In more than two decades, Prop Art Studio in Detroit has continually re-invented itself, designing, sculpting and rendering costumes, huge 3-D billboards and other advertisements, steel artwork, theatre props, a larger-than-life ram's head for Dodge Truck and many versions of a famous purple octopus named Al, for the Detroit Red Wings.
Co-owner Mike Stapleton and his crew also have restored historic churches and mansions, done scenic backdrops, murals, oversized sculpted vegetables, a 10-foot tall guitar-playing pig and a 38-foot-long iguana. The studio is increasingly involved with Hollywood production companies shooting films in Michigan.
Prop Art has been featured in numerous media reports and has won a number of awards. Stapleton, who has a degree in industrial design, runs Prop Art Studio along with his sister, Denise Abrash, who serves as business manager. The company employs six people.
