Today we’d like to introduce you to David “big” Krause.
David “big”, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Born in Newport News Virginia into a shipbuilding family. Grew up in rural NC. Took full advantage of the NC school system at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, then NCSU, and then UNC School of the Arts. I started out planning to be an engineer, but fell in love with film so moved into that field. When I got to Chicago in 2001 I landed a job as Artistic Engineer at Redmoon Theater, where I learned spectacle from Frank Maugeri and Jim Lasko. After leaving Redmoon in 2005 I started my own company specializing in set/prop design and fabrication. I also started building a program at Columbia College Chicago in production design for film. My business has grown steadily since then and we do a lot of film/commercial/theatrical work as well as spectacle design and fabrication for events. The production design program at Columbia has grown quickly and our students are steadily taking over the local film industry as well as in LA. Teaching at Columbia also inspired me to go back to school in my 40s to pick up a management degree, which was a great experience.
All of that has opened up a lot of doors for us to do some amazing projects with people like Sandro Miller, (who brought us in to recreate scenes from David Lynch films for his stunning film “Psychogenic Fugue”) and Danny Delpurgatorio who calls us in for his hilariously terrifying projects like “Third Wheel” and “Wither.” We’re really proud to work with clients like them.
Most of our clients are “regulars” in that we are the go-to resource for their projects. We also create product runs when we find something we’re excited about exploring and creating. Lately we’ve been producing Bluetooth radios built from vintage luggage and new electronics.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Building a business is a constant struggle, especially in the film industry. Making contacts and networking has never been my focus. I’m much happier solving new problems than glad-handing at a mixer. Word of mouth from clients has been my model for new clients and it has finally started to pay off. I’m lucky to have a network of folks from my days at Redmoon that has introduced me to new projects and new clients along the way.
Managing revenue and finances takes some foresight and some understanding of the ebb and flow of the entertainment industry in Chicago. Seems like things really die out in the winter, so you have to have a long view of the project cycle. In the summers it seems like we never take a day off and rarely get to sleep, but when winter comes, we get to relax a bit and work on products/personal projects. I really blew it a few times in the first years of starting my own business by thinking that incoming projects would be a steady stream. These days I look forward to the slower wintry months.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Big Works is a boutique design and fabrication service for the entertainment industry. We specialize in unusual and difficult problem solving on an “independent project” budget. We pull together specific teams for each project and work closely with directors, designers, producers, and creatives to create amazing images. Our tag line is “building stories” because that’s the best way to describe what we do. Every day is a new challenge, but it always comes down to fulfilling the vision of our client and telling their story in a magical way.
Our best work is always in the realm of the surreal and unusual. Yes we do a lot of regular interior sets, but we really shine when there’s a need for something never before seen, impossible things. That’s where we have the most fun and where my love of creative problem solving comes into focus. I’m relentlessly stubborn and refuse to give up on a problem once I’ve sunk my teeth into it. That’s why our clients always come back to us over and over again.
What were you like growing up?
I was a total nerd. Not like that sort of fashionable nerd of the 21st century, just a giant dork. I’ve been 6’4″ since I was a freshman, so I kind of lumbered around like a big oaf and was the target of every football coach I’ve ever met, but it just wasn’t for me. I was happier in the Math Club and the Science Club and tucked away with a pulp sci-fi novel. In the summers we’d cook up schemes to make some spending money like sneaking into the golf courses late at night and pulling golf balls out of the lake to sell back to the golfers the next morning. As a kid I was convinced I was going to write science fiction when I grew up.
I left home at 16 for a live-in Science and Math based high school, which is where I realized I wasn’t really all that brilliant compared to my absolute genius classmates. I picked up the name “big” there when I walked into the dorm room of what would become my closest friends and one of them yelled out “You sure are a Big’un!” I embraced it as a nickname and built it into a brand over the next three decades. (I still go by big, even to my students and my bosses at Columbia. David is my dad’s name and my “government name”)
At NCSSM I went against the grain and really dug into my creative side, which set me up for my future career path. I was a weirdo then and still am. Simultaneously shy with the general population and gregarious with my close friends. I was also a bit of a thrill-seeker and troublemaker, bending rules and exploring the fringes which got me into a few scrapes here and there, which I suppose is why I enjoy the rather crazy work environment I’m in as an adult.
Pricing:
- Our bluetooth radios start at $250 and increase depending on what features are desired
Contact Info:
- Address: Big Works Industries
600 N Albany Ave
Chicago, Il 60612 - Website: bigworksindustries.com
- Phone: 7735596075
- Email: big@bigworksindustries.com
- Instagram: Mr David Christopher Krause
Image Credit:
All images credit David Christopher Krause
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