Deep in a cavernous New York City warehouse, the artisans behind some of the world’s most beloved children’s characters have been fashioning costumes and puppets for years in relative anonymity.
Now Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the workshop founded by the legendary creator of the Muppets, is drawing back the curtain.
This year, the company opened the doors of its Queens workshop to public tours for the first time, allowing fans to meet a puppet builder, see a puppetry demonstration and take photos and videos with beloved and iconic characters.
Jason Weber, the shop’s creative supervisor, said the tours, which cost $150 a person, are an opportunity to celebrate the unsung craftspeople that bring these famous characters to life.
“There is a level of expertise here that we’re sharing. It’s not just going to a pop-up store or something like that,” he said during a recent visit. “Things are made one-of-a-kind, made by hand with artisans who have been trained for years and decades.”
