Summer of Fun
May 27, 2010
I am pleased to say that just in time for the weather improving the orders are winging their way into the workshop. It already looks like it is going to be a busy summer of building. I am really excited to be trying out a couple of new techniques… I have a bunch of mental sketches in my mind’s eye which hopefully will become puppets before too long.

Also coming up is I-Fest, I received my conference schedule this morning… it’s going to be great! It’s a brilliant opportunity to meet other puppeteers and puppet builders to share tips and techniques. I have been 6 times already and I can easily say it’s the best puppet festival that I have been to. I’m really looking forward to catching up with old friends and making new ones.

If you’re going… see you there!
Take care - Dave

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Wolf Puppet Build
May 21, 2010
Those of you who follow my YouTube channels regularly will know I'm in the middle of a Wolf Puppet build to take with me to I-Fest in the States in July. It’s a fun build as I’ve not built a wolf puppet since Vernon in 2007 so I decided it would be a fun challenge to make one again. I always really enjoy building a character like this because on the one hand I have a good idea of what I want him to look like… and on the other hand he’s a completely blank canvass!

It’s selfish but I much prefer to build puppets for myself, it’s great fun to allow yourself to get distracted whilst building and to finish off somewhere 100miles away from where you started the build just because you allowed the creativity to run away with you a little bit. So part of me wonders whether Wolfgang will ever see the light of day… will he have morphed into something completely different by the time I decide to release him from the workshop?

All joking aside, I hope to show off Wolfgang within the next couple of weeks as long as everything continues to go to plan. Keep checking the facebook page for progress updates.

Take care - Dave
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Puppet Building Workshop with Phil Fletcher
May 10, 2010
I met up with Phil Fletcher on Saturday for a puppet building workshop. As he’s working on CBBC at the moment he is based in London so it was far easier to get to him then when he resides in his normal habitat of the frozen north of England :)
Phil has been a real help to me since I started building puppets 5 years ago in 2005. One of the things I really love abut meeting up with Phil is seeing the sheer volume and variety of the puppets he makes. In fact Phil’s creativity way outweighs his time - nowhere is this more evident than the shelves of his room which are covered in puppet heads. These are the fully finished heads of all the characters he has thought of making but has run out of time to build the body. Check out this video I made on the way home from out meet up.
Take care, Dave
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Visit to "Fletcher Towers"
May 07, 2010
I am excited to say I am going up to London town tomorrow to visit the fantastic Phil Fletcher. Phil and I have met up a number of times in the past and normally a few good comedy videos are the fruit of a day spent together. I am hoping tomorrow will be no exception. I wil be sure to take the camera so we can document anything worth passing on to you all.
Take care - Dave
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