Community Highlights: Meet Cory Lennon of Lennon and company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cory Lennon.

Hi Cory, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

Hey there, my name is Cory Lennon. I’m from Rochester, NY, and a diehard Buffalo Bills fan. Here’s a little of my backstory.

I came to Los Angeles in 2007 for a short vacation to celebrate my 21st birthday and visit a friend stationed in the Navy. Prior to coming to LA, I was traveling as a professional skate and snowboard filmer. While poking around Craigslist with a buddy for work in the film industry, we were randomly hired for a one-day PA job on A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila (Season 1). That unexpected gig turned out to be the beginning of my career.

After making friends with the location reps and with no real place to stay, crew parking and the back of a rental car became my temporary home. I had no idea what a PA actually did, but thanks to my construction background, I quickly found myself on set with tools in hand—fixing plumbing, repairing air conditioners, patching drywall, and eventually building sets, including a plexiglass stage for the show’s finale in the middle of the pool.

495 Productions (the producing company) eventually told me I was in the wrong department and threw me straight into the art department as the lead on their next project. That snowballed into four consecutive years of work as the art department lead and head of construction on many of their shows, including Tool Academy, two more seasons of A Shot at Love, Jersey Shore, Design Star, and more.

After my run in dating shows and reality TV, I found myself working at a set shop in Atwater Village for Oscar Albuerne—who I consider a major inspiration for eventually opening a shop of my own. That shop is where I met many of the guys I still work with today, and where lifelong friendships began. We worked on everything from Punk’d to Jackass, even fabricating camera blinds and prank props for the Bad Grandpa movie with Johnny Knoxville.

As my role as head of construction grew, I accumulated all my union days and joined Local 44 in 2012 as a construction coordinator. After working on a show and meeting my now-dear friend Lisa Nelson (a set decorator), she asked if I’d be interested in running construction on a large stage show called Lip Sync Battle. I said yes—and the rest is history.

Since then, I’ve led construction for numerous large TV shows including The Masked Singer, Love Island, NBC’s The Voice, and many more.

Fast forward to today—during COVID, I was busier than ever. At the time, The Voice was the only major TV production still filming, setting the example for how to operate safely. Then came the writers’ strike and contract negotiations, which slowed things down in Hollywood.

During that time, I built a small shop at my house—a 20×20 tent in my driveway—where my friend Dominic and I started taking on side work. Projects started small but quickly grew, eventually taking over my entire property: front lawn, backyard, even the pool area. I realized I had to scale up.

One of my closest friends, Nate, who worked at a set shop in Sylmar, messaged me about subletting the space he was in. The company was moving out. I immediately reached out to my friend Jake (a former shop owner) on St. Patty’s Day and asked him to meet me for lunch to run the idea by him. His immediate response: “DO IT!”

After some careful thought, I said to myself, “Sure, I’ve come this far—what do I have to lose?” I signed the lease and moved from a 400 sq. ft. tent to a 4,600 sq. ft. brick-and-mortar space less than two weeks later.

Little did I know how quickly business would take off. My first job in the new shop came as a surprise—Star Trek Picard reached out to have us build a custom hero prop. Within six months, we were bursting at the seams. I had six full-time office staff and, at times, up to 30 carpenters working at the shop.

We began serving clients across multiple industries—pop-up stores, awards shows, weddings, trade shows, and more. Clients included BET, Khloé Kardashian, Mindy Weiss, Frame Creative, Jeff Bezos, Jay-Z, American Ninja Warrior, YouTube, iHeartRadio—you name it.

One year later—today—we’ve officially moved into our new permanent space: 10,000 sq. ft. indoors and 7,000 sq. ft. outdoors. We now offer CNC cutting, laser engraving, faux finishing, scenic work, custom LED fabrication, sculpting, and more. If you had asked me a year ago where I’d be, I never would have guessed I’d be the owner of a 10,000 sq. ft. scenery shop in the heart of the Valley.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say the journey has been smooth?

Like I mentioned, I started out living in my car. But I’ve worked incredibly hard to excel at what I love—being creative on all fronts and delivering a high-quality product that leaves our clients happy.

The hardest part of launching this business was having barely enough liquidity and making the daring leap to sign a lease and enter a competitive, cutthroat market. The support of my friends and family—especially my wife, Mollie—was instrumental in pushing me forward and giving me the confidence to pursue this path.

Nothing in this industry is easy—especially as a business owner in a saturated market—but our commitment to quality and attaching our name only to work we’re proud of is, I believe, the reason clients keep coming back.

Thanks for sharing that. So maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business?

The company was founded in my backyard in July 2023. By March 2024, we had opened a 4,600 sq. ft. brick-and-mortar space.

At Lennon & Company, we strive to maintain a fun, lighthearted work environment while dedicating the utmost attention to detail in everything that leaves our shop. I love organizing cookouts for my crew and hosting seasonal events—morale is incredibly important to me, and I work hard to make sure everyone feels welcome and valued.

We go the extra mile to ensure our clients are not only satisfied but proud of the work we deliver. We’re also passionate about innovation—always seeking better, smarter ways to build.

As a young company, we still have plenty to learn, but that doesn’t take away from what we’re capable of offering. We’re a full-scale scenery fabrication shop employing talented individuals across various disciplines—steel fabricators, sculptors, scenic painters, carpenters, laborers, LED specialists, and an incredible office staff.

One value I hold close is maintaining strong relationships with other well-established shops around town. Many of them have helped me along the way, and I’ll always aim to foster healthy collaborations and mutual respect. I’m extremely grateful to all the art directors and production designers who’ve given us a shot—and who continue to return.

How do you think about luck?

I’d like to believe that after more than 17 years in the business, I’ve built and maintained a solid reputation for what I bring to the table. That said, luck played a big part too.

It was luck that a Craigslist ad launched my entire career, led me to call LA my home, and eventually helped me start a family here. And yes, with our current shop, I’d say we were fortunate to align with the right clients at exactly the right time. But I also believe everything happens for a reason.

Pricing:

• We are always willing to work within our clients’ budget constraints.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lennonandcompany.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lennonandcompany.inc/