Hello all! 
I am just curious tonight... 
Those of you that make puppets for sale, or are puppeteers, or make puppets just for the fun of it:

If you work in something else, what are your occupations? Specially now a days that is difficult to make a living only from  the show business. How it works for you, you work full time somewhere, and get home and right after dinner run into the basement workshop and continue with the last puppet? Or maybe you just get to work on them during weekends?

And those of you who do make a living out of puppetry, how does it go?  It must be exciting preparing puppets for a big show in a city, or for a TV program... Or to be a full time puppeteer for a company or so.

Thanks for the stories, I want to read them!

Believe it or not I have spent most of my life in the retail food industry. I worked in grocery retail management as well as restaurant and catering. I retired early to move to SC to take care of my aging Mother.  I would not depend on puppetry as my primary income but it is a fun hobby.

I work for a Marketing company. We do b2b demand gen, telemarketing/product awareness, webinars/events, market research, etc.

I work in wardrobe, hair and makeup in the theater industry. Most my gigs are doing local work for traveling tour shows.  In each city most shows that tour need some local help since it cost to much to carry the entire crew that is needed with them.  That is where the local folks like me come in.   I also go out on the road from time to time with some shows. All this pays the bills for me.

I also do some web and design work but that is not as lucrative although I really enjoy it. 

I used to be the master puppeteer for a local company and before then had my own company that toured but now don't do as much aside for the forum here in puppetry. I do on occasion take on a project if it really intrigues me.

I work as an independent filmmaker and puppeteer (mostly I puppeteer just on my own projects). I like to build puppets when I can, but I do almost none of that work any more. I do quite a bit of puppet design and supervise puppet builds for many of the projects I'm involved with.

Children's Minister

I'm a Security Officer

In the 90s I was NY State Licenced for hairdressing That was a fun couple of years but I lacked the focus at the time to continue a career. I think that in many ways it was the first experience with the scissors which very well may have been an influence in wanting to do another art form 10-15 years later aka puppetry.

I work in wardrobe, hair and makeup in the theater industry. Most my gigs are doing local work for traveling tour shows.  In each city most shows that tour need some local help since it cost to much to carry the entire crew that is needed with them.  That is where the local folks like me come in.   I also go out on the road from time to time with some shows. All this pays the bills for me.

I also do some web and design work but that is not as lucrative although I really enjoy it. 

I used to be the master puppeteer for a local company and before then had my own company that toured but now don't do as much aside for the forum here in puppetry. I do on occasion take on a project if it really intrigues me.

Children's Pastor as well... which also makes me the IT guy, graphic design guy, staff writer, etc....  It's a multi-purpose job.  Occasionally, I get to play with puppets for fun! 

Former elementary and preschool teacher now I travel as a children's ventriloquist doing shows in libraries, schools, churches etc.