While this probably isn’t that ‘new’ a thing, it was something that I never even knew existed until a co-worker casually mentioned her past experience at FAO Schwarz when everyone was discussing the fact that Toys ‘R’ Us bought them out. (And since the previously mentioned acquisition, Disney’s bought up Marvel for $4 billion and Kraft went after Cadbury, but failed despite a $16 billion bid – doorcrasher sales on various international brands in the wake of an economic downturn… but that’s off topic).
So it turns out, FAO Schwarz in New York has a whole section of the sales floor that’s devoted to making your very own Muppet! The Whatnot Workshop has all kinds of different stations that allow people to mix and match different eyes, ears, noses – right down to accessories – to create a mixmatched customized Muppet that looks, works and feels like the real thing, as if Jim Henson himself had created a new character.
There used to be both an online and in-store Whatnot experience but since the May 2009 acquisition, the online platform has been scrapped and is in redevelopment. So, for now the only way to get your own Muppet is to boot down to NYC as it’s an exclusive feature that thankfully Toys ‘R’ Us has no intentions of dropping. The store will remain an FAO Schwarz as well, good considering its icon status for children everywhere and the fact that it’s been immortalized in films ‘o plenty.
In total there’s choice between three body types, 12 eyes, 12 noses, 13 hairstyles and 14 costumes (including The Statue of Liberty and a baseball uniform resembling that of the New York Yankees). Check out the photos below to see the real deal!
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October 19 09 at 12:19 PM
Leigh Ann Daniels
I had not heard of this either until a few months back when Ally mentioned it as a place to go when I was going to NYC for my work trip. I was totally excited to make a muppet and was going to bring it back to my boyfriend, Jamie who is a huge muppet fan for his bday which I missed when in NYC. Anyways…I went there after work one night only to find out it closed at 7:00 in the evening, and missed out on the whole muppet making experience. Maybe next time…or online when they bring back that feature 🙂
October 19 09 at 12:41 PM
m0xY
I found out about it through one of my co-workers here at the office, she’d made one a few years back on a trip and I looked it up just to see something visual and just had to write something about it … it’d be super fun to make one I think, too bad you missed out – we’ll both be waiting for the online feature to come back! lol