Balloons are great!

Your idea of making special boxes for your other creations is a good one and could set them apart from other puppet makers works of art.  Just don't forget to factor that into the price when you sell them. Now that being said I think the special box would appeal more to a general market then to puppeteers. The box makes it special for a person buying it as a gift or keepsake but I think a puppeteer may be more particle. That is unless the box is practical for storage and transport when they are doing shows.

I like the papered box "home",if it opens easily it can be used to store him later too, it will keep the dust off that white face.  If you made one of those plastic windows so you could see him in there your friend could enjoy seeing him while he is stored too. We once spent all night wrapping a group of boxes to look like a lion and the recipent would not open it to see the presents for months.  In hind sight we should have made it more functional to open without destroying the boxes.  I think he enjoyed the love we poured into our creation more than the actual presents. Your friend will feel doubly loved.

Shawn, I love your enthusiasm but I don't think Id ever sell to a professional puppeteer. One day I'd like to meet one and see what they think of my work in terms of movement etc but I doubt I would ever produce a puppet of the quality required for a professional puppeteer. One can hope!

Snail, I don't suppose you have any pics of the box lion before he was deconstructed? It sounds amazing but I'm having difficulties visualising just how that would work. Would love to see it!

So I figure it's just as important for this website to share our failures as well as our successes so here is my failed box. It's nothing like the original concept and unfortunately will prove impractical for both storage or transport. But hey, how the hell else do you wrap a puppet?!

Shawn, I love your enthusiasm but I don't think Id ever sell to a professional puppeteer. One day I'd like to meet one and see what they think of my work in terms of movement etc but I doubt I would ever produce a puppet of the quality required for a professional puppeteer. One can hope!

Don't sell yourself short. Mostly I've found that pro performers want something that works. Aesthetics is often secondary. They also recognise that there will always be limitations on what can be achieved based on budget, time, etc. They are more forgiving, I believe, than the non-pro buyers who want perfection more than they want something that does the job it's supposed to do. (This is my very limited guess from time spent with the local puppeteers)

I think your box looks great. It's certainly far better than attempting to wrap the clown in paper

@Snail

+1 for photos of the lion box if you have them!

I dig the box LL, to me it just ups the ante of the whole gift.  Nice work. I think it looks very professional.

Sorry no picture it was a collection of several boxes stacked so that one box was the head, one the body and little ones the legs, a sitting Lion. I don't know why my cousin bought him so many little presents, he ended up marrying her. I imagine they still have the pictures. Man, that was probably over 40 years ago.  I think your box is great, and will certainly get opened without destroying the box. 

What a shame Snail! If you ever feel inclined to try it again, please share your efforts! It's a fabulous idea.

Na, I guess it's just one of those things. I really am quite limited in my knowledge of puppetry in many ways. I'd love to spend the money on a 'proper' puppet and pull it apart one day. Or, if I'm the States (which I am hoping to do in the next year or two fellow American puppet enthusiasts...) do one of the professional building courses. But right now, I would suffice with actually meeting a puppeteer. I don't think I've ever met someone that actually performs with puppets. Would love to buy them a drink and pick their brains till they're sore!

Extremely off topic - I ordered some professional arm rods (the last 3 I could find in Aus) and now that they're here, they're not at all what I expected. There was no pic so I was buying blind but basically I can't work out how to attach them to my clown. They hook over at the top but the 'hook' part isn't malleable enough or wide enough to squeeze a puppet's wrist through. What's the go with attaching? Do you sew a loop of fabric or a wrist band etc on to the puppet to attach?

Could it be that it is designed to be looped around a doll joint (or something similar) inside the hand?

I have tried to find some pics to show what I mean…

http://puppet-planet.com/images/rodarmexample.jpg

http://puppet-planet.com/images/handROD3-1.JPG

Cheers Krafty. Those are actually kinda cool. The ones I bought look the one on the right hand side of this image. These seem reasonably common having done a little research, but not at all what I was expecting and they're impossible to bend in to a preferred shape. I guess these are the ones intended for use with elastic bands?

http://www.sunnypuppets.com/accessories_6.jpg

Sorry no picture it was a collection of several boxes stacked so that one box was the head, one the body and little ones the legs, a sitting Lion.

Still, the story alone makes me wonder what I can build with empty boxes!

Na, I guess it's just one of those things. I really am quite limited in my knowledge of puppetry in many ways.

I wouldn't worry about it. There's a lot to learn, and there's no way you'll ever be done. I may be 'ahead' of you, but really I don't feel or think of myself as knowledgeable either. It's just a matter of accumulated trial and error. Still HEAPS to learn myself and I think most here would agree.

I'd love to spend the money on a 'proper' puppet and pull it apart one day.

I know people do that but personally I wouldn't find it that instructive. Pulling something apart rarely is the same as knowing how to put something together. But that's just me - if you think it would help, try it and see!

Or, if I'm the States (which I am hoping to do in the next year or two fellow American puppet enthusiasts...) do one of the professional building courses. But right now, I would suffice with actually meeting a puppeteer. I don't think I've ever met someone that actually performs with puppets. Would love to buy them a drink and pick their brains till they're sore!

I've gone to the Puppeteers of America festival. I can't say it was worth it for workshops, but I can say that it was worth it to see different stuff and meet other people.

Personally, I think you could save your money and go local. I know the Tarrengower puppet festival is planned for early next year (March?) which is in VIC. I didn't go to the last one, but it may be quite good. And there are some people in Sydney, if you can get that way. I know the new place ... Loutky Teahouse, I think it's called... does workshops, slams and other things.

In general though, I've found festivals to be extremely good. Although content and quality can vary, the amount of stuff you get out of it is more than you'll get from a good book. It is very much worth saving and going to as many as you can. Last year's summit here was quite good, although the workshops were 90% for performers. My favourite fest was UNIMA 2008 in Perth. The problem with those festivals though is that they change countries. ... Oh, there's quite a few in Asia though. I've been meaning to check those out in more detail - but I have been to the Chuncheon one and it was fun. No workshops exactly, it was more for the general public, but their campus is amazing and there was a lot of international people performing there.

It may be a good idea to email UNIMA Aus and see if any of their mailing list would be interested in a meet-up if they're ever touring near you.

If I could afford it I'd come your way, but if you're ever in Melbourne you know you can count on me for a drink and a chat.

Extremely off topic - I ordered some professional arm rods (the last 3 I could find in Aus) and now that they're here, they're not at all what I expected. There was no pic so I was buying blind but basically I can't work out how to attach them to my clown. They hook over at the top but the 'hook' part isn't malleable enough or wide enough to squeeze a puppet's wrist through. What's the go with attaching? Do you sew a loop of fabric or a wrist band etc on to the puppet to attach?

As for the rods, my first thought was this:
http://www.creativemin.com/product/arm_rod_for_puppets/accessories
http://www.creativemin.com/faq#14
Either a wrist band, or a loop sewn to the wrist which you slide it through. Really they should come with instructions
Have you asked the person you bought them from?

... I recall the FAO Schwarz muppets have similar rods, but for the life of me I can't recall ever seeing how it is attached to the hand.