Staging a comeback — Jeremy Fleming’s show-stopping pivot from sets to desks

Curveball

When Covid restrictions meant an immediate intermission for anyone working in live entertainment, Jeremy Fleming made a phone call no 40-something likes to make. He called his parents to say the shutdown spelt the end for his business and he’d be moving his family of four in with his parents.

Staging company Stagekings lost millions in revenue overnight, when client after client called to cancel events.

But ever the innovator, CEO Jeremy Fleming was determined the show must go on.

With a warehouse full of semi-assembled sets and a country under house arrest, Jeremy saw an opportunity. Cue, IsoKing: flat-packed furniture built for lockdown. WFH? They’ve got desks! Play from home? Puzzle boards! Just at home, constantly, with no respite? Wine racks!

This risky pivot has paid off, but the ride has been anything but smooth. Diving headfirst into a new business (in the middle of a pandemic) had set the scene for likely disaster.

Luckily, Jeremy knows a thing or two about set design, and he’s sharing his toolkit with the rest of us.

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