A Pubbets Business Update

I haven’t done a proper business update for a while, and there’s quite a lot happening behind the scenes at Pubbets at the moment.

The biggest thing is probably that the business has grown to the point where I really need some help.

I still run Pubbets myself. That means everything from marketing and customer service to puppet designs, factory liaison, sample patterning, complaints, graphic design, email marketing, website management and updates, social media and all the other little jobs that appear during the week.

Each one of those could probably be a full-time job in itself.

I also still work on the custom puppet building.

At the moment the wait before I can start most new custom builds is around 3–4 weeks. I know that’s longer than some people would like, but I don’t want to start rushing through the builds just to make the queue shorter.

Pubbets has grown organically from a little puppet hobby into something much bigger than I expected, and I’m very grateful for that.

I’m 53 now, neurodivergent, and I’ve loved puppetry since I got my first one back in 1982. The fact that this is what I get to do for a living still feels a little surreal!

My next step is to hire a full-time helper who can work with me on the custom orders. I’ll still be involved in the design and final details, but there are plenty of parts of the process I can teach someone else to do.

That should make a big difference.

The other major project is the relaunch of Pubbets Lab as Pubbets Workshop!

Over the last few months I’ve somehow also become a “vibe coder”.

I’ve been learning some basic coding, doing online training and building a completely new puppet-builder app. It's taken a lot of late nights and a lot of trial and error, but the backbone is now working.

The really time-consuming part at the moment is the graphics.

There are so many individual parts to create and line up correctly. Different eyes, noses, wigs, glasses, outfits, shoes and accessories all have to fit the puppet base properly.

The new Workshop will also have a Pro Mode where people can click and drag facial features into position rather than just choosing from fixed options.

That should make a big difference to lookalike builds.

There’s also a new eyelid system in development where people will eventually be able to choose things like eyelid colour, eyeline thickness and angle.

We’re adding felt eyebrows too, along with proper facial hair options. At last!

I’ve also been working on tattoo sleeves in a range of designs, which is one of those ideas that probably sounds slightly ridiculous until you see it on a puppet.

I’ve lined up several new suppliers for wigs, outfits, glasses and shoes as well, and I’m also working on custom-made hair pieces in more colours and styles.

The long-term goal behind all of this is lookalike puppets.

Not just a puppet with similar hair and glasses, but something much closer to the actual person.

I’ve even secured a domain for that side of the business. For now it just redirects to the Pubbets Lab page, but eventually I’d like it to become a standalone page or app where someone uploads a photo and we build the puppet from that.

Realistically, that’s probably a 1–2 year project.

It will need more workspace, more inventory, more supplies and more people.

But it has started!

The new Workshop will also introduce more body colours.

Purple, red and dark brown are planned, along with richer versions of the orange and blue.

The standout favourite so far is the cream/beige colour.

That one is especially useful for human-style custom puppets.

Away from the Workshop, I also have two new puppet samples in development.

Mossley the sloth is getting very close to the point where I need to decide whether he goes into production or gets put on the backburner.

There’s also an as-yet unnamed baby dragon puppet at a similar stage.

Both have gone through multiple samples and revisions.

That’s normal.

Every new Pubbets character goes through the same process.

The first sample is almost never right.

Something will be too big, too small, too wide, too narrow, too high, too low or just somehow wrong in a way that is difficult to explain until you’re looking at it...

Then I make changes and try again.

Sometimes several times!

I’ve had to put the outfit ideas on hold.

We had a princess outfit and a superhero outfit in development, but the samples just weren’t good enough.

So I’ve cancelled those for now.

I’ll share some photos because I think it’s worth showing that side of product development as well.

Not every idea makes it.

I’m still exploring other outfit options because clothing is one of the most common requests I get.

So that’s where Pubbets is at the moment.

Busy, growing, and changing quite a lot behind the scenes.

There’s a huge amount I want to do over the next year or two, and I’m trying to build it steadily rather than grow too quickly and make a mess of it.

Thank you to everyone who orders from Pubbets, recommends us, shares photos or just follows along.

I really do appreciate it.

James