Local businesses lend students a hand with projects

By Perrin Smith

You’ve just been assigned a project for class. The deadline is coming up fast and your head is spinning. You need props – no, you need an outfit – or maybe both. More often than not class projects are assigned and due quicker than you like, sneaking up before you’re ready for them. 

Whether it’s finding objects for a still life project or sourcing outfits and locations for a fashion shoot or short film, there are stores and businesses all over downtown Savannah that have just about whatever you need for any project you’re undertaking. With so many options, what stores do you trust? Who has your back? Here are three affordable, practical and helpful options.

Wright Square Vintage & Retro Mall

Nestled beside Wright Square at 14 W State St, Wright Square Vintage has been servicing the Savannah area for the past three years with their brand and variety of antique items. 

Magazines, smoking pipes, glass eyes and Kodachrome slides, there’s just about everything you could ever want for a still life or a photo shoot. Items are affordable if you’re looking to buy, but Wright Square Vintage understands the budget most SCAD students are under. So don’t worry, they also have a rental policy on every item in the store. 

Renting is easy and painless. All you need to do is pay for 30% of the item’s cost. After that, the item is yours for a week. You’ll only ever need to pay more for an item if it’s damaged or not returned. 

 “SCAD is good to us, so why not reciprocate that,” said Andy Sher, the self-titled man in charge. Sher has been leading the charge for making item rentals affordable. With 34 unique vendors supplying the store, every one of them adding to a collection of items curated for students. “They cater to SCAD student’s needs,” Sher said. “They really know what you’ll want.”

Some of their top-selling items include vinyl records, film slides and even jewelry. To top everything off, they even boast the largest selection of film cameras in Savannah. Everywhere you look there’s something unique and perfect for a project. 

Film Biz Recycling

Settled less than a mile from the Hive and Turner House, Film Biz Recycling is Savannah’s one and only prop house. This is definitely a place that’s meant more for furnishing a film set or a theatre production, but the sheer number of props around make it perfect for any set project. 

Film Biz Recycling has the most diverse stock of props than any other business on the list. There’s vintage TVs, furniture and even office paperwork and medical equipment. The idea is to have just about anything you could ever need for any project. 

To add more credibility to Film Biz Recycling, they are also frequently involved with major productions around Savannah. “We definitely rented some of our items to ‘Lady and the Tramp,’ as well as ‘Council of Dads’ that’s here right now,” said Samita Wolfe, president of Film Biz Recycling. 

For students, the process of renting is by appointment only. In order to see what they have on offer, all you have to do is visit their website, select make an appointment and then choose a time. Then, all you have to do is show up. Once you’re there, you can photograph the items you might want to rent and then later send photos of what you’ll need to Wolfe. From there, a rental cost will be tallied based on the items. But again, don’t worry, SCAD students take a 10% discount on all rentals. 

House of Strut

Last but not least on the list is House of Strut. Arguably the most well-known on the list, House of Strut offers unique outfits and vintage styles at affordable costs. Specializing in clothing, they are a perfect resource for a fashion shoot or even costume sourcing for a production. 

House of Strut is exceedingly notable because of the variety of outfits they have on the racks. “We have stuff from the 80s, even Y2K and the groovy 70s,” said Addie Jo Bannerman, manager of House of Strut. 

House of Strut, like the other businesses on this list, also offer a rental policy for SCAD students. For students, all you pay is 30% of the garments listed price, and from there, the garment is yours for up to three days. 

In addition, House of Strut makes sure that all of their clothing is perfect for experimentation. “It’s all gender-neutral or cross gender. We encourage you to use whatever you want,” Bannerman said. “Get creative with it.”