Don't Be Discouraged
NervLab’s warehouse gives innovators elbow room to try out and legitimize ideas and inventiveness. We will lend an ear to dream fruition when start-up and ground-floor beginnings might not otherwise be possible. Founder George Mecca has over 40 years experience in the fabrication business covering everything from costumes to magic illusions to trade show booths and corporate theater. With beginnings in comedy, theater and music, George knows the rough road to commercial success, and he could be just the person you need to help you bring your dreams to life.
We hope to ride the coattails of success as well as shoulder some of the heartache of the realization that you or the world might not be ready for the bold new idea you have or point out the fact that your innovation once attempted may be too late or early.
Negative cheerleading may be holding you back. NervLab will listen and when plausible can facilitate by sharing our space, tools, assets, connections and support in the hope that your success will help carry us forward too. NervLab hopes to encourage you, and in case your idea begins to fizzle, boost you with support and square footage or take the next leap by sharing our experiences, assets and contacts. We pray you are the next Mary Kies or Thomas Edison to call NervLab home.
Virtual Reality
Early on when VR gear was expensive and not yet wireless, associates Ryan and Taylor introduced me to an Oculus Rift headset set up. I am not a gamer, but the potential was clear to me. One app allowed you to paint with ribbons of color in open space, and I wanted to share my excitement with anyone who would listen. James, another associate, when offered the VR experience declined because of his painful hernia; I persisted, explaining he could use the VR while siting down, and he reluctantly acquiesced. Two minutes after we set him up with the headset, he stood up and began moving his arms about and walking, forgetting the pain of his hernia completely. I was aghast.
Later, on the internet, I saw a hospital YouTube video where a man with a paralyzed painful arm was tricked by VR into thinking he could move his paralyzed arm without pain. This pain abatement lasted past his VR treatment time. It was then that I began investing time, money and space to experiment with an Oculus and a competing brand Vive to incubate what I thought would be a lucrative future in VR.
My collaborators had more of a gaming mentality, relocated and spent most of the investment playing and promoting the Eco Arena game. The Covid wave didn’t help. My investment in the equipment and the dream was resurrected by my associate Josh Fletcher and his company Mind Melt. His vision was to use the technology to develop training for police officers and hazmat safety demos; my mentoring then carried the VR dream forward in a more commercial way.
Fingers crossed the bond we formed dreaming together will eventually profit us both. This is an illustration of what NervLab facilitation can do to nurture the seed of an idea forward and change our world in a little or perhaps a big way.
Environments, Sculptures, Props & Model Building
Because of my extensive production background and custom building experiences, I can offer a unique perspective through NervLab. I have fabricated television, theater and movie sets, corporate theater environments, holiday experiential environments, interactive children’s museum pieces and trade show displays. Part of what I had to learn to do was construct projects that could be packed easily for travel as well as set-up and storage. I was lucky enough to work on some amazing and unique projects that required custom sculpting, crafting larger-than-life props and models to bring clients and audiences up close and personal. Creative problem solving became my passion.
Costumes
In the early 1970s schools began allowing girls into high school shop class and boys into home economics. My mom had already taught me how to sew button-eyes on socks to make hand puppets, pre-Jim Henson, so I wasn’t afraid to sign up for Home-Ec. That, and what a great way to meet girls. Soon I was cooking, crocheting, and more to the point, sewing. It was the beginning of my costume career. A combination of soft foam sculpture, sewing, and painting now referred to as cosplay, landed me jobs creating the first Chuck-E-Cheese suits, lions, tigers, bears, mascots and singing-telegram outfits. I also made quite a few costume characters for amusement parks and had to figure out a way to keep those folks cool inside the oversized character suits. It’s pretty magical to turn someone into Bugs Bunny or Pepe Le Pew or even a giant squirrel. Some of these retired creations are stored at NervLab.
Convention Booths
Convention halls are filled with expensive square footage, packed with showroom pieces to accommodate and show off the latest products to hit the market. But, what happens to last year’s models or structures? Often, it is dumpster time in Vegas, Orlando, Chicago, or LA … because the cost to ship and or store a giant toilet for a Poo-Pourri convention booth or a giant high-heeled shoe for a fashionable flooring company is expensive and old news or last year’s model.
That is where NervLab and I come in. Recycling or repurposing is an obscure talent that NervLab cultivates. Structures are designed to easily ship and assemble and disassemble. A new sign or color change to update a convention show booth can be attained without a hint that it is not its first-run or contains any recycled materials and can become a custom creation at NervLab.
Corporate Theater
I’ve been lucky enough to help create and fabricate some truly unusual scenes for corporate theater. Companies want to inspire and excite their employees and celebrate all their successes. One time, Rent-a-Center hired John Madden to be the commentator in a giant hotel ballroom, and of course (sarcasm) needed a full-size astroturf football field to pull off such a show. Prudential Insurance, after they flew their top sales executives in town, needed a giant stage with a chasing-light staircase to draw the attention of the crowd with enough space for the not-yet known band, the Dixie Chicks, to perform. Frito Lay needed a spaceship and staging. Often when large corporations merge, they hire creative presentation agencies like Corporate Magic to brainstorm their event; and then, we jump in to take care of the lights, sound and scenery for such an experience. What do you do with last year’s stage and logo? NervLab could be the answer.
Exhibits
The show, the venue, the original creation, the attention, anything that cultivates awareness is what I accidentally and eventually on purpose have become proficient at facilitating. This skill set has led me to be able to build exhibits that create a memorable experience from behind the scenes. I’ve focused on larger-than-life, surprising or attention-grabbing scenes to pull in interest. The NervLab warehouse shelves are filled with remnants of these exhibits and fabricated materials.
Industrial Arts
Just out of college, I was emotionally overwhelmed when I walked in the door of Paul Osborne and Associates (magic illusion arts and production company) and realized that corporate America was willing to pay well (under the right circumstances) for my creative artistry; these skills I had been led to believe by the educational system were self-indulgent and led nowhere financially unless you became famous. Now, I am blown away by the giant list of credits at the end of movies.
Vacuuform
Projects using the vacuuform machine are a lot of fun. I’ve had projects where we could use small and large format machines and multiple materials, creating everything from a giant 8-sided molecule to a dome for a table hockey game to a BMW crashing through a wall.What is Vacuuform?
Vacuum-forming is a process where sheets of plastic are heated to the point that they become pliable, allowing them to be formed around a plug or male mold. Since plastic is cheaper than other materials like metal or fiberglass, vacuum-forming can be an economical choice.CNC Router Consulting
While at Mecca, I became interested in CNC routing and had a feeling about its use in our business. I believed in it so much that I used personal retirement money to purchase our first router.We started using it right away, and the projects just kept coming. Because it’s computerized, the high quality of detail is amazing as well as the ability to produce duplicates of 3D projects. I’m so glad I took that leap.
Stunts and Wrestling
If you need a stunt consultant or mats for a safe landing in a film or stage production I’m your guy. I took 1st place in Texas in high school wrestling as well as college and have a collection of mats to break a fall.
Welding Consulting
Mecca Design and Productions in Dallas has extensive welding fabrication shop utilizing slip rollers, roll benders, plasma cutting, brazing, MIG & TIG welding, metal lathe, a 10′ shear, and more.
Welding consulting available out of steel or aluminum. Building of turn key products and one off custom pieces. High end paint finishes or powder coating. Projects can also be hand painted or made for vinyl graphic applications.
