Chase 55 (formerly named Superhire) is a Prop Warehouse located in North Acton in London. You go there to book items for use in films, photoshoots, etc. From the outside, the building is a grey and simple building, with windows and a carpark. Located just around the corner from North Acton train station. However on the inside, there are storage rooms filled with the largest collection of furniture, or shelves stuffed with individually labeled items of every kind, that you will ever see. It's like a library of 'things', from numerous different countries, cultures, styles, periods, and purposes.
When you go to book things, you need to bring with you some method of paying (cash, credit card, etc), and your company letterhead (or the production company letterhead). The Company will have to be registered in the warehouse database, which means if they haven't dealt with your group before, you will have to set it up with them, and that could take time.
the whole place is split into different sections, one for accessories, one for antique old stuff, one for new furniture and one for antique old furniture. For the accessories, you move around with a shopping trolley and collect what you want to book, before wheeling it over to the small area occupied by some friendly people at desks, and they take down the details of the objects and print off your order receipt. For the furniture you take photographs of the objects you wish to rent, and the bookman will estimate the price to book it all. He then prints off a similar receipt. I haven't booked any antique stuff yet so i'm not sure if its different, however you don't put things into trolleys over at the antique end.
After all receipts have been printed, you go to the accounting desk, and thats where you pay! (hooray!). You have to put the details of the order onto your company letterhead paper, a minor detail I forgot the first time I went.
Read about Theatrical Property, if you don't know what a prop is
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