PROPS
Prop Star Kelvin “Panda” Tyler of ATLier Props has what it takes—and pays it forward By Ca ro l Bada r acco Padge t t
M y aunt’s friend’s friend was my first connec- tion,” Kelvin “Panda” Tyler, a Florida-based Full Sail University film graduate and new Atlanta business owner states. “And it got me nowhere.” Panda, as he’s called, is somewhere now though—in fact, in July 2020 he opened ATLier Props LLC, the first Black-owned prop house in the United States. And he has a vision to make his busi- ness a vehicle that will help other minorities and women get their foot in the door of the Georgia film industry. “I’m super honored to be the first,” Panda says of his role. “It’s a gamechanger.” And while the Richmond, VA native’s big heart extends to fellow industry creatives he hasn’t even met yet, he also has a very personal reason for using ATLier Props to help people make connections. That reason’s name is Ashley. “I met my good friend Ashley on the first day of college,” Panda recalls. “She walked straight up to me and said, ‘We’re friends now,’ and from there we hung out, went to the movies, were always around each other… we had a great time.” Ashley was studying at Full Sail to be a set designer, working toward her dream of “creating the best set at the Oscars,” Panda says. But like so many young people with no industry contacts or connections, Ashley found herself returning home after graduation despite working hard to break into the industry. “And there, she was murdered,” Panda states. “Someone who had a drive to change the industry and who could win over anybody with her talent and smile, and she didn’t get to.” So the opening of the prop house, one of his dreams, also became a way to honor Ashley and her dreams. This fact gives Panda’s newfound role as an industry business owner even more depth. Along with running ATLier Props, Panda spends a good deal of time on set himself. He’s an assistant director (AD) and photographer, and he finds that there’s a symbiotic relationship between his role at the prop house and his behind-the-scenes film career. “An AD is involved in everything about a film from start to finish—art meetings, costume finish… everything,” he says, “so I can tell when these professionals need the prop house, and I can see what they need.” If Panda sees they need vintage couches on a film project, for instance, he makes sure ATLier Props offers them.
Giving isn’t necessarily a
monetary thing. It’s contingent to a situation. It can be simply giving an opportunity to someone who doesn’t have it.
Kelvin Tyler
On set he also sees firsthand when people need intangible things, like support and encouragement. “Giving isn’t necessarily a monetary thing. It’s contingent to a situation,” he states. “It can be simply giving an opportunity to someone who doesn’t have it.” And he admits, “Somebody gave me those kinds of caring moments and now I have my shop.” Two people in particular that he credits for help- ing him in his career are Hollywood ADs Larry Katz and Anna Moulaison. “They were inspirations to me. Both of them saw something in me as an AD that I didn’t see myself,” he notes. Another huge influence was his grand- mother, a social worker. “She fought through so much growing up in rural Virginia and then moving to the big city of Richmond,” he says. “She faced racial disparity and came out on top with a smile and as a better woman.” Much the same, Panda and several colleagues are working to create mentorship programs for creatives in the community—writers, people in the art department, other assistant directors—and women who might find the opportunity that his friend Ashley never did. The coronavirus pandemic and the slow reopening of the film industry, while a hurdle, hasn’t dampened
Panda’s enthusiasm and vision for his business and its mission. Working together, he and his team follow strin- gent safety protocols at ATLier Props, including regular deep cleanings for the prop house, mandating masks for all employees and customers, providing virtual shopping for buyers, and limiting exposure as much as possible. For Panda personally, he’s gearing up for his first TV show post-COVID, an Amazon series that he describes as his next big challenge. He serves as AD on the series, and he’s using this opportunity, too, to open up possibilities for other creatives. “I’m hiring three minorities, fellow film grads—two women and one man—to be my colleagues on the show,” he shares. “I want to give them experience that they can take with them into their careers.”
@atlierprops | www.atlierprops.com
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