■INSIDE LOOK INSIDE LOOK Behind-the-scenes look at LIC TV and film prop company Located inside a three-floor, 91,000-square-foot Long Island City warehouse lies a world only seen in movies or television. Eclectic/Encore Props Inc. is one of the largest prop rental companies on the East Coast. It made the western Queens neighborhood its home about two years ago after moving from Manhattan, where it was founded and was housed for over three decades. The company was started by Suri Bieler, who began her career as a prop person in theater. She decided she wanted to have a steady business rather than work as a freelancer, so she looked into prop renting. She then realized that renting props did not work for theater because of various reasons such as no known end date for shows and even a superstition about renting props among the theater community. So instead, Bieler decided to go into renting for television and film, and with only $175 she began Eclectic. “I realized I had to get huge overnight. Just because you have a name for a company doesn’t mean people want to use it,” she said. A few years later she approached the owners of another prop company named Encore, which at the time was celebrating its 100th anniversary, and she purchased Encore, bringing along all of its props. Since then Eclectic/Encore Props Inc. has grown into offering millions of items, big or small, that have been used in television shows, movies, off-Broadway shows and at parties. “People don’t really think that a prop company exists,” Bieler said. “If it’s filming in New York we’re probably renting to them.” As you walk through the building, located at 47-51 33rd St., you’ll find props organized in different sections based on themes and uses. There is a section for almost every region of the world such as Africa and Asia; BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO THE COURIER/Photos by Angy Altamirano
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