HAND HELD The Puppet Company has a range of toys for both children and adults alike – and there are some surprise hits within the product offering… When did you start up and why? The Puppet Company originally started in 1999 and began life as ‘The Table Top Theatre Company,’ designing and selling puppet theatres before expanding the business into the wonderful world of puppets through building on our backgrounds as teachers. From beginning the business on our kitchen table, we are now the largest manufacturer of puppets in Europe and are very proud to still be a family business. What prompted you to launch the business? Having started off making and selling puppet theatres, customers began contacting us and asking where they could buy puppets to use alongside them. We realised that there was an opportunity to develop a range of puppets that were well designed and fun. And so The Puppet Company was born. What challenges have you overcome since the company’s launch? Like all businesses we have had our fair share of struggles over the years, such as supply issues, material shortages and rising costs, alongside more recent problems with the container shipping crisis, Brexit and the pandemic. One of the most memorable challenges we’ve had was getting an entire 40-foot container of Large Bird Parrot Puppets cleared from customs after being held for weeks during the first bird flu pandemic, as the inspectors were concerned the boxes may have contained live parrots! Tell us about your product offering. We design and manufacture thousands of different puppets, ranging from finger puppets through to glove and full-bodied puppets, alongside our sister company Wilberry Toys, which produces beautiful soft toys that complement our puppet collections. We have various ranges each targeting a different end user, with products suitable from birth through to much 40
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=