I grew up watching a handful of different incarnations of The Muppets, like, daily, so I can barely contain my excitement over the news that F. A. O. Schwarz has a make-your-own Muppet station called The Muppet Whatnot Workshop! This is a big deal, and if you've got a friend or relative who did the same, then the customized Muppet experience could make the perfect gift.
The store provides a slew of wigs, eyes, noses, outfits, and body types to choose from, which combined allows for 72,576 different variations of Muppets. But if you're imagining a hands-on Muppet-creation process, you're mistaken.
The Times explains that the process starts with an "extensive booklet" made up of paper sheets depicting the many choices of body parts. Using these sheets, the customer creates a mock-up Muppet, hands it over to a worker, who then creates the creature with glue guns while you wait.
Even with a $130 price tag, the Muppet creation station is a popular draw for the iconic toy store Fifth avenue. When
The Timesvisited the store on Friday, waits were as long as 40 minutes, and sales are double their original projections. But are the Muppets actually recession proof?
Disney, their new corporate guardians are certainly hopeful, as the F. A. O. Schwarz partnership is powered by a Disney marketing push "behind a brand that has largely been stagnant since it took control in 2004" when they were bought for $75 million.
Expect to see more of our furry friends in the future, because it's time to play the music, it's time to set the lights, it's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight!
