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A Lifetime of String Puppets
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Leanne with Pinocchio |
David has had a life-long interest
in string puppets, marionettes and puppet theatre. It started as a
childhood hobby in his home town of Stone, Staffordshire in England
and soon crafting quality wooden puppets developed into his
livelihood. Bob Pelham,
founder of Pelham Puppets, was a great source
of encouragement and inspiration in maintaining his love of
marionettes.
David became a member of the Pelpup Club and met 'Pelpop' at a very
early age.
After leaving school at the age of
18 and spending some time in Canada, he returned to the UK and
immediately made arrangements to work in the Pelham Puppet Factory in
Marlborough, Wiltshire, stringing and painting
string puppets
and marionettes but his main
occupation involved working alongside Bob Pelham, building Animated
Puppet Display Units and demonstrating puppets in the London stores of Hamley's and Harrods. |
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In
1981, David moved to Weymouth in Dorset and established
the Captain Portland Bill Puppet Theatre. The string puppet
theatre featured many original characters produced by David
and a small group of creative assistants. During summer
seasons, the puppet theatre team presented shows in the
Pavilion Theatre, Weymouth and, in the tradition of the Punch
and Judy professors, The Capt. Portland Bill Puppet Theatre
featured contemporary celebrities and TV stars, including Paul
McCartney, Michael Jackson, HRH Prince Charles and Princess
Diana as well as popular sports stars of the time.
The puppet
characters became very popular figures in the local area - and
David and his team also worked in local schools, not only
presenting shows but also conducting puppet making workshops.
This led to his establishing his own string puppet
manufacturing business, and in Bob Pelham's time-honoured
tradition, continued making string puppets for children to
use. |
Captain Portland Bill |
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David came into
contact with various people from the world of popular music and
television, several of whom commissioned individual string puppets
either for personal interest or were featured on the ITV and BBC TV
Channels.
Although David has worked in TV and
theatres from time to time his main interest has been in making
string puppets and marionettes for others to use and enjoy.
For nearly 20 years, his string puppets for children have been sold
in toy and gift shops throughout the UK as well as in Australia,
Canada and the USA.
Although his range
of string puppets
mainly featured characters designed by David, in
2001, the timeless charm of Enid Blyton's Noddy was brought to life with a beautifully made, hand painted and
dressed wooden string puppets. (It is over 50 years since the
first "Noddy" books were written and
since then, Noddy became one of the most recognised and loved icons
in British culture with a world-wide following with both children
and adults.) |
Noddy seemed David's ideal choice of
character to become the "flagship" to a range of original
string puppet characters that made up the range of String
Puppets for children to use.
He worked
closely with the Enid Blyton Company (Chorion) for over 18
months to make his delightful and unique string puppet
available through the toy and gift trade, both in the UK and
beyond. Standing nearly 12"/30 cms tall and presented in
a full-colour display box, David's fully working string puppet
made a wonderful and very decorative keepsake for children and
collectors alike.
David no
longer supplies the toy and gift shops, but he is still able
to supply string puppets suitable for children by direct mail.
Visit the
String Puppets page for more information. |
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