Dumpling House Studios Answers Our Questions
After our photoshoot in their space, we had the chance to sit down and pick the brain of Ben Kraim, the founder of Dumpling House Media.
Dumpling House Studios during their launch party in August
So, what is Dumpling House Media?
We’re a full service creative agency and production studio with a strong finger on social media. We do everything from creative consulting, branding, content creation, social media advertising and just generally making cool shit that resonates online. Over time, we’ve found ourselves being the middleman and translators between brands and the Millennials and Gen Z customers they try so hard to connect with.
How did you come up with the name Dumpling House?
Every culture on the planet has their own version of a dumpling. There’s the bao, the empanada, the matzo ball, the ravioli, and I could keep going. It’s all a pocket stuffed with satisfying content that’s influenced directly by the community—kinda like us. Also, dumplings are delicious and homey, even the thought of them makes you feel cozy inside.
We know that your production studio has evolved into something of an epic event space. What are some of your favorite events that’ve happened at the Studio?
It’s hard to choose. We’ve had some great photoshoots, like the one featured in this issue, podcasts by guys like Joey Bada$$ and ASAP Ferg, and we’ve also had some killer nightlife events. One was by Motion and Synergy dance company, and it was a whole night of different dance troupes performing different styles of dance which was epic—like, Step Up 2: The Streets type shit. Our company launch party has to be up there. We had 700+ people, an adult bounce house, a meme art gallery, there were cartoon premiers by Danny Casale (@coolmancoffeedan), flame throwers, drinks sponsored by @fatjew and Vice—[it was] humbling and insanely fun. It’s really exciting to see what different people are able to do with the space, it's the perfect blank canvas that gets the creative juices flowing.
The aforementioned bounce house (adult-friendly)
You’re online. What’s your favorite meme lately?
This is a tough one because it changes every week. I’m a sucker for all the emo memes by @sonny5ideup. I also love any meme that features Danny Devito.
What's your first piece of advice for anyone trying to build a following on Instagram?
Post. A lot. Don't stop posting. Just like in sales, they say on every 100th sales call you'll close a deal, [and the] same concept applies here. The more you post, the more likely you are to get something to go viral, or be seen by the right person, or lead to a good opportunity. With the algorithm all fucked up, posting a lot is the only way to ensure that most of your followers see you regularly.
Got any advice for people considering entrepreneurship?
Say goodbye to sleeping for at least a year, be positive, focus on sales and the numbers of your business, treat your team like family, be frugal as fuck even if you acquire a nice chunk of money, and build up your team as the company grows.
Anything else you wanted to share?
Check us out on instagram. We’re always posting about events and there’s some good Office Dog content as well. @dumplinghousestudios
If you're a Brooklyn native, or live within 20 miles of us, we offer all sorts of discounts to pay tribute to our local creative community.
All of us at the Lexington Line want to give a never-ending, bear-hug sized thank you to Dumpling House Studios and their amazing staff (Ben, Jesse, Matt and Rachel—big shoutout) for helping us continue to create fresh content in fun spaces.