ABOUT US
BUTTER MAKES SURE YOUR PROJECT GOES SMOOTHLY
Butter Designs is a full-service design and installation firm.
Founded in 2022 by longtime collaborators, Faye Armon-Troncoso and Lauren Helpern, Butter Designs is the culmination of decades of Award-Winning experience. Butter creates designs/installations for theatre, film, video, exhibition, public art, hospitality, graphics and retail. We bring a multi-disciplinary creative approach to each project.
AWARDS
2024 - DEAD OUTLAW Best New Musical Off-Broadway Alliance Awards & NY Drama Critics’ Circle Awards; Drama Desk Nomination Best Set; Lortel Nomination Best Set /
Set Decoration & Props by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2020 - LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Drama Desk Nom. Best Set / Set Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2019 - SKINTIGHT - Robby Award, Best Set Nom / Set Design by Lauren Helpern & Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2019 - MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY - Broadwayworld Salt Lake City Awards, Best Set Nom / Set Design by Lauren Helpern
2017 - MUSIC CITY - Broadwayworld Raleigh Awards, Best Set Nom / Set Design by Lauren Helpern
2017 - OSLO Tony Nomination Best Set & Tony Winner Best Play / Set Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2015 - FUN HOME Tony Nomination Best Set / Set Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2013 - GOLDEN BOY Tony Nomination Best Set / Set Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2013 - HERE LIES LOVE Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination & Lucille Lortel Best Set Nomination / Set Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2013 - BEND IN THE ROAD - NYMF Award, Best Set Honorable Mention / Set Design by Lauren Helpern
2012 - CLYBOURNE PARK Tony Nomination Best Set / Set Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2011 - MERCHANT OF VENICE Tony Nomination Best Set / Set Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2011 - WARHORSE Tony Winner Best Set & Tony Winner Best Play / Set Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2011 - 4000 MILES Lucille Lortel Best Set Winner, Hewes Award Best Set Nom / Set Design by Lauren Helpern & Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2011 - THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL, Hewes Award Best Set Nom / Set Design by Lauren Helpern
2010 - WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING Lucille Lortel Best Set / Set Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2004 - BUG Obie Award Best Set & Props / Best Set Nom / Set Design by Lauren Helpern & Decoration by Faye Armon-Troncoso
2000 - BLUE MAN GROUP / LIVE AT LUXOR - Eddy Award, Best Set / Set Design by Lauren Helpern
Our Services
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Butter will help you develop and focus on what message you want to get across
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Butter will help you develop strategies to convey your message through design.
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Butter will integrate cutting-edge media to meet the challenge: video, sculpture, lighting and hand-made items to name a few.
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Butter does graphic design!
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Butter will take your input and draw the design for all to approve and collaborate. 3D drawings are a must these days to get ideas across.
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Butter will oversee and drive your project to realization.
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Butter is able to adapt to all budgets. We always come in on budget!
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Butter will get the right staff in place to make your project a success.
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Butter pays close attention to how installations are built. We use the finest carpenters and builders and take pride in the final outcome.
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Butter makes great props! We literally can find anything or make it!
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Butter has that eye! You know the eye that can balance and beautify - Butter has it…and has the awards to back it up.
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Butter has the experience and the team to install anything! Large or small we have got the team for your project. We excel at single installations and multi-city simultaneous roll outs.
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Butter will take down your set, put it in storage, or dispose of it. Some sets can be recycled and we help coordinate.
“The Butter team works with clients to visualize and realize their design needs, no matter how large or small. Involved in every step of the process, from concept to installation, Butter makes sure your project goes smoothly.”
— Faye & Lauren
Faye Armon-Troncoso was the first Props/Set Decorator ever to win an Obie! Recent TV: “Pretty Baby, Brooke Shields”, “School House Rock Sing-Along”, “Game Theory with Bomani Jones”, “FBI”, “Harlem”, “Dead Ringers” for Amazon Prime, “Money Hungry” for the Food Network, “The Good Fight” for Paramount+ (Season 3 & 4); and “The Big Fib” for Disney+ (Season 1). She recently collaborated with David Rockwell on the Museum of Broadway, which opened in October 2022. Her numerous Broadway credits include: Linda Vista (Hayes); Head Over Heels (Hudson); The Terms of My Surrender (Belasco); Oslo (Lincoln Center); Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Booth); The Gin Game (Golden); Fun Home (Circle in the Square, Tony Nomination Best Set); The River (Circle in the Square); Of Mice & Men (Longacre); Macbeth (Lincoln Center); Testament of Mary (Walter Kerr); Golden Boy (Belasco); Clybourne Park (Walter Kerr, Tony Nomination Best Set); Warhorse (Lincoln Center, Tony Winner Best Set); The Merchant of Venice (Broadhurst, Tony Nomination Best Set); Enron (Broadhurst); Albee’s Seascape (Booth).
Faye Armon-Troncoso
Lauren Helpern is an award-winning set designer, who has worked in multiple disciplines. Her critically acclaimed theatre designs, many of them world premieres, include: 4000 Miles (Lortel Award), Disgraced, Bad Jews, Skintight, Model Apartment, Seize the King, BUG (Obie Award), and several productions of Blue Man Group. Her work has been seen on Broadway and Off, as well as regionally at theaters including La Jolla Playhouse, Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Rep, Huntington Theatre, and Arizona Theatre Company. She designed “Ari Shaffir: Jew”, which currently has over 6.6 million views on Youtube. Her design work for video ranges from Elmo’s Apartment on “Sesame Street” (in collaboration with David Gallo) to training videos for clients like Merrill Lynch. She has created activations, events and benefits for a diverse group of clients including Tyson, the California Wine Institute, 92Y, and Gymshark. She has also worked on hospitality projects including Journey, a restaurant in NYC, and the Weill Cafe at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Helpern received her BA from Brown University and her MFA from NYU.