Big Mascots & Big Costumes

custom mascot

School Mascots – Your Students Will Love Them

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Say you’re looking at a couple of schools. Both are terrific schools. At one school, the mascot shows up to greet the potential students. You take a selfie with the mascot and go to the bookstore to pick up a plush of the mascot. You’re already invested in the school culture.

Or you’re at a sporting event and turn to the person next to you and say “Holy cow! I love that mascot!” and that comment leads to a new romance or a lifelong friendship.

Both scenarios are monster events. Something BIG happened because a mascot was present.

As a college, university or high school, when you add a mascot to your program, you get more than a mascot to show up for your school’s sports programs, you also get a representative at events that matter in your community like parades, charitable runs and festivals. You can probably name a dozen of local events where your mascot’s presence would enhance your brand. Your mascot will interact with students, their families and create media opportunities.

How do I choose a school mascot?

You might already have made the decision to get a custom mascot for your school, and now you wonder where to go from here. We will guide you. we will be with you from the teensiet germ of and idea until the completion of a wonderful mascot that will walk with you, in front of you and tickle your fancy

Avant Garb can help guide you through the process. Starting from just the school name, logo or team name, or maybe you already have a sketch of what you would want your mascot to look like.
Send us your ideas, and we’ll work with you to create a professional mascot design and bring the mascot design to life as a full-sized mascot.

©Jennifer Smith 2023

9 Reasons to Get a Custom Mascot Costume

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Why get a big bundle of fuzz and foam with a big head? 

1. Mascots are media magnets. No matter how good-looking and socially savvy your marketing people are, they will not get the attention a mascot gets by just showing up.

Rowdie - Veteran's Day

2. You posted a photo of your kid (or your mom, grandma, boyfriend, uncle) dancing with a mascot. You’re probably going to buy the product, go to the game, consider the college, attend the event.

3. You have an amazing, custom-made mascot. Your competition has a brochure. ‘Nuff said.

4. A mascot is a diplomat, your representative at events that matter in the community like parades, charitable runs, festival. You can probably name a dozen event where a mascot’s presence would enhance your brand.

Griff – Griffins Hockey

5. When a mascot shows up, everyone knows they’re gonna have fun.

6. …and there’s mascot merchandising. Get bobbleheads, plushes, hoodies, caps.Mascot Merchandising -bobble heads & plushesMarketing and the revenue pool is much bigger than just the mascot. When people wear your image – or sleep with your mascot —I mean the snuggly, plush toy of your mascot!!!! —-you have made a lasting bond.

7. Mascots are the true, real life, totally interactive social media.

8. Mascots are Brand Awareness Monsters.

9.  Mascots promote goodwill for your brand because they bring people together in a community around the mascot. It’s a kind of accidental Flash Mob community. Mascots are the true warm fuzzies of marketing.

 Join the fun!  Let’s talk about your mascot.

The Best Mascot Company

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Are we the best mascot company?

We’re awfully good at what we do. We have to be. We’re not a mascot factory. We are a mascot studio. What we do is custom, custom, custom, custom. We make sure all of the unique parts of your mascot come together. If the tail has a bit of a curve, we give it the curve.

Savasaurustail/Annie

If you want a pancreas , a muscle and a couple of cholesterols, we design them, dye the fabric and bring them to life!

BodyPartSolo
Sergeant Squeeze - Heinz mascot

When Heinz needs a mascot (Sergeant Squeeze) in camo & mascot sized, desert storm boots, we’re there!

If you’re Oyster Recovery, we’ll make you a cute, endearing, dare I say, “stylish” Oyster.

Shelly the Oyster

When the Cav’s mascots want tattoos, we make it happen.

SirCC w/ Tattoo

Need some big, big muscles?

Muscle mascot arm -Laura
Kona Ice Penguin Mascot

And if you are Kona the Penguin and you have a favorite print on your Hawaiian shirt, we will have that print made, as well as make the lei and some really swell flip-flops.

Each mascot is an original designed, sculpted, stitched and engineered in our studio. All the fabrics, furs, and foams are hand selected for each mascot. Often the fabrics, and sometimes even the furs, are custom dyed to match corporate colors.

A Mascots is the real live, Relationship Building, Marketing Magnet & Brand Awareness Monster. It had better look good.

Is AvantGarb the Best? We think so.

Let’s connect and discuss big things!

Say Hello

Mascotland on TV

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Lauren Casey as a fish

We’re colorful, buoyant and a bit show-y off-y

…and when a stylish, lively interviewer with a TV camera comes into the studio it brings it all up to a new level. It’s MascotLand on TV!

Lauren Casey, from WRTV6 came by the other day. She is a one woman band.

She took out a tripod, put an ipad on the tripod, attached a camera lens, and away we went. Lauren does it all. She is fearless. She even tried on Simon the Soybean’s gloves, and later doffed the Loudmouth Fish.

Here ya go!

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©Jennifer Smith 2016

 

National Mascot Association

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nmalogo3

There are a lot of mascots running around, but there’s no central spot where mascot people can check in and come together…

….That is, until now! INTRODUCING

THE NATIONAL MASCOT ASSOCIATION

At AvantGarb, we are big fans of everything mascot. All mascots bring joy and curiosity whether they are totally fabulous, or a teensy bit ragged from age. Mascots create community for all who are near them.

As mascot makers, we like to connect with all of the people in mascotdom:

  • other mascot makers
  • mascot performers
  • designers
  • trainers – yes, really -get some training for your mascot!
  • the marketing people who have incredible ideas for characters.
  • The suppliers of the mascot stuff,
  • the people who dye the fabric,
  • the sewing machine guys,
  • the fabric & fuzz suppliers,
  • the foam suppliers
  • …and everyone who fills orders at McMaster-Carr.
  • the people who know where to get the props, Gameops.com, comes to mind,
  • the video people who catch the amazing mascot moments,
  • ….and the mascot fans.
Fuzzier Together – Safer Together.

Mascots are fun, but there are serious issues that need to be addressed within the mascot world. The most important issue is safety. The NMA is compiling  Mascot Safety Guidelines and Best Practices – for the performers, handlers, organizations, makers and planners.

JazzyJagKissCharging Ahead!

I hope you join as we bring the Association into being.

In 2018, we will gather, meet, chat, decide some stuff and put on little mascot shows.

…..and, well, it is a mascot organization…so there will be fuzz, foam and hilarity.

Everything changes when a mascot shows up because, when a mascot shows up, you know you’re going to have fun. Welcome to the National Mascot Association!

©Jennifer Smith 2017

 

Bringing BetXi Bear to Life – The Alpha Xi Delta mascot

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Bringing BetXi Bear to Life – The Alpha Xi Delta mascot

According the Alpha Xi Delta, AvantGarb is the”Glam Squad” for BetXi Bear. Her belt matches her shoes. of course! – and her shoes are yellow, patent-leather BetXi is ready for any occasion. Quote button

Lauren Fisher, wrote an article about making BetXi Bear, Bringing BetXi to Life – in Quill, the sorority’s quarterly publication.

Details, details, details

Getting the details right is what AvantGarb does best.

Making BetXi’s dress

We matched the fabric to theAlpha Xi Delta’s colors.

There is no fabric that is durable enough and has polka dots big enough for a socially active mascot like BetXi.

The artisans at AvantGarb cut out polka dots and stitched them onto blue fabric. We added light blueBetXi - Dress in process trim to the bottom of the dress and made that giant bow!

BetXi’s first appearance was at the Autism Speaks Walk in Indianapolis. BetXi travels from campus to campus promoting Alpha Xi Delta and their good works.

BetXi is classy, stylish and she has a big, big heart.Quote button

Alpha Xi Delta’s BetXi Bear