custom mascot costume

Beverage Can Mascots – It’s all in the Details

January 11, 2025Leave a Comment

It’s the Pop-top that makes the beverage can mascots over-the-top adorable!

They are a kind of “Pop-Art” , an art that raises the ordinary into the extraordinary.

That is what the mascoteers at Avant Garb do. We bring an ordinary sized container into an extraordinary size of, well…..REALLY, REALLY BIG!

The Beverage Can mascots are social media stars. They give people the gift of story and the story is backed up with photos on their phone.

People take photos of friends and family w/ the GIANT cans —and because the photos of the cans are on their phones they become part of the family of friends. It becomes a personal, serendipitous, word of mouth marketing, social media event.

Mascots are experiential marketing at it’s best. The give the gift of story.

Labels for the cans are printed on heavy duty, athletic fabric – a process called dye sublimation. The colors bond with the fabric. The labels don’t fade with wear.

With an enthusiastic performer, the beverage mascot cans move, groove and interact with their enthusiastic fans.

There are many beverage choices. People who interact with the Beverage Can mascots will tell their friends and family about the can mascots. Interacting with or watching the “Pop-Top Can” mascots makes them friends. We’re not getting maudlin about this. It’s true!

When a company spends significant time and money getting an original, custom mascot to entertain and interact w/ current and future consumers, they are sending them a love letter. The company is saying. “We want to be friends “

Thinking about a mascot? Get in touch – [email protected] 317-523-6267

Mascots Are Loyal &True

January 7, 2025Leave a Comment

Favorite players and coaches may change teams, students will graduate and tastes may change. The mascot remains true to the brand, the team, the school and even the idea.

Mascots are loyal and true.

Mascots are also totally, uniquely, adorably themselves.

Mascots are totally engaged with the brands, teams, schools and causes they represent.

Their ambition is to connect with everyone they encounter.

Mascots bring peace on earth and joy to the world.

Mascots are designed and created to be miraculous loyalists to the school, brand, event, do-good organization and even idea.

Here at Avant Garb – Big Mascots Big Costumes & Awfully Big Puppets – we work with you to design mascots with the right tone and enthusiasms.

Our mascot are one-of-a-kind. They are carefully sculpted and stitched.

Enlarge your brand with a mascot!

Be a knight in shining armour

Avant Garb brings your mascot ideas to life!

Get in touch

[email protected] 317-523-6267

Fuzz + Foam = Fun!

Mascot Makers, Designers, Experts & Know-It-Alls

March 6, 2019Leave a Comment

From Idea to Mascot & BEYOND!!!

We’re with you from from concept to design to finished mascot. We can also guide you with your mascot strategic plan, mascot training and mascot safety.

There’s a whole world of mascot trainers, advisors, designers and performers who are also part of our world. We consult with them on a variety of projects almost daily.

We’re mascot know-it-alls

Need a custom mascot? Get in touch.

Adorable Crew

We’re a pretty adorable crew. The gaggle of mascot makers at AvantGarb are loaded with talent. That’s Annie at the top of the page. She’s sitting on her favorite high-heeled shoe chair to attach a wheel to a truck mascot. She’s one of the Magnificent Mascot Mavens.

Queen of Fuzz

I head the crew of mascot experts. On my biz cards I’m the Queen of Fuzz. I started Avant Garb in my Berkeley, CA garage in 1986.

Mascots were just inching their way into the culture when Avant Garb started making them. They were so new, I had to invent ways to make them. We’re still inventing.

Master of Mascotology

Annie is the studio manager, and she’s in charge of shoes and accessories. In Mascotland, tails are accessories. She’s also my daughter. She has been hanging around mascots since she was a toddler.

We awarded her a special, Mascot of Mascotology degree

Puppets, Video & the Over-head Projector

Mike’s background is puppets, video & the over-head projector – yes, really! In his hands, the over-head projector is an art form & it’s hilarious! Turns out those are great skills to have in the mascot studio

Fuzz Whiz

Tonie was on the Phantom of the Opera Costume Road Crew for a year. She also grew up in costume shops. Her mother was a designer. She knows how to put all the foam, fuzz & fabric together.

Lucky us! Tonie also works backstage on many of the big shows that come through town so we sometimes get great stories of stars backstage.

Robotics, Sound and Lights

David is our lights, robotics & sound guy. If the mascot needs some sort of battery & sequential lights or some moving part that needs to be manipulated remotely, David knows how to do it. He is, indeed, a wizard!

Let’s connect and discuss big things!

Say Hello

Mascot Fabulousness – Bucky the Buccaneer

October 1, 2018Leave a Comment

There is a moment, when sculpting a big mascot head, or designing hugely, fabulous mascot clothes when I feel the mascot coming to life. For Bucky the Buccaneer, a mascot we made for Barry University, it was when we were making his fabulous, Buccaneer coat.

Bringing a mascot to life is magic. Bucky’s coat has a kind of magic woven into the fabric. For me, the coat gave Bucky his swagger. The coat was the magic moment.

Bucky had a well planned start. All mascots start with a rendering, a drawing of the mascot. Turkel Brands, an agency in Miami, Florida, provided a brilliant mascot design. We knew a lot about Bucky before we made the first paper patterns, before we started sculpting his head and before we engineered his tail structure.

Mascot Fabulousness

Bucky is a mascot that is filled with Mascot Fabulousness. When we sent him off for his grand debut, we knew we were sending off a great mascot.

Bucky has a big, expressive beak, a big, bird tail and a pirate coat with swagger! He has belts and buckles, a sword and a periscope and…oh yeah… a grand, flamboyant hat with a big, red feather.

Here’s a video of Bucky’s debut at Barry University

A Grocery Bag Mascot for Kroger

September 12, 20182 Comments

A Grocery Bag Mascot

The Kroger Grocery Bag Mascot was a delicious project! The Bag is named, “Big K”. He’s a bounitiful Bag w/ a nice bowtie & a bevy of glorious groceries.

We designed the Kroger products to have an animated look with simple graphics and the Kroger logo.

All of the Kroger logos are placed at the top of the grocery boxes, cans, bags, bottles and jars. It to appear as a kind of “crown” of Kroger products.

Produce!

Figuring out the patterns for celery and bananas was a challenge and we were up to it.

The celery and bananas are an added visual delight to an already awesome mascot!

Big K – The Mascot Diplomat

Big K, the Kroger grocery bag mascot, is a diplomat, Kroger’s representative at events that matter in the community like parades, charitable runs, festival. there are dozens of event where Big K, the Grocery Bag presence enhances the brand.

Thinking about getting a mascot for your brand? Get in touch

A Guide to Getting a Custom Mascot – Mascots Basics

August 14, 20182 Comments

It’s far from a common purchase. It’s so uncommon, people don’t have the language for ordering a custom mascot costume. If you’re thinking about a mascot, but don’t know where to start, AvantGarb’s Mascot Basics is for you. Think of it as your mascot guide.

It has answers to many questions like:

Getting a mascot design. We will make a dynamic, compelling design.Our mascot designs are made to fit a performer. The designs also have graphic integrity for print, signage, clothing, on the web, etc.
Understanding mascot costs for a custom mascot.
How to order a custom mascot.

There is also a quick explanation of something we call, mascotology, mascot marketing strategy and the importance of craftsmanship.
You may have ordered custom mascots before, but feel like you could use a little refresher course because:

You got a mascot several years ago but can’t quite remember how you did it.
You want a new mascot that looks like the old mascot – only better looking!
You want to add to your current mascot population.

Check out Mascots 101.