Furry Puppet Studio: Crafting Characters That Invite Belief
Furry Puppet Studio, based in SoHo, New York, creates custom puppets for film, TV, advertising, and live productions. Founder Zack Buchman, who entered puppetry without formal training, leads a collaborative in-house team of sculptors, engineers, costume makers, and performers. The studio emphasizes organic character development, starting from loose sketches and hand-carved foam sculpture, with the final placement of eyes being a transformative moment. A recent project, Frank and Morris, involved designing vulture characters for the Utah Office of Tourism's outdoor safety campaign, balancing humor and approachability. Buchman aims to expand into longer narrative projects where puppets evolve over extended stories.
Key facts
- Furry Puppet Studio is located in SoHo, New York.
- Founder Zack Buchman has no formal academic training in puppetry.
- The studio designs puppets for film, television, advertising, music videos, and live productions.
- The creative process involves sculptors, engineers, costume makers, performers, and fabricators.
- The placement of eyes is considered a transformative stage in character creation.
- Frank and Morris are vulture characters created for the Utah Office of Tourism's outdoor safety campaign.
- Buchman hopes to create puppets for longer narratives beyond advertising.
- The studio believes expressive restraint often produces the strongest emotional response.
Entities
Artists
- Zack Buchman
Institutions
- Furry Puppet Studio
- Utah Office of Tourism
Locations
- SoHo
- New York
- United States
- Utah
Sources
- AATONAU —