Normally, I create my puppets from the very essence of puppetdom. I build the pattern, the fleece, the features, and give birth to something from my imagination or what the fabric and foam say to me. I guess you could call me something of a puppet midwife. Whoa, that's weird.
On a recent trip to New York City, I couldn't help but go by the Muppet WhatNot Shop at FAO Schwartz. Ok, it was more like one of the first stops I had to make- that and Mood Fabrics. I read about the WhatNot Shop on line and played around with building a puppet on their website. It is actually pretty cool. You can design a Muppet WhatNot on your computer and then have it shipped to your home from NYC. But slow down you say! What is a Muppet WhatNot? (Chant that line like from the opening number of Cats- "What's a Jellical Cat? What's a Jellical Cat?!?! Moving on...) A Muppet WhatNot is an "anything" Muppet that has no features. At any point in a production one of these blank Muppets can have features added to it in order to play bit parts or be a member of a crowd. I guess the idea was so interesting, that FAO Schwartz brought it to the public and to those powers that be, I am very appreciative.
On that late April afternoon, my traveling companions (my mom, aunt and wife) made our way to the famous toy store. While they mingled among the stuffed animals, trains and dolls, I headed straight back to the WhatNot Workshop.
At first, you are greeted by this. Joy filled my heart, the voices of a thousand characters filled my head and I think my eyes began to tear up... obviously from a stray piece of fluff floating by. What moron would cry over a puppet?
There are many examples hanging on the walls, on shelves and in clear vinyl bags ready for the purchasing. Those are pre-made... no creativity involved. Barf. I understand this is a better option for some people. Bless their hearts.
There are also cases of Muppet parts and innards. Among them, a set of foam lips that belong Janice and a foam skull of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. If you don't know who those characters are, bless your heart.
Luckily on this day, I was the only person at the counter. Usually, the place is hopping I was told by the Muppetmeister. When you approach the creation station (I don't think they really call it that, it was just my name for it) they let you look around. When ready, you say, "I'm ready." Then they say, "Are you sure you're going to commit?" You then say, "Yes," and they hand you a little packet of Muppet body photos and cling-on facial features and clothing. You have to make a full on commitment in order to get past this first step. The guy at the counter was very specific about committing before moving on. I committed and I'm sure some say should be committed. After a bit of time (probably seemed like forever by the Muppet Man and my traveling fellows, who were all very patient), I made my choice. This was not easy, for the Muppet Man told me there were over 250,000 different possibilities. You can see my green guy in the bottom left corner. The others were thought about, but didn't make the cut.
The Muppet Man retrieved a body from a back room and eyes and nose from a lower drawer. Then, he proceeded to glue...
And glue...
And call for back-up for more glue... You can see the pre-made/ pre-bagged WhatNots in the upper left corner. I like to call this the beginner/ generic/ what's the point/ people with mush for brains section. The frozen stare on the orange guy at the bottom right agrees with me. You can see on his face he is saying, "Why would you buy a pre-made!?!?!" Suddenly I realize, someone might be buying a WhatNot for some one as a gift, maybe even a sick child in a hospital that can't come to the workshop themselves. Oh, I feel bad. But wait, couldn't they design one on the website and then that person take it to the workshop to be made, even if they were in the hospital? I don't feel bad anymore. But maybe they want it to be a surprise and would rather not have that sick child use what little bit of energy they have to tap the buttons on a computer keyboard, after all the poor kid has to take a break from peeling a banana he or she gets so fatigued. Ok, I feel bad again. But if that be the case, wouldn't they want to create a WhatNot from scratch for that child as a special one-of-a-kind treasure? I don't feel bad anymore. How could anyone feel bad around a Muppet. Let's continue...
After waiting for all of that glue to dry and paying my bill (those suckers aren't cheap, but well worth it in my opinion... I did have to buy Nikki some shoes (not at the WhatNot Shop) as well- it's only fair), my Muppet WhatNot was bagged up and sent with me back to the hotel. I was proud to carry him through the streets of NYC slung over my shoulder giving him the first vision of a world full of delicious possibilities. I couldn't wait to get him back to the hotel to take a photo. This is that photo, taken eight floors up overlooking Times Square. "Start spreading the news! My Muppet's here today! He wants to be a part of it..." You can finish the rest.
And then he came home. His name you ask? Jim Knimble (pronounced Nimble- the "k" is silent). I see him as being a very uptight news anchor. Only serious news, none of that fluff reporting. Ironic, eh?
For those of you who can't make it to NYC or FAO Schwartz anytime soon, Toys R Us has a WhatNot kit available for purchase online and at most of their stores. I stumbled upon this by accident and got so excited, I had to buy one. It comes with a body, various eyes and some hair choices.
On my Toys R Us WhatNot, I chose to use only the body and none of the accompanying parts. I named him Spud. He likes to break dance, although as of late he seems to be developing an interest in crunking too.
If ever you feel the need to be creative or just have fun, check out the whole story behind the Muppet WhatNots or make your own. The world can always use one more freak.
