MUPPET WORKSHOP NY
The five story Muppet Workshop that was located just a few blocks from the Muppet Townhouse is gone and now part of Muppet history. What's left of the once great shop has been split up between the L.A. workshop and N.Y. workshop.
The New York workshop had been in charge of designing and building all Muppet characters until it closed down about a year ago now. It had between 25-30 puppet builders, costume makers, and prop builders and that number would grow to about 40-45 during a build for a Muppet movie. Sadly the creative talent that was behind all those beautiful puppets for the past twentyfive years has been let go. All that remains of the origianl builders are a lucky four and three or four talented freelance people.
All Muppet Show characters that were once kept in N.Y. have been sent to the L.A. shop with all of their props and patterns. Sesame Street and the Fraggles remain in N.Y.
It would be smart of me to mention that the New York Workshop was responcible for all of the great work on the Muppet Christmas special that everyone loved so much. It shows that even with all the crazy stuff goin' on all around them they were still able to do an incredible job. The New York Workshop was like no other place on earth. To be surrounded by all those wonderful Muppets and the extrodinary people who brought them to life was something extremely special.
It was an extremely rare situation to have such a talented group of artist and mad men working in one great big building, but this is what Jim enjoyed,and in return everyone at the N.Y. workshop enjoyed it too.
You should all be happy to know that there are various projects in the works and a great many things are about to happen. The Muppets will be around for a long, long time...you can all be sure of that.
So although the Historic New York Workshop is gone to an extent, let us never forget all those exceptional people behind the scenes, for they are the ones who provided the gifted Muppeteers with characters who had so much life, even when they remained still on a puppet stand.