Wellington gear storage

Wellington
#1

Hi all,

With the RGM coming up I just thought I’d raise something I’ve been thinking a bit about. Where we store the Wellington NZLARPs gear library.

At the moment, and historically, it has lived in a spare garage or space in a member’s house. This is good because it is free. It isn’t so good because the spaces may not really be set up for long term storage, especially of perishable items (cloth).

So what I’d be interested to know is, would people be interested in funding a more permanent space. Yes I am aware it is more expensive. But for some of us our NZLARPs dues are not a particularly high cost. I for one would be willing to contribute a bit more for a storage fund. Would other people?

I’m thinking a storage unit with all gear in proper boxes and and well labelled. The gear officer would still be the holder of the key, but by having storage kept separate from an individual’s home there is less chance of it getting in the way.

So yeah. Thoughts? Comments?

#2

Hey Sophie

It is something they are looking at for Auckland, for much the same reason. I have heard what the pricing is, I don’t want to go into it here since they are still in discussions and so on.

It was a significant cost though, and the problem in Wellington is that the only money that goes to NZLARPs currently is membership fees (which even if we used ALL of the Wellington fees just for this, wouldn’t cover the cost) and money from Hydra. No other games are currently NZLARPS projects or fun under that banner. We get NZLARPS discounts, which is great, but The World That Is, and 33AR are both private games. We get props and set dressing from Kapcon and in return they have access to the Gear Library for their larps.

That means we barely have money to replace and repair gear, let alone adding to the gear library. It was an issue that was already up for discussion in terms of cash flow.

I like the idea of Storage Unit, it gets rid of a number of other issues. But we are talking about a lot of money we just don’t have, and not just a one off cost, an annual fee we would need to find the money for every year. It’s not even like we could increase membership fees by $5 each as it wouldn’t cover it, and we can’t increase game fees by $5 as it’s only Hydra we can charge it for. I also have a concern if we put every game fee up too much we will lose people who find money tight as it is.

Being more positive, yes Sophie, I think it’s a great idea. But are there any grants we can apply for to pay for this. I believe this and a way to transport the gear that doesn’t rely on the generosity of Norman all the time would be fantastic additions to the community and certainly fall within what we could apply for with grants.

#3

I think people researching the cost up in Auckland a couple of years ago were coming up with numbers like a couple of grand a year. So yeah, a big increase in cost. Would options like applying for WCC funding or trying to partner up with a theatre group or scout group be an option?

#4

Ok so it sounds like there are two main issues here:

  1. What kind of cost are we talking.
  2. How do we cover that cost.

Once we know 1 then we can work out 2.

So once we have a gear officer I suppose that can happen.

#5

I reckon the ultimate goal of the big NZ larp centres (at this stage Auckland and Wellington) should be to have dedicated NZLARPS club houses. We could use them not just for storage but for workshops, meetings and games as well.

Club houses are something that may need council help. It may or not be achievable immediately, but it’s something we should have our eyes out for, because I think it’s where we want to eventually be. I believe it’s not as impossible as it sounds.

#6

Auckland was over $3000 for a space big enough to hold all the gear. I haven’t looked at Wellington, I suspect it will be less, but not sure how much. If the committee wants me too I am happy to take this task on. And then it can be the task of the next committee to decide on what to do.

#7

[quote=“Ryan Paddy”]I reckon the ultimate goal of the big NZ larp centres (at this stage Auckland and Wellington) should be to have dedicated NZLARPS club houses. We could use them not just for storage but for workshops, meetings and games as well.

Club houses are something that may need council help. It may or not be achievable immediately, but it’s something we should have our eyes out for, because I think it’s where we want to eventually be. I believe it’s not as impossible as it sounds.[/quote]

That would be pretty awesome. Community grants are out there if you know where to look and are willing to put the time into building business cases and filling in the forms. Pub Charity, Lions, Rotary all give money to small groups.

#8

I’d be happy to help you out with that Scott.

#9

I am deeply uncomfortable about taking pokie money.

#10

[quote=“sophmelc”][quote=“Ryan Paddy”]I reckon the ultimate goal of the big NZ larp centres (at this stage Auckland and Wellington) should be to have dedicated NZLARPS club houses. We could use them not just for storage but for workshops, meetings and games as well.

Club houses are something that may need council help. It may or not be achievable immediately, but it’s something we should have our eyes out for, because I think it’s where we want to eventually be. I believe it’s not as impossible as it sounds.[/quote]

That would be pretty awesome. Community grants are out there if you know where to look and are willing to put the time into building business cases and filling in the forms. Pub Charity, Lions, Rotary all give money to small groups.[/quote]

Like Scott said earlier, yes Auckland is facing the same issue, but on a bigger scale, since I am assuming we have more stuff.
Since a lot of these grants are from NZ wide bodies, is it worth considering if Auckland & Wellington should combine their applications and have something from a respectable organisation like NZLarps?

BTW I would say that this job/role of finding a new gear home should not necessarily fall to the lot of the gear officer on the committee. In my experience the gear officer has lots to do with maintaining the library, and co-ordinating with game organisers etc. Filling in application forms and researching available options are different skills sets. I am hoping we can find a dedicated gear shed relocation person in Auckland. (Needs a snappier title I think.)