BULK Space
Operations Tooling & Website Refresh for Community Media Lab in Detroit, Michigan
About the Org
"BULK Space Media Lab is a place where folks of all ages can learn about, have access to, and create with all things tech and media! This is a lens, sound, and text based technology laboratory that aims to be a generative place for engagement and exchange of ideas that will encourage artists to explore new and innovative ways of making. We understand that access is vital to arts based equity, so we are excited to get new and exciting tools into the hands of artists of all ages who want to expand their practices. BULK Media lab is a space for the community to play with tech!"
– BULK Space
When BULK Space, a Detroit-based media collective, approached me they needed a comprehensive solution to manage their growing inventory, membership, and rental workflows. This case study explores how, working collaboratively, we transformed their manual processes into a streamlined all-in-one dashboard using Sanity as the foundation.
The Challenge
BULK Space faced several operational hurdles that were limiting their ability to serve their community effectively:
- Manual inventory tracking across spreadsheets and paper logs
- Inefficient rental processes that required in-person coordination
- Limited visibility into equipment availability and usage patterns
As a collective supporting Detroit's creative community, BULK Space needed a solution that would reduce administrative overhead while maintaining the personal touch that made their space special.
Requirements
At the onset of this project, we identified several key requirements:
- Provide a comprehensive inventory management solution
- Support a directory of members with appropriate access controls
- Implement a digital check-out system for equipment rentals
- Generate robust reports of usage and historical data
The Solution: Media Lab Portal
The Media Lab Portal became the central hub for BULK Space's operations—a tool designed specifically for their collective's workflows. The portal enables them to:
- Manage their complete equipment inventory
- Process and track rentals digitally
- Maintain member profiles and permissions
- Generate insights through custom analytics
Technical Implementation
Leveraging Sanity's flexible content platform, I built a solution that combined powerful content modeling with an intuitive interface. The implementation drew from several key resources:
Recursive Taxonomies
Using Simeon Grigg's Recursive Taxonomy Example from Sanity Exchange, we created a category-based taxonomy that allowed BULK Space to organize their inventory in a way that made sense for their specific needs. This parent-child relationship model provided the flexibility to categorize equipment by type, usage, or any other relevant parameter.
Workflow Management
The Sanity Workflows plugin became the backbone of the rental process, adding support for:
- Document metadata tracking rental status
- Custom actions for check-out and return processes
- Document badges showing availability status
- Automated notifications for overdue equipment
This transformed what was once a manual, error-prone process into a streamlined digital workflow.
Dynamic Organization
Inspired by Saskia Bobinska's Dynamic Folder Structure guide, we implemented an organization system that adapted to BULK Space's evolving needs. This allowed staff to reorganize categories and equipment groupings without technical assistance.
Advanced Querying
Henrique Doro's GROQ examples provided the foundation for the reporting system, enabling complex queries that surfaced valuable insights about equipment usage, popular items, and rental patterns.
Custom Analytics Dashboard
One of the most impactful features was a custom analytics tool built directly into the Sanity studio. This dashboard calculated and displayed key metrics including:
- Total equipment value across the inventory
- Number of items available and checked out
- Category distribution and popularity
- Rental frequency and duration statistics
This gave BULK Space unprecedented visibility into their operations, helping them make data-driven decisions about future equipment purchases and resource allocation.
Results and Impact
The Media Lab Portal transformed BULK Space's operations in several measurable ways:
- Better financial planning through detailed usage analytics
- Drastic reduction in administrative time spent on equipment management
- Elimination of booking conflicts through real-time availability tracking
- Improved equipment utilization by identifying underused resources
In addition to these accomplishments, the portal strengthened BULK Space's community by making resources more accessible and transparent. Members now have greater autonomy in accessing equipment, while administrators have more time to focus on programming and community support.
Lessons Learned
This project reinforced several important principles about building tools for creative communities:
- Start with workflows, not features - Understanding how people actually work is more important than implementing a specific technology
- Build for flexibility - Creative communities evolve quickly, and their tools need to adapt just as fast
- Empower non-technical users - The best solutions allow community members to manage their own systems without developer intervention
- Measure what matters - Analytics should focus on metrics that drive meaningful decisions, not just collect data
Conclusion
The BULK Space Media Lab Portal demonstrates how thoughtful content modeling and workflow design can transform operations for creative collectives. By leveraging Sanity's flexibility and the collective wisdom of its developer community, we created a solution that not only solved immediate problems but established a foundation for BULK Space's continued growth.
The success of this project wasn't in the technology implemented, but in how effective collaboration and communication can accumulate and translate into practical systems that aid in operational workflows. This major win continues to help BULK as an organization to focus more on their creative work and less on administrative overhead—ultimately furthering their mission to support Detroit's vibrant media arts scene.