I just wanted to pass on this announcement made over at The Foam Book Forum by Vania.  It seems as if there are some sites that have been distributing their material.  I do support the free exchange of information but also feel it is important to support those in our community who are trying to make a living.  I know it can be a fine line to walk but I think we can do it.  I know that many members here are strong supports of The Foam Book and often share comments on it and even the techniques in it.  I think that is fine but remember not to duplicate actual portions of the book or DVD and upload or post them.

It's recently come to our attention that there are several websites that have illegal downloads available of both The Foam Book and The Foam Book DVD.  We are taking steps to have them removed from these websites.

I realize that in this day and age it's become commonplace, even normal, to illegally download copyrighted material from the internet.  Speaking personally, it's easy to justify it to myself.  Because after all, it's "just one song," or "I plan to buy a copy eventually," or "they're a huge corporation, who does it really hurt?"

In our case, it really does hurt us.  We pay to have The Foam Book bound and printed ourselves.  We pay for the duplication of The Foam Book DVD.  We are not a huge corporation with big pockets, we're a puppet company that wanted to do something nice for folks who were interested in learning a little bit about puppet building.  After all, we were once beginners too, and other nice folks helped us by sharing their hard-learned knowledge.  It's our way of helping to "pay it forward."

So I'll ask that if any of you come across any websites or persons who are offering downloads of our book or DVD, please let us know.  Or ask them to stop.  You can e-mail me personally at vania (at) greysealpuppets (dot) com.

Thanks to all of you who've supported us through the years.  Every time someone sends us a picture of a puppet they've made using The Foam Book, it makes us prouder than you can imagine.  

Also don't forget when you mention the book to provide a link where folks can purchase it!  You can also buy it via Amazon but I think that Greyseal makes more of the items if you buy direct from them. Also if you are out of country sometimes buying through them is the only way you can get them.  I'll post both methods.

http://www.greysealpuppets.com/FoamBook.html


P.S.  It is cheaper normally to buy through Greyseal.

Very well said Shawn......................... I think a lot of us copy and paste not thinking to give credit where credit is due. I get confused sometimes trying to figure out the original source because it has been copied so many times. This is something we must keep in mind and work together on.
I support Grey Seal and will keep a look out.

Billy D.

Thanks, Shawn!  We definitely support folks sharing ideas and tips and such.  That's one of the wonderful things about the puppetry community, is the way people freely share their knowledge with each other.  But as you said, we draw the line at duplicating actual portions of the book or DVD (or the WHOLE book or DVD, which is what I've been finding online). 

Thanks to all of you for your kindness and support.  We love ya!