A surprise from down under!

I had a visit to my shop on Friday morning. He brought along a Koala Bear with him.

Mr Devane and I have been in contact for several months and just weren't able to find a good time for both of us. I finally got the chance.

He has asked me to restore this puppet. His name is Milko and was on the Rootie Kazootie show. He was made by one of the greatest puppet makers of all time, Paul Ashley.

We decided to keep him just the way he is and touch up some places that need touched up and reattach his neck and ears. Fix his fingertips and give him a good cleaning. Paul Ashleys puppets are all of museum quality and are kept under lock and key by collectors. Chuck McCann and Paul Ashley teamed up together for the Chuck McCann show in the 60's. Wow, what memories..... Here are some pictures of him. He is operated like a hand puppet with your fingers controlling the arms, but he has controls on the inside of his head for his mouth and his eyes. They blink! I am looking forward to this project and will keep his before and afters along with the pictures of others I have restored in a place of honor. a tribute to Paul Ashley can be found on Bob Albano's website www.mercurye.com/ventriloquism under makers of hard figures.

There are two heads in this other picture who have been very patient with me. I have kept putting them down due to orders or family emergencies and I have promised them I will finish them before the end of this month. The shop is moving along well again. My wife gave me a "personal day" to get cleaned up and organized so i can start preparing for the Holiday seasons. Here are some of the figures you will be seeing on ebay. If any interest you, or you have any questions about figure making or ventriloquism as always, email me at gepettosworkshop@yahoo.com t My entire reason for this blog is to help beginners and novice ventriloquists with their conundrums.