blackwalnut

09/23/2026

Client: We would like a desk that we can use for an exhibit for 100 Years of NBC television at the Paley Center. Have you ever seen the Today show desk? We were thinking something like that.

bw: How much like that desk? Because we built the original one that is in the studio right now.

Client: Really??? Just like it

bw: DONE!

09/22/2026

We partnered with our friends at MakeMarks and Lululemon for a special Megan Roup activation in midtown Manhattan. Looks great! Congratulations Megan!

09/22/2026

What have I and the blackwalnut gang been up to lately? A little bit of everything. Store activations, 911 Memorial projects, podcast studios, museum work? Wanna see? I'll put together posts this week and share some pics!

m

09/22/2026

Here’s a look at other parts of the booth we built a few months ago

Thank you, New England Canna Convention, for an incredible conference!

We were so excited to be the official Attendee Bag Sponsor and to showcase Glass Meadows Inc. and Cheech and Chong at our booths and at our after party.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by booths 1109 & 1111 and joined us at High Rollers Dispo & Lounge. The conversations, the energy in the room, and the support from our retail partners meant a lot to our team.

We're excited to bring Cheech & Chong to New Jersey shelves soon, made right here in the Garden State.

More recaps from our week to come. Stay tuned. 🌿

09/18/2026

Knock knock. Who’s there? It’s me Dave. let me in. Dave? Dave’s not here man.

We had a lot of fun making this Canni-bus for our friends a Glass Meadows and their new collaborators, Cheech and Chong. We are here at NECCAN 2026 in Atlantic City. Everyone got to “loosen up a little” and have some artistic fun. Anyone who knows me, knows this was right up my alley. m

#glass_meadows

09/01/2026

It is with a truly heavy heart that I share the passing of Greg Dias. Greg was our colleague, our friend, and most importantly, our brother. He was an integral part of the build team, always checking work, always contributing, always sharing his insights with those still learning.

We will all miss him tremendously. All love from his blackwalnut Ohana to his Hawaiian Ohana, especially his son, Sean.

Here’s to hoping his tooling around in a big lifted cloud in the Great Beyond.

He was a special guy.
We love and will miss you
mvd

05/20/2026

Come take a tour with Stephen

Stephen Colbert takes Architectural Digest inside the iconic Ed Sullivan Theater for a full tour of ‘The Late Show’ set. From the restoration of the historic...

05/20/2026

Well. It feels like the end of an era. Stephen Colbert and his amazing team and blackwalnut have collaborated many times over the last 20+ years. Their last episodes air this week.

We met during our build of the Daily Show, followed by the Colbert Report and many special events like the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear and their midterm coverage special from Philadelphia.

In 2015 came a rare opportunity, build the new Late Show studio at the celebrated Ed Sullivan theatre. It wasn't just a regular build, it was part of a massive restoration of the space back to its original brilliance. We had one day to come in and survey the space and hope we got everything right. We had a wonderful time working with longtime collaborators, Jim Fenhagen and Larry Hartman of Jack Morton who provided the amazing design as they had in all our previous outings.

Stephen and his team understood exactly the grand scope and vision the project would encompass. They understood that there were a million little details and that we were all collectively trying to get them right. They have been wonderful partners across the years and we wish everyone, Stephen, Tanya, Bjoern, John T and the entire crew all the success in the world in their coming endeavors.

We will miss you immensely. The good news is that Stephen keeps a watchful eye on all the blackwalnut gang. His Ben Franklin portrait hangs proudly in our fabrication shop. And over the years, many set pieces have been part of our shop decor. There was the giant puppet who spent some time sharing space with our General Manager's office. I have the capsule that was used to save the Chilean miners and then Stephen sprung out of in his Evil Knievel/Elvis inspired jumpsuit at the Rally has been a mainstay in my office for ten years.

We have so many fond memories but my favorite is our current cover photo. That was the day we delivered and installed Stephen's desk. He was like a child at Christmas and couldn't wait for us to unwrap it. I still clearly remember the look of pure, sheer joy that bubbled across his face. It's the reason I love my job so much!

Bon voyage sweet prince! We hope to see you again soon
mvd

03/03/2026

Did you know today March third is blackwalnut’s birthday?
We officially started building our first job on March 3,2003
3/3/3
Now you know

02/18/2026

Here are the designer renderings and our finished live photos. You may notice that the wall layout is different in the renderings from the final product. After the entire studio was complete, packed into its sea container and shipped, we found out that the studio itself was being built to a slightly smaller footprint then we were told.

How much smaller you ask? Not much, only 24" smaller.

Even though this was the very final container and we were all taking a much deserved long weekend, we had to jump back into action and rebuild several elements smaller and have them air freighted. Some base sections were cut down and modified to fit onsite. All part of the adventure.

I want to thank all of you for tuning in to the Games and here for our little behind the scenes peek.

Thank you to every single member of our team who made this happen both at home and onsite.

A very special thank you to Mike and Atila from NBC Sports! We love you guys!

Thank you Bryan, Sid and Paul from HD Studio, we literally couldn't do it without you

Thank you to all the blackwalnuts old and new.