Foam sculptures before fabrication.
The opening scene in Apple’s Critter Carol iPhone 17 ad features a snowy woodland setting where a raccoon stumbles upon an iPhone. Up pop more critters who join the raccoon in a catchy, heartwarming song about friendship. Legions of people helped create the ad campaign but the real stars – the fuzzy, slightly ragged puppets – were made by Puppets Magic Studio, a puppet studio founded by artist Daniel Byrne, tucked in the heart of North London.
Many puppets have earned status as household names, like Punch and Judy, Lamb Chop, and of course Jim Henson’s beloved Muppets and Sesame Street characters. The very nature of puppets is to portray an exaggerated caricature of humans or animals, usually to great hilarity. But for Byrne, puppet making is a serious business, a business he has successfully built over the last 16 years.
For the Love of Puppets
Byrne’s life-long fascination with puppets began as a child growing up in culture-rich London. He was taken with puppets – how they work, how they’re made and how they convincingly inhabit a character – and would create his own puppets and stages out of fabric scraps and cardboard. This early learning no doubt contributed to his deep understanding of puppet mechanics, storytelling and staging. He went on to study art at Central St. Martins College of Art and then Goldsmiths University of London, specializing in painting and sculpture.
While in art school, he began taking on commissions to create puppets and slowly taught himself the trade. By 2010, Byrne felt ready to make the leap to opening his own studio. Since then, Byrne and Puppets Magic Studio have created upwards of 400 bespoke puppets for clients, from small local theater groups to some of the world’s largest corporations.
Left/top: Finished farmer puppet. Right/bottom: Young girl hand puppet in the studio.
Bringing a Puppet to Life
To get a puppet project rolling, Byrne calls upon a pool of freelancers who he regularly works with, including professionally trained sculptors, animatronic designers and costume makers. “It’s about bringing together the right people for each puppet and what it needs to do.” The team meets with the client to understand the character’s personality and where the puppet will be used – on stage, in film, or in some other medium.
From there, the team draws up 2D sketches to get the fundamentals right, followed by a 3-D foam model for accurate proportion. Work then moves to testing fabrics for the clothes and body, followed by work on the internal mechanics and animatronics if needed. The face and eyes, so key to the puppet’s personality, are one of the last things to complete. As the work moves along, the designers are always mindful of where the puppet will be used and how the puppeteer will manipulate it, making sure it is comfortable to operate and films or performs properly.
Asked whether it’s hard to find people trained in handcrafts to create the puppets, Byrne explains,
“It can sometimes be tricky finding the right type of craftsperson, particularly as the work is so specialized. There’s a lot to think about beyond how a puppet looks. However, we’re pleased that there are good courses and training opportunities in the UK which can teach people traditional and new craft techniques.”
The Puppet Business
The economic landscape has been tough for many creative industries that rely on hefty client budgets. Byrne relates that “there’s a lot of time and skilled work involved in making a puppet, so tighter budgets can mean having to think a bit differently about how to achieve what’s needed.” This mindset may be why Puppets Magic continues to thrive. “Working in the arts will never be a straight line or completely guaranteed, and budget restrictions at the top will trickle down to us somewhat. Even when there’s enthusiasm for an idea, there still needs to be the funding to make it happen.”
After 16 successful years in the puppet-making business, Puppets Magic comes by new business organically, without the need for a large marketing budget. Byrne says, “We’ve been going for long enough now and worked on a variety of projects that a fair few companies know we exist. People also move between companies and productions so those connections can carry on into other projects.”
The puppets themselves are perfect ambassadors for the brand, especially with clients as high profile as Apple, Aldi and Marmite.
“With something as specialized as puppet making, having work out there that people can see helps. It gives them an idea of what’s possible and hopefully means they think of us when the right project comes along.”
One particularly unique project that is a fabulous display of Puppets Magic’s imagination and artistry came from the Verstiaire Collective, an upscale clothing reseller based in Paris. They wanted to showcase their commitment to sustainable fashion and reducing clothing waste by creating life-size “runway model” puppets to feature in their “Long Live Fashion” ad campaign. Using the store’s pre-loved merchandise for every bit of the characters’ bodies, including faces, mouths, clothing and shoes, Puppets Magic created Miss Classique, Rich, Lady Green, Drops and Hunter. The puppets lend a decidedly kitschy yet sophisticated vibe to the TV, print and outdoor ad campaign, even appearing on Paris Fashion Week catwalks.
Left/top: A lobster puppet gets the finishing touches to its body. Center: Wooden carved 9-string marionette made in the classical way. Right/bottom: Fun and colorful monster puppet.
Low-Tech Puppets in a High-Tech World
With AI reaching into every corner of our lives, Byrne feels confident that there’s no replacement for handcrafted puppets. “We see AI-generated imagery in nearly every project brief these days, and it has become a normal way of working for a lot of companies. Although it provides a quick and cost-effective way of testing ideas, there’s still a big step between an image and a physical puppet that works. Something might look interesting on a screen, but you then have to work out how to build it and whether it’s practical to use. I do believe that most companies and individuals see the value in human-made craft.”
Byrne’s clients have clearly seen the value in his handcrafted work. The puppets Byrne and his team created for the iPhone spot were lauded for their non-AI techniques. The ad garnered several prestigious awards and a 2026 Emmy nomination for outstanding commercial.
Long Live Puppet Making
For young puppet designers just starting out, Byrne encourages them to explore as many different genres of puppetry as they can and see which they enjoy the most. They don’t need to specialize in a specific type of puppet making, yet it can help to hone skills in one area.
“There are so many different approaches and materials to work with, and you might find yourself drawn to something you hadn’t considered before. Make things, try them out, and don’t worry too much if they don’t work the first time. Puppet design is very hands-on- you learn a lot by seeing how a puppet moves and letting other people have a go with it.”
Successful puppet makers like Daniel Byrne and his team at Puppets Magic Studio are masters at blurring the lines between real and make-believe, using fabric, foam, and lots of bits and bobs. Whether the puppets are destined for the stage, screen, or somewhere else, they have no doubt been made by artists who consider it a labor of love, one mixed with imagination, artistry, and a little bit of whimsy.
Paula Wilson
contributor
