How to commission a puppet maker

This is sort of a beginners’ guide to knowing the right things to ask in order to commission a puppet maker. For the sake of us puppeteers, learn about how the commission process should work: read before you do anything; finding the right person for the job; quotes and prices; timelines; policies and payments; replicas; giving specifics; galleries and showcases; following up; and WHERE TO FIND PUPPET MAKERS.

This is another one of my ‘pet peeve’ posts, mainly because I get regular emails from people asking me about commissions. I find (from my web stats) that few of them actually read the info I provide on my site about what I do. The reason it’s one of my pet peeves isn’t so much that people don’t bother reading the info available before contacting me; it’s that when they do contact me, they do so with annoying ambigiousity. So with these past experiences in mind, I’d like to "submit for your approval" some basic etiquette guidelines for when you contact a puppet maker about a commission. Not that I think this will help either, but it might…

1.Read before you do anything

I think it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: when approaching a puppet maker, do at least try to read the info on their site/publicity materials first. Puppet makers usually specialise in one or two areas. This means that contacting a person to make a marionette when they obviously advertise muppet-type puppets is pretty much a waste of everyone’s time.

Additionally, most puppet makers have their own policies on what kinds of commissions they take, have time limits listed on their websites when they’re too busy to take more work, have different copyright or return polices, etc. etc. Reading their info beforehand will save you, and them, a lot of confusion in the long run.

2.Make sure that you’re contacting the right person for the job

I already meantioned this in passing above (and yes, I will explain where to find them further down this post). There are a vast variety of puppet types, along with materials and methodology. Puppet makers tend to specialise for the simple reason that most of us can’t do every kind of puppet to an exceptional quality; additionally, many of us enjoy one puppet type more than making others. (I for one prefer shadow puppets)

More than that, it might turn out that you don’t need a puppet maker at all: A while ago I had an odd email from a man who wanted something made. He explained in a lot of detail what he wanted, but at the end of the email, it was clear to me that he didn’t actually want puppets; he wanted something more like installation art and sculpture. I asked him to clarify whether he wanted objects that moved, or something that was to sit still in the space.

The reply I got neither clarified the issue for me (it was a yes/no answer required, and he gave me no further info which would end in a yes or no in anyone’s language), nor did it convince me that puppets were what the person wanted. My guess is that a lot of business people don’t know much about art/materials, and confused themselves by conflating the type of materials used (foam) with the type of person who could use it (sculptor or puppet maker?)… Basically, if you want sculpture, contact a sculptor. You want a puppet, contact a puppet maker. Of course, some people do both (or one or more of other types of art), but obviously you’re only wasting your time and someone else’s if you don’t work out the difference between what you want and what is on offer as a service.

3.Quotes and prices

This is discussed in more detail here, but the basic summary is: puppets AREN’T cheap. It’s a myth that they are. I guess it’s partly to do with the fact that factory-made puppets often cost less than $50 (sometimes even $15 or $20), but partly to do with the fact that prices for custom-made puppets aren’t so openly advertised.

Anything commissioned means the puppet maker has to spend time developing a character design; a pattern to work from; building something from scratch; and creating something that is unique. Puppet makers, even experienced ones, have accidents and mistakes. (You may have standards, but so too does the puppet maker. If they’re not happy, then you’re probably not going to be happy either, so we like to get things right, even if it takes longer to do so) Often what works well on paper doesn’t translate easily to three dimensional and functional form; and the only way you work that out is when the puppet is actually made. Time and labour is what you’re paying for, and the old adage is true: you can pick two of three, good, cheap and fast. If you’re expecting a craftsperson to make something that’s good and cheap, or fast and cheap, well really, you’re asking to be presented with something that’s low quality.

It really helps if you, the customer, learn a little about what to expect from pricing and quotes; if nothing else, it makes price comparisons much easier to do, because you’ll know why a person charges more than someone else, or why the quote seems too high or too low. (Too high and it may mean you’re being overcharged; on the other hand, too high and it may mean you have low expectations of the cost. Too low and it may mean good pricing for you; on the other hand, too low and it may mean loss of quality on your final product)

If you want to get really knowledgeable before approaching a puppet maker, then you can learn more about materials, methods, etc., so that you can know what kinds of things to ask and what kinds of things to expect. Professionalism is a lot more than just money.

4.Timelines

Timelines are important; do you want it fast, or good? You may not get both. Image courtesy of Neil Cummings.

Part of the problem of commissioning people to make puppets is that they really do underestimate how long it takes to make one. Grab a sock and some buttons from a drawer and in five minutes you have a sock puppet; but that’s not really how it works in the puppeteer’s workshop. Even asking someone to build you a puppet - depending on what type it is - in a month may not even be enough time for the puppeteer to make it, and make it well. Rush commissions are the worst, because the client has the highest expectations with the lowest amount of time to reasonably make something. 

Understandably, there are times when you just need a puppet and need it now (although I really can’t think of any emergency that requires a puppet being made immediately) and puppet makers do try to accommodate rush orders. I discussed rush orders with other puppeteers, and one thing was clear: the closer the deadline, the lower the quality. This is true of anything really, but when it come to puppets, it’s even more noticeable. Puppets can’t be whipped up on machines (ever try putting a foam head-shape into a sewing machine?) and most everything has to be done by hand. This means handsewing all of the details onto the puppet, and that takes time. And this isn’t just your average sewing job either: you have to go around corners, inside heads, under mouths and chins, in hard to reach places and around all sorts of other already-attached parts of the puppet. And it has to be functional. So the sewing, for example, doesn’t just have to hold everything in place: it has to hold everything in place, whilst the puppet materials are being contorted every which way during performance… and hold everything together for more than one performance/rehearsal/whatever. This means teeny tiny strong stitches, doubling back, testing the fabric… Can you imagine doing this in a matter of minutes? If you can’t, then you get some idea of what it means to make a puppet on a professional basis. 

With this in mind, take a step back and be more reasonable in the deadline (and don’t change it last minute from a couple of weeks to a few days!). If you’re planning a present for someone, it’s a good idea to begin looking for puppeteers to work with months in advance, not weeks. As you can see from the cost of puppets, expecting something fast will only reduce the quality of the puppet or increase the cost. The best thing you can do is plan ahead, and discuss with the puppeteer what their timeline will be; if necessary, you may want to consider sub-deadlines, so you can keep track of the progress of the build. But in general, trust that the skilled party - the puppeteer - knows what they’re doing and if they need more time, it’s not because they were playing video games the whole time.

It’s fine to have high expectations of quality: it’s not fine to have high expectations that that quality can be achieved in a day, or a week, or a fortnight. You need a puppet? Plan ahead. You really can’t get professional-quality in a week. 

5.Policies and payments

So once you’ve found someone you’d like to commission, it’s a good idea to check out how they take payments and what their policies are. This isn’t just limited to finding out if you can return the puppet once it’s been made; it’s also about their copyrights and what you can do with the puppet once you’ve got it.

One of the things that hardly ever gets discussed, but is mostly assumed, is contained in these two issues. You should make sure that you know what the puppet maker’s copyrights are (both performance and design), whether or not fees go up if you want to retain either of those copyrights for yourself, and/or if they are given to you as part of the commission. Many puppet makers have different copyright policies (read here for more info [link to be added]), so it’s not safe to assume that the copyrights are immediately yours. It’s also not safe to assume that copyright doesn’t exist at all, even though you’ve commissioned the puppet; character design, depending on how it’s developed, may be copyrighted to the puppeteer. Check your local laws on copyrights before assuming anything, and make sure you have a written agreement with the puppeteer, before moving ahead.

You need to also find out what happens with the payment: does the puppet maker take a deposit (many do in order to not waste their own resources on a last-minute cancellation), do they offer refunds, if you’re not happy with the puppet what happens, how do they get paid… Many puppet makers offer a number of payment options. Additionally, and this is important to keep in mind, puppet makers can offer design services (ie. they can submit a brief description of the puppet, an outline of costs/quote, and sketches or images of what the puppet should look like) before or during the commission process. Best of all, some puppet makers actually offer their customers a build-by-build set of photos, so you can see the puppet as the person makes it. Kind of like quality insurance: you can make sure that everything looks and works the way it’s supposed to. You should also discuss a timeline, so you have a rough idea of how long things will take and when you can expect your puppet. In general, the more conversation and regular contact with the puppet maker you have throughout the commission process, the more involved you can be in decisions and quality control.

6.Replicas

Don’t approach people about making replicas of something you’ve seen on TV/film/stage. This is discussed in detail here [link to be added]. I am quite frankly amazed that people think they can get replicas. I had a woman call a few weeks ago asking if I sold Kermit puppets. I explained that no I don’t sell them, and that in fact they are illegal. I did suggest she buy a Master Replica puppet (the poseable toy, and it’s official merchandise), but then it occured to me: is this puppet going to be performed with? She replied yes. Well, I even more emphatically stated, "well, you can’t buy replica puppets, that’s illegal, and breaking copyrights". She didn’t seem to get it, although, again, I don’t know what’s so hard to figure out. Puppet characters are automatically copyrighted, just like a piece of music. You can’t copyright the methodology used to build it, but you CAN copyright the character. This concept never seems to sink in, so it needs bolding and italicising. You wouldn’t think it would hurt to make a replica, but us puppeteers don’t get a lot of money from our work, and as I have a fondness for saying: if you like someone’s work so much, support them and help them keep doing the art you love by buying only official merchandise. If there’s none to be had, well, too bad.

No legitimate puppet makers sell or make replicas. Those that do actually get sued! Contacting a puppeteer to make you a replica is going to be a waste of time.

7.Give specifics

Once you do make contact with a puppeteer, include as much information as you can. There’s always this myth that if you reveal too much of an idea, someone will steal it from you. That’s, frankly, bull. A puppet maker isn’t going to steal your idea, run off, and leave you hanging. For a start, why steal someone’s idea only to have to pay out of your own pocket to then make and design the puppet? (And then leave yourself open to be sued, which actually does happen in the puppetry community, believe it or not!) This is to say nothing of the fact that most of us already have too many ideas to use and often have various projects going; why would we steal your idea when we don’t have time to fullfil our own? 

As you can see above, we actually encourage people to avoid copyright infringement, and a fellow puppeteer doing it is basically ostracised. I have actually had a puppeteer - who shall remain nameless - plagiarise from this very site, and trust me, they won no friend in me. And to be honest, if you’re so damn nervous about sharing, then don’t bother contacting someone else; just make it yourself. Then the only person who could steal your idea is you .

But if you do decide to contact a puppet maker, give as much info as possible. This includes things like:

• This is perhaps the most important thing to mention - please tell the person what the puppet is needed for! Will it have to walk, talk, move its arms, pick things up, is it for TV/film, for theatre, or for fun… That can help the puppet maker decide on a quote, or whether or not they have the skills/time/interest in making the puppet for you, and many other things. Even if you don’t know the details, just having a basic concept of what the puppet will need to do will help immensely
• It really helps if you mention your location. Believe it or not, but I get contacted occasionally by Americans (I’m Aussie); but even those who are interstate or local don’t mention their location until I ask for it. This is really unhelpful, because sometimes the types of puppets are simply too heavy to ship cheaply, and so it ends up wasting the customer’s money. If the person asks for something that is of such heaviness (ie. 5 giant parade puppets) and is out of state, then I often recommend they contact someone closer to home
• Leave some contact info. Granted, if you’ve called or emailed, it’s likely that we have contact info already. However, it’s always nice to have a phone number if there’s an email, or vice versa. Sometimes it’s easier to have a live conversation than a typed email conversation too. And sometimes people type in their email wrong, and it gets bounced later.
• A character concept, even if it’s just the type of animal or human that you’d like. Details can often be fleshed out later
• Your budget (if you don’t want to share that straight away, that’s fine, the puppet maker will give you a quote anyway and you can decide then if you need to negotiate or walk away)

Most of all: if the puppet maker asks you to explain something in more detail, do so. If you’re uncertain of something, that’s fine, just say that. The puppet maker can then ask you more questions to help you clarify your ideas, and help them understand what your needs/requests are. But if you offer a statement that does nothing but keep the puppet maker in the dark, then it’s not really helpful to either of you. As you can see from my story above, if the man had given me a yes/no answer to "will the object have to move" I would have taken it more seriously. Even if you have the firmest ideas in your head, I can guarantee you, unless you write (or talk) just as clearly, the puppet maker will be confused as hell. And nothing says waste of time than someone contacting me and giving no information other than "I want a puppet. Make me one" (believe it or not, but that quote isn’t an exaggeration, but word-for-word from an email).

The reason why details are so important is that often the puppeteer must elicit information that the client doesn’t think is relevant, and yet, it is.  The client and the puppeteer have two different ways of thinking. The client will be thinking of character design, perhaps of how they might be using the puppet, and overall have few details sorted out. The puppet maker on the other hand will probably think little of character (since that is more aesthetics and/or oftentimes done last in a building process) and more on mechanisms and the basic structure.

Let me put it in an easier to understand analogy. Say you are commissioning an architect to design your house. Whilst you are standing on your piece of land, you imagine your kitchen, and your bedrooms, and the layout of the house. The architect will also consider these things, but will be more concerned with structure: if the bedrooms are located below the bathrooms, where will the plumbing go; which way will the doors swing so corner rooms have easy access; where does the light hit the house the best for the correct placement of windows. As you can see, you as the house owner are imagining the overall feel or atmosphere of the house, whilst the architect is concerned with making sure the house works so you can get the most out of your purchase. It’s the same with puppets.

Basically what I’m trying to say is that if the puppet maker asks you to clarify an idea, or suggests something to you, they are only trying to understand what you want better, in order to provide the best service they can. Or if nothing else, clarify for themselves whether or not their skills or interests match the concept of the puppet enough to actually make it for you. Furthermore, if the puppet maker suggests a better way of doing something, try to listen. It may not meet your aesthetic ideas, but generally the builder is offering experienced advice, based on practicality. (Real world example: if a carpenter tells you to make your chair legs level so you don’t fall off it when you sit down, it’s not about aesthetics. It’s about practicality. And you’d listen to them, wouldn’t you?) Trust in that experience, it’s worth it. For more info about how a puppet maker goes about starting a project, you may want to read the basics of puppet design.

8.Galleries, showcases and meetings

Once you’ve checked out the relevant info on the puppeteer’s website or other marketing materials, you may want to also check out their previous work. Puppet makers have lots of examples lying about at home, so if you’re not happy with looking at photos on the net, ask them if they can provide a viewing of their work at a suitable location. Some puppet makers have workshops, exhibition spaces, or live performances to see. Others work from home, and may welcome you in, or provide a suggestion on meeting somewhere neutral. You can even meet for coffee and/or a meal, and discuss things face to face. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, look around, and most important, play! Puppet makers are perfectly happy, and in fact, expect you to want to test out the merchandise. After all, your puppet will be used too, so you need to make sure that the puppet doesn’t fall apart as soon as you pick it up. This is basically your opportunity to ‘kick the tyres’ before you commit any money.

9.Follow up

You call us. We call you. You never call back. Phone tag wastes time and money. Image courtesy of Sean MacEntee.

One thing that constantly bothers me with potential clients is that 9/10 times they do not follow up. The amount of time and money I have wasted chasing people via missed phone calls, or going to meetings only to be stood up (once is fine, but the client doing it twice suggests they’re less interested in hiring me than I am in doing a good job), or to have worked out an agreement to make puppets only to have the person disappear just as money is to be paid. 

Despite the fact that I’m an artist, I expect to get treated like a professional. I don’t think these people would disappear as easily if the meetings were with bank managers, or something less arty. So take care that you respect us as professionals, because we are. If we stood you up for a meeting, you’d think we weren’t; so why the clients think it’s ok to do it to us is beyond me. 

Now, we fully expect some people will change their minds; find a better quote; freak out at the quote and put the project aside for more prosperous times; etc. However, as a courtesy, it’s a good idea to follow up with the puppet maker after you have contacted them. We will do our due diligence and try to contact you, but after a number of attempts we’ll likely move on to more interesting projects with more respectful clients. Even if you’re no longer interested, it’s just nice for us puppet makers if you return serve and let us know. Remember, you’ve contacted us, not the other way around. Yes, we like to get more work; we also prefer not to waste time following up on said work, especially if it results in us getting no work (and wasting money) because you won’t reply to phone calls or emails.

10.Where do you find puppet makers?

This one is fairly easy to answer. In most every country will be a group called UNIMA, which is the international organisation for puppeteers. There’s an UNIMA USA, an UNIMA Australia (Aussies can find more info about puppet makers here), an UNIMA South Africa… and so on. Each centre will have a list of members you can contact, or at least have a method to pass info to their members via a newsletter. If you head to the website for the HQ of UNIMA International, you will find contact info for each country’s centre. (Some countries, such as America, have other puppetry organisations too, but UNIMA is the only one that is global)

Additionally, you can find puppet makers selling their wares on Etsy.com or eBay; at these three online forums, Puppets and Stuff, Puppet Hub and Puptcrit (the last is an email discussion list); through your local puppetry company; via any university or college that offers puppetry courses; or of course, you could just try googling. There’s a lot of us out there.

… Now that you know all these things, I’m sure you’ll find commissiong a puppet maker a far easier job, and that you’re a more well-informed potential customer than before. Not only do the above points help you, they help us, and in the long run, you’ll have a much less frustrating experience and be able to enjoy your specially-made puppet all the more.

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