mascot costume

Following the Sexy Salmon, I made a black velvet “Formal Clarinet” for the Seattle Symphony. Joan Mondale, the Vice President’s wife came to Seattle to see a Friends of the Rag performance. I was wearing the Clarinet. I later met Joan Mondale in DC, at another Friends of the Rag production. I told her that last time we had met, I was a clarinet. She said, “I remember”.

There must be so much meticulous detail in creating one of your mascots. How long does it usually take to complete one? Or does that depend on the character involved?

It takes a million hours to make a mascot. We sculpt the head and cover it with fabric and fur, make the patterns for the body, the muscles, big belly, giant head, legs, arms, tails that boing and really big mascot shoes. Yikes! Yes, there are detail, details, details – like eyebrows, painting the eyes, making sure there is plenty of vision ( which needs to be hidden) and ventilation ( also hidden)…. and claws and clothing and logos. Yup, it takes a million hours.

Is there a lot more involved in one of these costumes than meets the eye? I mean, are there certain safety and health requirements that have to be met?

The performer’s safety is always at the front of my mind. We work hard to give performers good, stable vision. That means, there is an athletic helmet that is secured inside the mascot head. Sometimes the hardest part about making the head is placing the helmet so that the performer has good, stable vision. We also put air vents in the head. Air needs to circulate so the performer can breathe. We have engineered mascot shoes so that the performer’s own shoes are secured into the mascot shoe. Nobody likes to wear someone else’s sweaty shoes. Mascot performers shouldn’t have to either. We send each mascot out with its own Mascot Manual so clients know how to care for their mascot.

Have you found that just as many adults enjoy your work as kids?

Mascots are a public spectacle. They are for children and adults. When a mascot shows up, we all know we’re going to have fun. Mascots create community. Strangers connect when a mascot is present. Mascots are for everyone.

On the subject of mascots, what was “Barf-boy” used to promote? I’m sorry, with a name like that, I just had to ask. LOL

Everybody asks about Barf-Boy. He was a mascot for a children’s biology exhibit named, “Grossology.” Grossology was about everything that is disgusting about the human body – like well…barf.

We made 5 Barf-Boys for exhibits in Children’s Science Museums all around the country. He’s pretty great, isn’t he?!

Any exciting news about Avant Garb to let us in on before you go?

The exciting news about Avant Garb is that we are a company in the United States that makes things by hand. We make it by hand, people can touch it, interact with it, have their picture taken with it. Yet, mascots are of the moment. They interact with us in our physical world and they are present in our digital world.