This book would not have happened without the endless support and encouragement from my wife, Natalie Taylor Hart. I cannot thank her enough.

Many thanks go to Jay Duckworth for his tireless cheerleading of my work and all he’s taught me in the world of props. All my bosses through the years, especially Randy Lutz, Mark Walston, and Tim Daly, have given me a chance to explore the craft I describe in this book. I would like to thank my teachers as well, especially Tom Fiocchi, Drew Drake, and Elaine Williams. My best wishes go out to all the people I have worked with over the years; you have helped immensely with this book, whether intentionally or not.

I need to thank the members of the Society of Properties Artisan Managers (or S*P*A*M). They share and maintain so much of the knowledge of prop building which I can learn from, and answer my specific questions as well.

I continue to thank Sandra Strawn, my technical editor on the first edition of this book, who helped clarify a number of points and offered many helpful comments and technical tidbits about a number of subjects in this book. And Stacey Walker, who made this book happen over at Focal Press in the first place and continued to check in as the second edition came to be.

Some people have been especially helpful in allowing me to pick their brains and photograph their spaces: Brian Wolfe at Costume Armour, Inc.; Wesley Cannon at Wicked Props; and Paul Pearson, president of Studio Manufacturing. I thank David Silvernail and all the members at ControlBooth for allowing me to ask questions and bounce off some ideas.

Debi Jolly, Anna Warren, Harrison Krix (who runs another impressive props site called Volpin Props at htt­p:/­/vo­lpi­npr­ops­.bl­ogspot.­com/), Ryan Trupp, and Cassandra Westover have helped flesh out this book with photographs of their own work, and I am indebted to them.

Finally, I thank my parents, not just for being parents, but for teaching me art, craft, and work through their own lives. Thanks to my brother, who listened to me talk about this book for about two years before I started writing it, and for all his editing and proofreading advice. I also thank my sister, who promises to get this book into libraries across the land.