Jet’s Biography
As a young girl of nine, JET began playing around with making very crude puppets. She was involved with the puppet ministry at her local church, and soon fell in love with the way puppets could tell stories to other children in a way that they would listen with rapt attention. Being a very timid young girl, JET found that puppets allowed people to live vicariously through their puppets and enabled her to say and do things for the entertainment of others that they would not have even thought of doing as just themselves.
All through her years in school, she continued to take classes in things like sculpture, which enabled her to put “faces” on the fictional characters in her mind. For several years, she was not involved with puppets while she lovingly raised a family. Then several years ago, a family member who was a youth Pastor, asked her to once again make puppets for him. From there, she began making puppets for American missionaries who traveled abroad and providing them to the missionaries at no cost. As her skills continued to grow, JET became more and more absorbed in making her puppets better with attention to detail, functionality, durability and animated movement.
In time, she realized that she would have to begin selling a few puppets to those who could afford them in order to be able to pay for the materials in the puppets she was giving away. One thing led to another, and after several years of doing latex puppets and finding that they did not hold up well in some tropical countries, she was encouraged by a very kind professional performer to begin making soft sculptured puppets. Almost immediately upon making the transition to soft sculpture, she found that this truly was the medium that she had be looking for through all these years.
Today, JET can use either her vivid imagination, sketches, photos, or just a conversation with you the Vent to create wonderful people, animals, creatures or whatever you have in mind in a way that audiences love to see and hear. She has never lost her desire to see her puppets used in ministries around the world to spread the precious gospel of her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ to young children and to this day, signs every one of her puppets with the inscription “John 3:16” on the inside body liner.
One major thing that JET has come to be known for is that no two of her puppets are alike. Everything she does is a one-of-a-kind puppet.
For that reason, many Vents are beginning to have JET make their puppets with the knowledge that their puppets will be unique and as such, give them that extra “edge” so lacking in the world of mass produced puppets.
Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission
At The Dummy Shoppe – Puppets by JET, we consider it our mission to work for both our old friends and the new friends we have not yet met, to create characters that will give each Vent something memorable and special for their act. We want each of our Vent friends to have unique puppets that combined with their individual talents will help set them apart from all other Vents. We want every puppet we make to be constructed in such a way that their quality alone sets them apart from all other puppets in the marketplace.
Vision
We want to create characters that are both user and audience friendly. They must be created in such a way that the Vents fatigue factor is at an absolute minimum while having audience appeal that makes your crowd want to see even more of you when you are finished.
We want to give back to the industry that has given so many years of good clean entertainment to the public, and in the giving back provide a vehicle to further strengthen the industry for generations to come.
Values
At The Dummy Shoppe we have heard many stories of makers that have promised to deliver puppets to Vents and to have them done by a certain date and then completely failed to come even close to that commitment. We believe that if we tell you something will ship out on a certain date, that you should rest easy that your puppet will in fact ship out on that date providing that all your payments have been received by that date. We want to do everything possible to be sure that you are happy with your new character. If you are not happy, we are not happy.
It is our intention to make the acquisition of a new character something that you truly look forward to and not something that you dread. We always look forward to you writing us when you receive your new character to tell us just how excited and satisfied you are with your new family member. When we achieve this, we know that the next time you need a new character that you will look on our site first to see what we have available for immediate shipment. We also know that when you recommend our site to a friend that you have the confidence in our puppets to put your own credibility on the line. We strive to never let you down.
If we can do all of this, then and only then will we have lived up to our expectations of ourselves. We will do unto you like we would want you to do unto us. (Someone else once said this.)
We do reserve the right to politely decline to work on any project that we find distasteful, offensive or morally inconsistent with our core beliefs and values. We appreciate your understanding in this area.
Testimonials
“Wow! What a gifted craftslady YOU certainly are! Tex is absolutely spectacular; I’ve never seen a dog quite like him which obviously was your intention. And yes, my hand fits comfortably inside! Kudos to you and your wonderful artistry. Tex is really something; his mouth is nice a big which means he can say quite a bit! lol!
Thanks for the personal courtesy of shipment prior to clearance of my personal check which you can rest assure will go through with flying colors………just like ol’ Tex.
Wishing you all the best of luck; you’ve made your mark here in NYC already!”
Kindest regards,
Kenny Warren
http://www.kennywarren.com
“I just picked up Bible Bunny from the Post Office and I have to tell you this is the best puppet I have gotten by far. The detail is just as my sketch and my description. I almost cried when I opened him up. Never before has one of my creations looked so awesome and worked so well. I just can’t believe the quality of work behind him. You guys never cease to amaze me. Thanks so much!”
From a loyal, satisfied customer,
Dale Stringer
Devil Busters Inc.
www.DevilBustersInc.com
“The Dummy Shoppe has gone beyond making good puppets. They make puppets to fit your needs for what you want and do. Also, they cater to the working professional knowing that the sooner the puppet is ready, the better it is for you to be able to make $. The more $ you make the more puppets you can order so that you can have one to fit any holiday or event. Or maybe just to make yourself happy cause you want to have more puppets than anyone in you neighborhood! I know I’ve always wanted to top Mr.Rogers , Sesame St and Avenue Q. ( I move alot )”
Bob Rummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmba
Steve and JET,
She arrived safely and is now getting used to her new home! She is GORGEOUS!! Pictures didn’t do her justice! We had to have a discussion as to which tiara she wanted to wear – I finally let her wear the rhinestone one. So she is happier now. I will take pictures and send them to you. Can’t believe how easily the mouth is to manipulate – oh no that means she will probably talk even more!! The blinking mechanism is very easy to work! It will take a bit of getting used to – a whole new way of performing but will definitely add much more personality! Thanks SO much!!
Another very pleased customer!
Lisa Laird (and Lily)
Dear JET and Steve,
Delilah arrived today and in perfect condition! WOW…she is beautiful. I now have the challenge of rehearsing to get the animation down smoothly and write her material. We will tape a show hopefully sometime during the holiday season so you can see her work the crowd for laughs!
Thoughout my adult life, God has used me as a messenger and mentor to many talented individuals. However, I never imagined my encouragement and influence in re-directing your talents would have such a dramatic impact. The quality, creativity and unique individuality of each character you create speak for themselves. You are a true artist blessed with a wonderful gift. In my opinion, you have become the new “Verna”.
Blessings to you both… and thanks again for such a wonderful puppet.
Love you both,
Gary Owen
“. . . .your talent precedes you. Being an ol’ poop in this biz I got the opportunity to meet Verna back in ’86….you have taken her bat & glove to a whole new ball park !
I can’t wait to get “Crash”. He’s now a parachute instructor with a bad stammer problem….just can’t seem to get to 10 to pull the cord !“
George Bellefeuille
Hi Steve
You got me excited. Can’t wait to see the photos. I was practicing with Rusty on the ferry last night coming home and two boys came up and stared at me for a long time and couldn’t believe he was a talking dog. Another girl came up and was absolutely awe struck with the character. Your handiwork has the love of the Creator in it and makes for a lot of happiness. You and Jet have been the best puppet makers I’ve had the privilege to work with.
Gary Green
British Columbia, Canada
Agnes is actually my second Agnes. I had an idea for an elderly old lady with spunk many years ago. I saw a lovely old lady on Ebay. I had to have her. I ordered her and she was immediately a hit in my shows. Truth is…I used her so much, I knew she was starting to wear, and as she was a DummyShoppe figure, I called and requested a duplicate. When she arrived, I admit, for a little while she seemed like a stranger. The new Agnes was comfortable and perfect in every way. Sounds strange, but she still felt strange to me, even though, so comfortable to use. We finally had our first show together, and immediately everything was perfect. The figure is comfortable, mobility perfect, and her features and characteristics captivates audiences each and ever time. I love her so much in her ease of use, quality construction and characteristics, that I have since added her Husband, Cecil, an elderly old man, Matthew, a Zombie toddler, and Ak Chu, a spunky immigrant, though she claims to hail for Oklahoma.
The figure maker/ventriloquist relationship with The Dummy Shoppe and Jet is one that I wouldn’t trade for anything. JET is so insightful she sees my vision, and creates the best quality and comfortable figures. True quality and true quality people.
Trish Dunn
Ventriloquist/Comedian
www.trishdunnventriloquist.com