Art Director Turns Passion For Puppets Into Profit

Laurie Nickerson, an advertising art director, knew she didn't want to work behind a desk. Eight hours a day staring at a computer screen left her sad, sore, and searching.

She wanted a job that was creatively fulfilling and allowed her to share her love for arts and crafts with others. And, seeing as she couldn't find one, she decided to create one.

Laurie and her just-as-creative mother, Cindy, began renting studio space where they could teach classes and offer other services, such as long-arm quilting.

One of the most fun, yet challenging, aspects of puppet making was dying the puppet fabric. Puppets are made from a fabric called Antron fleece. When you purchase Antron, it only comes in pure white, and the puppet maker needs to dye it to the color they want. Even in small quantities, this can be notoriously difficult to do in your bathroom or kitchen.

Much to her surprise, Laurie found other people in the puppet-making community didn't enjoy dying their fabrics anywhere near as much. For many, it was a burden.

On one particularly frustrating day at work, Laurie's mind kept wandering to how she had the space and love of the process to solve this problem for people. So, when she got home from work, she decided to create a simple website called Puppet Pelts, posting photos of fabric in several different colors for sale. She then shared the link with a couple of puppet groups she was a member of.

There was an instant demand for it, and puppeteers kept coming back weeks and months later to ask for more. This was when Laurie knew she had a new business on her hands.

Not one to rush in too quickly, Laurie started small when creating the next run of the fabric. She bought 50-yards from her fleece distributor and used simple craft dyes to create her colors. This allowed her to keep costs low and focus on just a few options.

To start creating more pieces at scale, Laurie and Cindy would need to use acid dyes. Although these sound sinister, they are not, and produce much less waste than what they were previously using. But to use these dyes, they would also need a 60-gallon soup pot they call Gertrude.

Laurie and Cindy chose the pricing for their fabric based on how much they wanted to earn per hour, after the cost of raw materials. They wanted professional puppet-makers to get the highest quality products possible, but also wanted affordable options hobbyists could buy as well.

One of the most frustrating parts of the business is that everything moves at a snail's pace. It can take four months from ordering fabric to receiving it. But, Laurie doesn't mind it too much, saying "It's only puppets. Nobody dies if the shipment is late."

At the time of our last feature, Puppet Pelts was averaging around $9,000 a month in revenue and, more importantly, has freed Laurie from the shackles of her nine-to-five job.