Mossley the 11th: The Eight-Month Journey Behind Our Upcoming Sloth Puppet
Sometimes the hardest part of making a puppet isn’t sewing it. It’s knowing when to start over.
If you’ve been following Pubbets for a while, you’ve probably noticed that Mossley the sloth has been “coming soon” for what feels like forever.
Trust me - nobody wants him finished more than I do!
Today I approved Pattern Revision #11, and with a bit of luck, this should be one of the final major changes before production can begin.
When people see a finished puppet sitting on a shelf, it’s easy to assume it all came together in a few weeks.
The reality couldn’t be more different…
For me, developing a new puppet involves months of sketches, prototypes, factory discussions, disappointments, little breakthroughs, and constantly asking one question:
“Is this the best it can be?”
Why It Takes So Long…
One thing many people don’t realise is that Pubbets is a really small business.
And when I say tiny, I mean it’s literally me running the whole show.
I answer the emails, pack orders, make custom puppets, manage the website, create social media posts, handle marketing, and oversee product development.
I’m not complaining - in fact I love it and am so grateful that people seem to like what I’m trying to do. I still say a silent ‘thank you’ whenever an order comes in!
Bigger puppet companies can spread their development costs across production runs of 15,000, 20,000 or even more puppets.
I can’t.
A realistic production run for Mossley would be around 500 puppets, and even that represents a serious investment for a business the size of Pubbets.
Every new pattern costs money.
Every sample costs money.
Every redesign costs money.
Even the smallest improvement can mean another invoice from the factory.
Pattern Revision #11 alone represents another few hundred dollars invested into getting Mossley just right.
Could I have stopped at Version 6 or 7?
Probably.
Would everyone else have noticed the problems?
Maybe not..?
But I would have known.
I Nearly Cancelled Mossley (More Than Once)
There was a point where I genuinely decided Mossley wasn’t going to happen.
The factory kept producing samples that were perfectly acceptable.
But they weren’t my Mossley.
The face wasn’t quite right.
The proportions felt off.
The expression simply wasn’t there…
The gap between the puppet I could see in my head and the samples sitting in front of me was just too wide.
I remember thinking that maybe I should cut my losses and move on to another character. In fact, I did - and I’ll share more on our new dragon puppet soon.
But I couldn’t forget my concept of Mossley.
I’ve always loved sloths! Who doesn’t?
There’s something about their relaxed, slightly goofy personality that makes them perfect puppet characters.
I also love monkeys, which is probably why I was so determined to get Elroy right. He went through multiple revisions too, and I’m incredibly happy with how he eventually turned out 🙂
Mossley deserves the same level of care.
So instead of giving up, I kept tweaking.
One revision became two.
Then five.
Then eight.
Now we’re at eleven.
Looking back over the last eight months, I can honestly say that every version has been an improvement.
For the first time, I finally feel like we’re really getting close.
The Eyes Have It
If you’ve ever wondered why some retail puppets look a little lifeless, it’s often because of the eyes.
The pupils are usually placed directly in the centre because that’s the simplest and safest option during mass production.
Technically, they’re correct. It’s easy to get ‘centre’ right.
But emotionally, they can feel completely empty…
One tiny change in pupil position can completely alter a puppet’s personality.
- Friendly
- Curious
- Sleepy
- Mischievous
- Alive
Or completely vacant.
Eye focus has probably been one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced since starting Pubbets.
The factory can laser-cut the fabric pieces that make up a puppet with incredible accuracy, but things like pupil placement, eyelids and eyelines are often still assembled by hand.
A few millimetres in the wrong direction can completely change an puppet’s expression.
Every Pubbet Puppet So Far Has Taught Me Something
Each new Pubbets character has helped solve another piece of the eye-design puzzle.
Our original Storybook Monsters used rotating eyes, allowing owners to adjust the puppet’s eye focus themselves.
Zoomer solved the problem in a different way. His black beady plastic eyes are precision-positioned using laser-cut guides, so there isn’t a separate pupil to line up.
Elroy uses larger brown and black safety eyes. They’re also positioned using guides, which helps give him the warm, cheeky expression that so many people seem to love.
Klanker went in another direction altogether.
His eyes are embroidered, which removes the risk of crooked pupils or inconsistent eye focus. Every Klanker leaves the factory with exactly the same expression.
Every puppet has taught me something new.
Now it’s Mossley’s turn!
Back to the Drawing Board Again
Originally, Mossley was going to have separate pupils, fabric eyelids and fabric eyelines.
On paper, or more accurately in the 3D render, it looked fantastic.
The factory produced the samples and sent them to me for review.
Err... how do I put this nicely?
The problem became obvious immediately.
We weren’t going to make it work at scale.
The handmade fabric eyelids and eyelines looked great in the original design, but there were simply too many separate pieces that needed to be positioned perfectly.
Once the eyebrows were added, the whole face became too crowded.
The expression I’d spent months chasing had disappeared.
Again.
A New Solution for Mossley’s Eyes
The next plan was to try custom printed eyes that already include Mossley’s eyelids and eyeline.
This would remove several manually positioned pieces and give every puppet a much more consistent expression.
We initially created the printed eyes at 45 mm.
They looked good on their own, but once we tested them against the actual head pattern, we realised they were simply too large, especially with Mossley’s embroidered eyebrows sitting above them.
So we went back to the drawing board once more.
Mossley’s new eyes are being redesigned at 30 mm.
Instead of assembling separate pupils, eyelids and eyelines by hand, the important details will be printed directly onto each eye.
That will mean:
- More consistent eye focus
- Even eyelids and eyelines
- No crooked pupils
- No sloppy fabric placement
- No wonky Mossleys!
Is it exactly how I originally imagined making the eyes?
No.
Do I think it will produce a better and more consistent puppet?
Absolutely. Yes.
Sometimes making the best product means letting go of your first idea and finding a solution that works better in the real world.
Why I Care So Much
People sometimes ask why I spend so much time obsessing over tiny details.
The honest answer is that I can’t really help it.
Being on the spectrum probably plays a part- but once I notice something that doesn’t feel right, it’s very difficult for me to ignore it and simply move on.
But there’s another reason too.
When somebody opens a Pubbets box for the first time, I want them to smile.
I want them to instantly connect with the character.
I want Mossley to feel like a friend before they’ve even picked him up.
Those tiny details are what create personality.
They’re the difference between a puppet that simply sits on a shelf and one that people genuinely enjoy using.
Why I Share the Process
One thing I’ve always loved about Pubbets is sharing the journey, not just the finished product.
Most companies only show you the final version.
They don’t show the failed samples, the rejected patterns, the late-night ideas, the extra invoices, or the moments where you look at something you’ve spent months developing and realise it still isn’t good enough.
I think that’s a shame.
For me, those moments are just as important as the finished puppet.
They’re where the character is really created.
When Mossley is finally finished, I won’t just see a sloth puppet.
I’ll see hundreds of hours of work, eleven pattern revisions, countless conversations with the factory, and dozens of small decisions that slowly shaped him into the character he was always meant to be.
Hopefully, when you finally see the completed Mossley, you’ll think he was worth the wait too 🙂
This blog post was written by me and then tidied up with the help of AI. Every story, opinion and development update reflects my own experience designing Mossley and growing Pubbets.