller’s creative conjuring show.
Pier tent installation also presented its own set of anchoring problems – the solution, quite naturally, became 375-gallon fish troughs filled with more than 3,000 pounds of East River water, all of which had to be returned, thank-you-very-much, into the East River with rented sump-pumps Miller’s obtained for the occasion. About 3,500 pounds of heavyweight tubs in the corner of each tent were nicely veiled by sidewalls.
An anticipated crowd of 5,000 weighed in closer to 10,000 that night, which checked off as a huge success for MTV and Miller’s alike.
“These are some of the reasons we’re in the loop,” says Stu Kohn. “We’re willing to do these kinds of things. The key to success in this business is being ready to say ‘yes’ when everybody else says ‘no.’ People don’t want to hear ‘no.’ When they want something, get it for them. Fortunately we have people who work for us who find a way. That includes our own ‘McGuyver,’ Damon Ferber who runs the warehouse like magic.”
The third generation family-owned business does manage to stay very much in the high profile loop with a do-the-limbo customer service approach that willingly accommodates eleventh-hour changes, Kohn says. But there’s more to it than that.
“Friends will say to me, ‘How did you get that job? How did little Miller’s pull that off?’ It all comes from doing that first job way back when – you meet people. You network with people you’ve worked with on other jobs, and a lot of freelance events. People who get big jobs deal with people in their ‘stables,’ whether it’s security people, event planners, or video people. In this case, we become their rental go-to guy. I’d say 50 percent of it is networking, 30-40 percent is reputation, and then there’s a lot of luck to fill in the gaps.”
Former contacts were the vital links to Miller’s catching a few pieces of MTV’s piñata of jobs. Called in by the program’s primary designer David Morong from California and Moby concert planner Seth Bellaff of New York, Miller’s was a familiar face and a reliable resource that had performed exquisitely for two previous MTV events – the MTV Awards last September at the Lincoln Center and MTV’s 2002 summer concert series in Battery Park.
Of course, as Kohn is quick to point out, a savvy rental company doesn’t rest on its laurels or its connections in an industry where event professionals move around the board like chess pieces – and when your guy’s out of the picture, you may well be out, too. When that very thing occurred during the scant four weeks of planning for the Music Video Awards soiree, Miller’s luckily stayed in the game.
Added to top service and good contacts, delivering the goods is Kohn’s third rule for keeping his company’s hand in the big-job loop. For Miller’s, specializing in the niche market of posh premiers and similar swanky affairs is a natural, and it’s a carefully carved art that brothers Stu and Steve have developed since assuming leadership for the company in the early ’80s.
“Our stepfather had a saying that went, ‘You gotta be firstest with the mostest,’ ” Stuart recalls. “The industry is constantly changing and you have to be up on the new products. When the new ones come out, develop them first.”
And when you don’t have the products the client wants, know where to get them, he advises. Miller’s Rentals practices a love-thy-enemy mentality toward its competitors, who are actually far from enemies. Renting competitor products for their own high-demand projects, or referring customers to competitors of good repute, is not uncommon for Miller’s. And cultivating friendships among neighboring competitors has proven to be a great bun-saver, vernacularly speaking. Case in point, says Kohn, his competitor’s truck pulled into the entryway of the MTV setup area bearing a load partially composed of Miller’s products, followed immediately by the arrival of a Miller’s truck likewise containing products rented by necessity from that same competitor.
Masters of minutia and exacting detail, Miller’s demonstrated its ability to micro-manage at the event, particularly when it came to rolling out the red carpet for precious star and starlet feet to tread upon. Measuring and re-measuring, creating templates and following schematics, overseeing custom cutting and binding, and labeling the pieces were all carefully executed by Stu Kohn and his staff.
“It was like making a jigsaw puzzle for someone to put back together,” he recalls. “And when they put it together, it has to be perfect. Of course there are little tricks of the trade, like seaming machines, and when all else fails, there’s always duct tape! Thank God for duct tape! You’d be amazed how many different kinds and colors of tape there are.”
Miller’s is well accustomed to doing its share of high-profile events, such as Liza Minnelli’s wedding in March, replete with sophisticated tents outside the Marble Collegiate Church on 5th Ave. – and, of course, all street-closure paperwork dutifully submitted and permits obtained with Miller’s usual finesse.
The company’s corporate-client list offers plenty of name recognition, too. Miller’s provided its skytracker lights floating atop barges for Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks display, which is captured on video for all to see at www.skytracking.com. Other clients include AT&T, ESPN, Sony Theatres, Ford, Chrysler, Rutgers University, St. Vincent’s Medical Center and the Regent Hotel, just to name a few. Political event planners, including those from the New Jersey governor’s office, don’t hesitate to call on Miller’s either.
Stu Kohn’s advice for this kind of premium success?
“Surround yourself with good people. Employees are key to your success,” he says. “You’re nothing without your installers, your clerks, your showroom and office personnel, your decorators. They represent you and you’re nothing without them.”
He adds that use of technology is important as well. Digital cameras enable Miller’s to provide clients with on-location photos to which they can add renderings to give a clear, virtual picture of how the environment will look in reality. Cell phones for all key people and updated software are ingredients, too.
And finally, Kohn warns against biting off more than a rental company can properly chew. Accepting too many projects hampers one’s ability to correctly handle those already on the plate. Kohn prefers to decline jobs rather than overbooking, but tact and helpfulness to clients is still his approach. He helps refer and guide prospective customers he can’t serve to respected competitors, rather than leaving them stranded. |
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