Meet the Puppet Master!

Furry Puppet Studio builds all kinds of characters and custom puppets in SoHo, New York. Monsters, mascots, likeness puppets, marionettes, and yes, at least one talking kitchen appliance. The range is pretty wild, honestly.  More at  furrypuppet.com.  Below are some of them.

A close-up of one of the studio's character puppets. A face like this is mostly about the overall composition, the general arrangement of shapes. The eyes get a lot of credit but they are usually the last thing to go in.

     An octopus puppet, with carved foam tentacles.

One of the studio's custom puppets. Built the same way every character in the workshop is: hand carved foam first.

A talking refrigerator, built for an energy company in Philadelphia. He had animatronic eyes and very strong feelings about household electricity usage.

A creature with three custom eyes and dyed ostrich feather eyebrows.

Another character puppet from the workbench. Some of them arrive knowing exactly who they are. Others take a while.

   A huge shaggy monster puppet costume, work in progress.

A moment in the workshop. A furry monster being welcomed into the world.

Frankie Focus. New York State's mascot for their phone-free schools initiative. That is him on Jimmy Kimmel Live, worn by Matt Damon. Nobody quite expected that turn.

A likeness puppet of the television personality Desus Nice. Likeness work is really character design in the end.

"Lil AC and Andy," likeness puppets of Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, made for CNN's New Year's Eve broadcast. They have co-hosted it for about nine years, so by now these two feel like a real double act.

More to see at furrypuppet.com

                     and furry puppet gallery

                                                 and furry puppet blog

Everything you've ever wanted to know about Tootsietoy Dollhouses & Furniture

Patty Cooper has published a masterpiece of information on Tootsietoy dollhouses and furniture. Produced by the Dowst Bros. Co., it was trademarked Tootsietoy on February 7, 1922.

The original production pieces showcased, in miniature, the style of furniture available during the 1920s. Dowst's first production line made living and bedroom suites, dining room sets, rockers, chairs, davenports, desks, dressers, tables, beds and tea carts.

In 1930 Dowst introduced a new design line of dollhouse furniture in new color combinations and with moving parts....reproductions of real furniture produced at that time. Now we can definitely identify when our favorite pieces of Tootsietoy dollhouse furniture were produced during the years 1922-1945

Not only wonderful pictures of the Tootsietoy furniture are found in this new book of Patty's, she has included illustrations of many cardboard dollhouses made to house this delightful furniture made 100 years ago. One of those houses is the Colleen Moore Doll Castle made by Rich Toys in 1936 and furnished with Tootsietoy dollhouse furniture. 

Spanning 330 pages, Patty's newest book on vintage dollhouses and dollhouse furniture is a must have for collectors of Tootsietoy furniture and their dollhouses. You will need to read the book to find out how Tootsietoy got its' name. 

This is the 21st volume in a series of American dollhouses and furniture authored by Patty Cooper, all available at Blurb.com or from the author by emailing Gardenmont@aol.com.

My very talented friend SueNPhoenix

 Yes, that's the same one you know from the Etsy SueNPhoenixShoppe. Sue is known for lovely dolls,  the dresses she makes for them, vintage and antique dollhouse furniture and her own special creations like these adorable antique German half dolls on vintage baskets....

I have been fascinated with the room boxes she creates and decided you need to see them also. For Sue, as you will see, it doesn't have to be a regular commercial dollhouse roombox for her creations to take shape. Sue uses tall slim bookcases, empty clocks, decorative soap boxes, doll trunks and even vintage radio cases and bread boxes! And, of course, commercially made roomboxes. If it looks like it could be a roombox and it is in Sue's hands....it will be!

Sue used an antique shelf 

to create four different roomboxes.

A turn of the century room with elaborately carved sofa.

A cozy Early American scene....

an elderly matron being served by her maid. 

I would not be surprised to find 

that Sue made the quilt in the background.

Waiting for a man that's late again?

Room with a view....and puppies!

This roombox is housed in a lovely Mantel clock. 

Shall we peek inside?

A lovely lady getting ready to go to the ball! 

How lucky she is to have electric lighting.

Here are several vignettes created by Sue.

This looks to be a vintage doll case/trunk. 

Do you see the kitty sleeping in his hidey-hole?

A lovely outdoor scene on a hill,

overlooking a 4th of July celebration.

An early American cupboard....

and a vintage metal breadbox with a modern kitchen.

Sue created several "inside-outside" roomboxes....

Hmmn....Two Sisters' Thai Food....sounds "delish"!

....inside we find a cozy little restaurant!

Life's a Beach, assuming a beach is nearby.

A bar with a view....and puppies!

Chicago, Chigaco, that toddling town!

Doesn't look like they lost their blues, however....

Can you smell the aroma of baking cookies and cake?

YUM! YUM! YUM!

This is a  Punch Studio box that held two bars of soap.

Sue turned it on end and created a small two story house

 with a deck large enough to hold a patio set.

Here is a roombox that Sue created in a 

1941 Western Auto Truetone table top radio.

This is what she started with.

She refinished the outside and 

gave it a lovely windowbox of floweers.

She added wallpaper, a corner cabinet, curtains for the window, a wall of family photos and a mirror that was usually found in the living rooms of houses in the 1940s. 

(Yes, I am old enough to remember that!)

Typical of the homes in 1940, Sue added a comfy sofa and carpet in front of the fireplace. 

In the corner by the radio, we find the owners listening to  a  Fireside Chat from U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 29, 1940. "Arsenal of Democracy" was the central phrase he used on the threat to national security....nearly a year before the

 United States entered the Second World War.

This is one of my favorite roomboxes Sue has created.

I love this poster Sue made showcasing  

where the furniture in the roombox originated

....USSR occupied Germany. 

A unique roombox with an Asian theme.

Dorothy made it home!

A bedroom in shades of blue and yellow....

and another in shades of yellow and orange.

Is this a tea social before the turn of the 20th century?

I wonder how many times the lady of the house 

has rearranged this furniture?

Two little girls wondering how to entertain themselves!

Two retired gentlemen in a room designed for comfort.

Sue has designed a cozy American frontier room that doubles as a kitchen and living area.

Could this be a little Dutch kitchen?

Someone has been out with her young son 

picking wild flowers. Doesn't she look lovely 

in her blue and white kitchen?

These pups are hoping Mom is preparing their dinner!

Have the family moved out.... 

and left veggies in the sink?

Shades of Arizona and a little fox looking for a treat!

Sue, please explain how this fox got inside!!

The soft and pleasing colors of a Dora Kuhn kitchen....

and another Dora Kuhn kitchen that "pops" with red!

Just who is the jokester under the table, Sue?

Roomboxes with two rooms are also in Sue's collection.

 Same roombox, same bedroom furniture but with 

different accessories, and a new look in the kitchen.

A bedroom and a kitchen....and a pup who is checking 

to see if he has time to grab food off of the table. 

I love the little Dutch boy and girl on the buffet.

A visit with Mom in her new apartment.

In a larger roombox, Sue has used a room divider 

to separate the dining room from the living area.

The modern furniture goes well 

with the modern design of this roombox.

Single roombox with windows....

....decorated nicely in shades of brown and beige.

This is a rather unique roombox 

with one room a few steps up from the other....

filled with a cozy living area and dining room.

A turn of the century living room with rare 

upholstered Star Novelty furniture circa 1910. 

Yes, there is a pup in this room.

Same roombox with different turn of the century furniture.

Lovely background to showcase this beautiful 

dark-stained turn of the century German furniture.

And we end with the same roombox 

filled with a lovely carpet, 

turn of the century American furniture

 and two well loved pups!

Sue didn't create all these roomboxes without help. 

Meet Sophie and Princess Peanut!

They told Sue "There must be puppies!"