Madrone Studios

We held a party for our Microsoft group at The Village and Madrone Studios was the in-​house AV, lighting, sound and creative team. We are so glad they were!!! John & Ben not just incredibly creative, but totally willing to try new ideas and work with us on our vision. Easy to collaborate with, and on time with their delivery. Their team was also on site all night to make sure everything went beautifully — and it did. If you use them make sure they show you the images of our video wall they did. People from Microsoft are still talking about it when they see me. My only regret is that I didn’t write this review sooner as our event was in April.

This is a pretty cool little venue. You’d never know it opened up from the outside. But, that’s the problem, it’s pretty dark and unwelcoming outside. If I wasn’t there for an event and there were tons of people waiting outside, I wouldn’t have found it easily. If you’re planning to hold an event here, especially a networking/​social one, I’d recommend taking a tour or something before just booking it. It’s better for a small photography sesh than a seated performance or show.

Where do I begin… Cool space, great vibe, and a team of technical geniuses. We held a product launch event at Madrone last night. The theme was ultra cool ultra lounge. We did a package with Madrone that included all the creative and technical components, as well as security, lighting, post-​event sizzle reel, valet, musician set up, staging, videography and photography.
What they created blew people away. Justin, the creative director and cofounder is extremely relaxed — but do NOT let that fool you — he’s handling things. His team was strong, competent and professional, and he created a set up that looked innovative and sleek.
If you are just looking for an event space to hold a party — DON“T GO HERE. They have no interest in being simply an event space. Madrone is for organizations looking to demonstrate innovation, or want to use state of the art resources to create something magical for guests, investors, media, business peers, etc.
Bottom line. They made me look good as an event consultant, and I look forward to working with them again, either at their studio, or offsite.

This review is for photography with Mike Byrne. Absolutely wonderful experience getting some portraits taken at Madrone Studios.
Mike is professional but also really nice and made me feel comfortable. The equipment is top notch with more lighting gadgets than I’ve ever seen. The space itself is amazing — jaw-​dropping architecture and design — and a great surprise behind a rather unassuming door.
Highly recommend.

3 stars for a beautifully eccentric venue. Crazy modern with slanted hallways, cool doors, amazing lofts, a full kitchen, and the infamous seamless white walls on which you can project an almost 180 degree display. The architect who originally built it and lived in it must have been an amazing person.
A couple of things to keep in mind when you consider using this venue. First, there are people actively living in it. They generally stay out of the way, but… they’re there.
Secondly, the place is managed pretty haphazardly. We met Jonathan, but rarely got to deal with him directly. Instead we dealt with people with various titles like «event planner» or «creative producer» or even «curator.» On the one side they were flexible in dealing with us, and it seemed like they were honestly trying their best to be accommodating. We’ve done multiple walk-​throughs and had a number of requests for things like security, coat check, and moving around furniture. On the downside, they swapped out our main contact, not once, not twice, not even three times, but FOUR times. First we were talking to Kaitlin. Then we were talking to Chrissy. And then it was Lauren. Lauren was amazing, everything good that happened (such as getting a real contract, a bouncer, someone to do coat check, etc.) all happened while she was helping us. Sadly, she left about two weeks before the event, and with her went a four-​star review. In the end, we had Geoff. Geoff is nice, but failed to show up on time, and also gave permission to other clients to use the facilities during the time we were renting it. Whaa??? Now I’m a cool cat. So a girl wants to practice dancing while I’m setting up artwork. That’s 100% okay; she’s not in my way. But I’m shelling out quite a bit to rent the studio from 9am till midnight, so I’d really like to be asked. Instead, I show up at 9 not to find Geoff as promised, but some random person dancing, lol. It’s funny in retrospect. To his credit, it took longer than expected to take down the work, and we were not penalized for going over time.
Third, be aware that they often book events back to back. This means that you kinda have to haul ass to get out of the place. For us, this meant a lot of manual labor the night of the event after all the guests are gone. Not so fun, so you’ll need to plan for it.
Fourth, be really aware of the contract you have with them. The first contract we received was very one-​sided. We were responsible for paying for any cancellation, etc. There was nothing protecting us should Madrone cancel. And considering that they were only 6 months old at the time we signed on with them, this was a bit disconcerting.
Another small mention: Madrone is located in a residential area, so there is a decibel limit. Can’t go blasting the muzak.
Last but not least, parking. Aside from street parking, there is also a parking lot nearby for $ 2.50/car. Note that it belongs to UCSF, and Madrone has no deal with or control over it. People come and go at will there, so you take your chances. Personally, we had no issues.
Anyway, the event was still successful in the end, largely in part because we had an awesome event planner on our end (Esla Events, if you’re curious :). Maybe over time things will stabilize at Madrone. At the moment though, I have hesitations about recommending them.
(For those who ever hold an art show there: the place is well lit during the day, and has remote-​controlled blinds. They have plenty of plugs and spotlights – but some of the spotlights can’t be adjusted. Also, you are not allowed to punch holes in the seamless walls, so art has to go on other walls or in the hallways. For a small fee, Madrone patches the holes and does the repainting. They also have a garage for loading that comes in pretty handy.)

Madrone Studios is a beautiful facility with caring, professional people. We’ve enjoyed working with them for the events we’re planning for September and October and perhaps in the future. Must agree with reviews that note that it’s architecturally stunning, with beautiful light and comfortable vibe.

I really liked the style and eco-​friendly vibe of this place, and while I respect the fact that they are a «green» establishment, I feel that they need to make sure they don’t sacrifice attendee’s comfort completely. I attended a fashion show at Madrone Studios, and every person in there was sweating bullets, because we were packed in their like sardines in the middle of summer, and the place had ZERO ventilation. I get that air conditioning a studio might not be the most environmentally friendly thing, but at least have some fans or windows so people don’t have to sit in a hot and muggy room for hours! It was an extremely uncomfortable experience, and at times it was difficult to fully enjoy and focus on the fashion show (which we all paid money to see), because we were busy fanning ourselves off, and squirming in our seats from the heat.

Madrone studios is the PERFECT venue for mid size events. We had our Holiday office party at the studio and couldn’t be happier with the results. The staff is amazingly helpful and completely open and compliant to suggestions about what you want for the event.
The studio itself is a beautiful place, with a modern feel. The main hall is huge and looks awesome with the custom projections provided by the Madrone staff. There is also an upstairs lounge, which is extremely intimate and cozy due to the fire place, comfy couches, and flat screen TV. And I almost forgot to mention the beautiful, fully equipped kitchen, which is perfect for caterers who need to prep food on site.
I would definitely recommend Madrone studios to anyone looking to successfully plan any mid size event. Thanks Madrone!

This is a fantastic venue for throwing a mid sized event. I think we had about 300+ attendees and the space was perfect. It has a great primary area, modern kitchen and a sweet upstairs lounge.
The crew who run the place are extremely helpful, professional and kind. Seriously, a top notch operation!

I was looking for a good space to shoot a series of jobs and after looking around, I chose Madrone. It fulfilled all my needs perfectly.
Architecturally stunning, tons of natural light, great amenities. This space has it all. Very cool staff of working professionals that were super. Spaces like this truly make working in San Francisco a pleasure, Looking forward to the next gigs that come up, I know who to call!