Leo Rossi
Leo Rossi joined the Guild in 2022 (age 13). He is a puppeteer and puppet builder who has just started to learn the art of puppetry and puppet building, and has been drawn to films like Labyrinth, the Dark Crystal and Little Shop of Horrors, which is probably the reason he is so drawn to puppetry. He started his puppet building by creating muppet replicas followed by his own original characters which he makes videos with, which he is still doing now.
He has only recently started selling his puppets online as well as his drawings, as a way of paying for materials to continue his hobby. He has already met lots of wonderful people since joining the Guild, who are always very kind when he needed any help building things. Leo has started to explore costume making too, by creating a full Mr Blobby suit and has been making posable props. But the main thing Leo tends to create are puppets. In the future he would like to do more puppetry itself alongside his building work, establishing his puppets with more character.
He is also trying to create a group of puppets he can work from. Leo would also like to explore latex puppets in the future but for the moment he thinks that’s a little beyond his skill set. Overall, he is loving being part of the puppetry community and has just been having great fun creating new things. Leo owes a lot of what he can build now to the amazingly talented puppet builders online who are always generous with their time and helping when he’s struggling with certain aspects of building.
His parents have also recently set up a workshop above the kitchen for him, which is fantastic, as now he has a set place to do all his puppet making. As far as the technicality of his building goes, he tends to use fuzzelle fleece from puppet pelts, generic fur which he often boils. He has started using the f3 fleece and the interiors of his puppets are created with reticulated foam. Leo uses the Henson stitch on the sewing machine for the fabric elements. Thanks for reading his story so far.