Every studio has a story, and Andy Berg likes to tell about the space he built with old shipping containers. In the recent strong wind and rain, Berg is looking for a new story.
With his wife Sarah’s first follow-up, Berg watched piles of colorful containers in a 12-acre facility north of downtown Minneapolis and moved from a huge steel Walk down the corridor to find his next building project.
Berg said: “It’s a bit like buying a used car.” “I can deal with bumps and rust. The biggest challenge is mold.”
Berg is still very strange in this regard. But since quitting his civil engineering job in October to found Latitude Studios, he is convinced that there is a market that turns large and relatively cheap freight containers into backyard studios, lakeside gathering places, and anything else that customers can dream of.
Berg said: “It’s like putting a bunch of Lego bricks in front of someone.” “Everyone has a different idea of ​​what they are going to create.”
The service life of each container is 10 to 15 years, which is unique. Some people will only cross the ocean once. Others may carry 48,000 pounds of cargo and stack them on giant ships for 20 to 25 trips.
Their journeys are sometimes recorded between various ports and between various railway stations. Before Berg and his circular saw gave new life to the retired box, it was the ins and outs of the story.
After turning his backyard camping trailer into a remote office during the coronavirus pandemic last year, Berg started his business idea last summer. Sarah was also an early special education teacher, and he also figured out how to work at home while dealing with 8 and 10 year olds at home.
Berg said: “In the morning, I can open the doors and windows, and it feels like being outside.” “This experience is so different from fighting for space and quietness in the house.”
The more he worked on the backyard trailer and added air conditioning and other amenities, the more Berg felt he had a good business idea.
He said: “The pandemic will change the status quo in many ways.” “Even if people return to work, a certain percentage of people will continue to work remotely. They need a home office.”
In just a few months, Berg set his career as a civil engineer at 15 years. But soon, his vision collided with the reality of the startup founder.
Berg took his business plan to at least six banks, and soon learned that without customers, no profit records, or stable income, he would have no money.
Berg said: “It’s like trying to persuade someone to rent you an apartment when you don’t have a job.” “There have been a lot of rejections.”
Berg sold a side-by-side ATV and his 24-foot-long “Dream Boat”, and then bought a kayak. Bergs refinanced their home and prepared to invest in savings and retirement accounts.
Berg began to provide potential landlords with four months’ rent, which at least caught their attention. The day after he left the company to work, he finally rented a warehouse lease in Ham Lake.
Things quickly developed from there. He said that his 15-year career as a civil engineer and land project manager at Kimley-Horn and Associates has made him well prepared for cooperation with clients, contractors, schedules and budgets.
He hired Textile Creative Studios, a marketing company with branches in Minneapolis, St. Cloud and Dallas, to come up with the company’s logo, branding and marketing strategy.
Talented interior designer Sarah Berg entered social media to document the construction process and tagged her husband with Instagram’s @container_cutter hashtag.
The couple wrote a blog post on the Latitude Studios website and posted time-lapse photos of the backyard office, which are perfect for home design enthusiasts.
Berg hired local craftsmen to assist in the design and construction. After trial and error, Berg discovered that these ideas were communicated with HCM architects in real time.
He said: “The most difficult thing in using shipping containers is to deal with corrugated steel. Nothing is flat.” “We need doors and windows built for coding and water tightness.”
He spent $1,000 to buy a tool to bend metal to create flashes. He also borrowed from the bank to purchase a remote-controlled “shed ule” worth $40,000, which will put the studio in a small space.
Latitude Studios is just getting started, but those who have put forward many ideas have raised questions: the collaborative workspace in Michigan cannot meet the demand; the retailer who sells goods only in Minnesota; the owner of a coffee shop in Iowa, he thinks Use a full-size container to roast coffee beans on one side and drive by on the other; a Vrbo owner in Phoenix is ​​interested in a studio with a poolside oasis with storage.
The office in the backyard is equipped with heating and air conditioning, bamboo flooring and lap boards, plus the delivery cost is between 20,000 to 30,000 US dollars, and the high-end model includes a roof deck.
The price of a simple screened porch is between US$6,000 and US$8,000, while the price of a fence in the backyard is between US$12,000 and US$15,000.
The island-themed model Berg built by the couple in the warehouse is called TikiTainer. It is a deceptive version with a live-edge walnut tabletop, a refrigerator, and a remote-controlled LED lighting and sound system. It is priced at $12,000.
Latitude tried to source from local and sustainable sources, from Siwek Lumber in northeast Minneapolis and Coremark Metals in downtown. Gunner Insulation, Berg’s neighbor next door to the Ham Lake warehouse, is responsible for spraying foam.
Jeff McClure, an old friend who married Sarah Berg’s cousin, said that he hopes to buy multiple studios at Utepils Brewing next year to make beer stalls and double-decker gathering places. He is Utepils Brewing. The sales director is also one of the four bosses.
He said: “About the beauty of Sarah and Andy working together-she is super creative and thinks outside the box.” “She will force him to do things he might not do, but consumers will Q. They both challenge each other as business owners.”
Latitude Studios will need to find its way in markets full of niche markets, which sell products locally, locally and even on Amazon.com. Modern prefabricated sheds have existed for many years and can be customized for sheds, sports caves, yoga studios and children’s gathering places.
Blackbox Container Studios in Minneapolis has been manufacturing custom shipping containers in the Midwest for the past five years for building houses, professional shops for disc golf, gymnasiums, music studios, cabins and home offices . Founder Shane Schaaf said that the arrival of competitors has increased market credibility.
Schaff wrote in an email: “The market for sustainable living and modern design, coupled with the tiny house movement and the need for attached residences, opens the door to solution-based construction methods.”
Schaff said that shipping containers “have an environmentally friendly but cutting-edge advantage over standard construction technology.”
However, working with them is not easy, and big ideas do not always work. Licensing and feasibility can be a challenge.
In 2014, a developer came up with an idea to build a three-story office building with 60 40-foot containers. It attracted media attention, but to no avail.
Berg started to make small, cutting the 8-foot by 20-foot container in half. He found them at TKI Intermodal, a third-generation family business in northeastern Minneapolis.
A container for one-way travel from China is considered “new,” and an 8-foot by 20-foot box can be sold for US$3,700. Middle-grade students may spend US$2,700. A larger 40-foot container with unusual features, such as a front rather than a side door, may cost around $7,300.
TKI sales manager Darin Sogge mainly deals with large shipping companies, but farmers, construction companies, paintball operators, and builders such as Bergs are regular customers.
With the blessing of his wife, Berg chose a green container and painted the name of the Korean transportation company Heung-A in white on the side. The metal plate on the door shows that it was built in Seoul in January 2006.
Within a few hours, the container was loaded onto a flatbed truck bound for the warehouse, where Berg would proceed with infrastructure and detailed work, such as using Japanese burning methods to burn cedar or pine wood to preserve the wood. And leave dark stains.
As the model is ready to be displayed and sold, Berg is ready to push Latitude Studios to the next stage, with an advertising budget of $20,000. If necessary, he is prepared to pay a fine to dip into his retirement savings.
He said: “I will turn 40 this summer.” “So, the mid-life crisis, the pandemic-it just makes you want to enjoy things and continue to take risks. All these factors tell me it’s time.”
Jackie Crosby is a general expatriate business reporter who also writes articles on workplace issues and aging. She is also responsible for healthcare, city government and sports.