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Back in 2014, when they first started using a ShopBot CNC machine for their business, John Murray Productions was featured on the ShopBot blog. It’s now 10 years later and they’re busier than ever with the help of a new 5’x10’ ShopBot PRSalpha ATC CNC machine.

Flat profile cuts on the ShopBot CNC machine transform into interlocking 3D displays.

John Murray started his business in the late 90’s as an event planning service for corporate events. Soon into his event planning days he decided to offer scenic elements to his clients. With only a table saw and some hand tools in a small basement shop, John Murray Productions soon outgrew their operation and in 1998 they were able to move into a former theatre scene shop, which is when the business really pivoted from corporate event planning to a scenic fabrication studio. As he built a healthy roster of clients and added employees, opportunities to work with major brands started to become a regular occurrence. 

Left: Early photo of Western Scenic Studio, built in the 1920's. Right: Same building - John Murray Productions since 1999. 

We spoke with Lianne Jones, sales and marketing manager at John Murray Productions, about what’s changed since the last time we featured their business on the ShopBot blog 10 years ago. Lianne began by saying, “In the last 10 years, the biggest shift we’ve made was moving from primarily event spaces to educational environments. This includes permanent exhibits and displays in high touch environments that need to last for a long time. They require a much finer level of finish and detail because people are seeing them up close and interacting with them.”

When the pandemic hit in 2020, John Murray Productions worried about the future of their business. However, a couple of factors contributed to their growth and survival. “Fortunately, when events stopped altogether, we had a handful of exhibit projects already in the pipeline. One of them being the visitors center at Yosemite National Park. Having a few projects in progress around that time kept us in business. One notable exhibit builder in the Bay Area closed their doors and next thing you knew we had all sorts of inquiries for exhibit builds.”

Yosemite National Park Visitor's Center - updated with new signage and exhibit by John Murray Productions.

We asked them if CNC production was involved in their business prior to purchasing their first ShopBot CNC back in 2014. Lianne said, “Before we started using the ShopBot we hired out for CNC work. The majority of what we had done was graphics. Now we use our ShopBot on almost every project. Not only front-facing aspects but also for infrastructure.”

John Murray sold their ShopBot 4’x8’ machine and upgraded to a ShopBot 5’x10’ PRSalpha ATC CNC machine to handle larger sheet goods and to add the automatic tool change feature. Lianne mentioned that not having to change out bits between operations has been a huge time saver.

“Events are definitely coming back and that’s our bread and butter. Particularly corporate events. Things like sales kick-offs and product launches. We get two to three big exhibit builds a year, on average, and this year (2024) we have a bit more. We have a great working relationship with the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. We work with them in one way or another on almost all of their exhibits.” Which brings us to an exciting new exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences that opened in May of 2024 called “California: State of Nature”. From signage to structural elements to the fun topographic map inspired animal sculptures, there’s a lot of CNC driven elements to explore.

Topographic map-styled animals, graphic-filled signs, and structural elements all created with the help of John Murray's ShopBot CNC machine.

Just about every project by John Murray Productions involves their ShopBot CNC machine so keep an eye on their website for the latest and greatest. And if you have an event that calls for custom scenic fabrication, John Murray Productions should be at the top of your list.  

Photos courtesy of John Murray Productions