Puppet Pelts

Laurie Nickerson was building puppets for fun when he discovered a frustrating market gap: the specialized nylon fleece fabric used for puppet skins was only available in white online. Puppet builders had to dye the fabric themselves—a difficult process in small apartments. When Laurie got his own studio space, he saw an opportunity to offer a dyeing service catered specifically to puppet makers.

Laurie started with zero commercial dyeing experience. He began with one roll of white nylon fleece from Larry, the only fabric distributor on the planet who had access to the specialty fleece mill (which was originally created for Jim Henson's Muppets). His initial process was crude: dyeing fabric in his washing machine using Rit craft dye. But Rit dye was unstable and impossible to reproduce colors consistently—the dye particles for different fabric types separated unpredictably. After two years of frustration, Laurie and his mother Cindy bootstrapped their way to a breakthrough. They couldn't afford a massive equipment investment, so they took a day trip to the Utah Shakespeare Festival's dye room to learn from professionals. That conversation changed everything. They learned about acid dyes (which allow precise color reproduction based on fabric weight) and invested in a 60-gallon soup pot—"Gertrude"—for over $10,000. This was their first major capital investment, financed entirely by the business itself.

Laurie's go-to-market strategy was brilliantly simple: he posted in the Puppet Maker's Workshop Facebook group explaining he was now offering dyed fabric. About 99% of their customers still come through this single community page. Rather than hard-selling, Laurie became a helpful community member, answering questions and building trust. He even tells budget-conscious makers that puppets can be made from anything—not just his premium fleece. This authenticity created loyalty. When those makers eventually had budgets for quality materials, they knew exactly where to find him. He also partnered with a YouTube educator who taught puppet-building in exchange for a box of fabric samples and a store listing. This brought waves of first-time builders.

The biggest mistake was underpricing initially. Laurie based prices on materials only, ignoring his labor. About a year in, he raised prices and feared backlash—but high-quality products sell themselves. He introduced a tiered pricing model: Core Colors at $27/yard for basics, and Premium Colors at $38+ for custom shades. New builders buy the cheaper option; as they improve, they upgrade. Facebook ads were another win. With just a $30/month budget, Laurie targeted ads to top-purchasing countries. On a whim, he added Mexico and discovered huge demand he never knew existed. Large orders from Mexico started flooding in after a studio visit from a vacationing customer. The biggest disadvantage was accounting. Laurie and Cindy had no formal business training and struggled with Quickbooks, spending hours on bookkeeping that could have been delegated.

Puppet Pelts now generates $9,000/month serving a global niche of professional puppet builders. The business runs lean, with community as the primary growth engine. Laurie's advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: start sooner, embrace being different, and march to the beat of your own drummer.