Props 2C: “Your Imagination is What We Carry in Stock”

Tony Rivera, owner and operator of Props 2C, has been in the custom art business, creating larger than life props for special events, for almost three decades. 

“Your imagination is what we carry in stock”, said Rivera. “We have some really cool interesting requests. The space shuttle was requested. A galaxy was also requested. This is something easy for me to do because I like optical illusion, I like 3D, I like hologram, augmented reality. These can happen. I can literally make my props move.” 

Props 2C, originally located South-of-Market, has been in Dogpatch for more than 18 years, initially on Tennessee Street, then landing on Marin Street between Illinois and Third. Walking into the company’s warehouse is like stepping into a world of wonderment. Giant props depict all the elements needed to create Alice’s wonderland or an underwater fantasy. There are large singular pieces, such as a life-size extraterrestrial modeled after the movie Alien, a huge Joker head inspired by the film Dark Knights, a large figurine resembling the robotic doll Young-hee from the Netflix series Squid Games, and a giant black and white striped snakelike creature from the movie Beetlejuice.

Rivera likes to work with designers to create knockout effects at themed parties. 

“The wow factor is just like an x mark,” said Rivera. “Like you have five wow factors that you know is coming from us. So, one wow factor would be the entrance, and another wow factor would be the welcoming hallway to the guests, and then tables, and then the stage, and then the main room.” 

Other works by Rivera include a several story high Ganesha which sat atop the entrance to Macy’s; and a 3D floor imitating the moon’s surface created in just two days for Samsung. 

The process relies on extremely lightweight foam as the main medium, coated with materials such as polyurethane, enabling Rivera to create oversized modular pieces that’re easily transportable. He works with architects to create permanent models using limestone on the foam’s exterior for indoor and outdoor architecture and statues. 

Rivera grew up in Mountain View, with parents who worked in the tech industry. He often attended parties that had magnificently creative themes, inspiring him to want to contribute to such imaginative gatherings. 

“When I was young, I liked this whole feeling of, oh wow, we can bring Disneyland to anybody’s doorstep,” said Rivera. “Because Disneyland is an icon of eye candy, and eye candy is what we have in our inner body… When you see something unusual, yeah there’s an oooh ahhhh, wow! That’s a good feeling, that’s an energy, an emotion that art makes you feel.”

As a teenager Rivera attended raves in San Francisco. In the early-2000’s he lived in a 150 Folsom Street warehouse with individuals involved in the intersecting world of social media, tech, and art, including the people who developed the Dimension 7 production company, which created the How Weird Street Faire. Rivera recognized that he was in a unique place at a special time and wanted to find a way to stay in it. 

Rivera struggled to make a living as an artist in San Francisco. He’d been creating stretch fabric designs and large props for raves and nightclubs, during a time when the club Ruby Sky was his playground. When his work was spotted by an event planner from Google he shifted to corporate events. His prop art was immediately in high demand. 

He began working with other large tech companies, such as Netflix, Apple, Facebook, and Salesforce, as well as contributing to lavish events for non-corporate customers. He soon needed to find other artist-fabricators to keep up with the work. 

Rivera has never advertised Props 2C and only recently invested in a social media presence. All of his are from word-of-mouth. 

Rivera is exploring ways to make his creations accessible to a wider audience. He hopes to be able collaborate to install an interactive two-month-long magical dreamland park at Pier 80.