My name is Steven Meissner, and I’m the Owner and Lead Artist behind SoloRoboto Industries.
Costume and prop making has been a long standing hobby of mine. My mom showed me how to use a sewing machine sometime around 3rd grade, and I’ve made my own costumes for Halloween ever since. I started building things – guns, swords, helmets – from wood and old junk even earlier, and I’ve never stopped tinkering with and making things.
I attended my first Comic Con after moving to San Diego, California in 2007, and immediately fell headlong into making props and costumes as a hobby, with the prop-making quickly becoming a passion. By 2009 I was able to take the hobby I love and turn it into a business – SoloRoboto Industries. Like most businesses I started small, but as my skill and project list grew I found myself taking on more and more complicated tasks. In 2011 I began making props full time and when, in 2012, I moved from San Diego to Los Angeles and upgraded to a much larger work space, the transition was complete. Prop-making has been my full-time and only occupation since.
Most of my projects are still commissioned by and sold directly to private individuals. Living in Los Angeles, I do occasionally take work on projects for film and television, making amazing things for a different clientele. Every new project brings new challenges and new opportunities, which is what I love most about what I do. The act of Making gives me infinite chances to learn new things – new techniques, new tools, new skills. It’s an ever evolving process, and I absolutely love that I get to do it every day!