Here's the lowdown on the places to find Muppet-style puppets:
Armslength Productions sells a number of VERY Muppet-style puppets priced between $99 - $200 US. I have no idea if the mouths are flexible.
Axtell Expressions sells the best mass-produced latex puppets in the world, period. Accept no substitute. They have a wide range of stuff in their catalogue priced between $65 - $600. Very high quality and very expressive.
Although she doesn't have a website,
Marlene Reimer has awesome Muppet-style puppets and also custom-built our characters for several years in the mid-90s. Prices for her puppets range from $40 up to $200 and she does custom orders too. You can call her toll-free at 1-888-300-1400.
CyndeeLou's Puppets Are very affordable at about $30 each and the design of her newer puppets is very simple, but effective. I don't know if the mouths are flexible on these either.
Puppet Odyssey sells a range of puppets for around $65 made by different companies (including them) and the quality varies. You'd have to e-mail them for specifics.
Images Puppet Productions sells a line called "Berrylane Buddies" which can be ordered through their website and found in gift shops across Canada and the US. Very affordable, flexible mouth puppets at $50 - $60.
The Grin Puppet Shop in New York builds to order and while I've never handled one of their puppets, they look good. Their website is in a bit of disarray but you can e-mail them at
studiogrin@hotmail.com for further info.
There are many, many other companies on the net. A good place to look for builders is to check out the list of world-wide puppet builders and sellers on
The Puppetry Homepage
Generally when you buy puppets you get what you pay for. The more expensive puppets are usually the better quality ones. I am personally not fond of most of the puppets that are mass-produced out there (except Steve Axtell and Marlene Reimer's work) they are OK for toys, schools, churches, etc (and that is what many are intended for) but if you are serious about wanting a good, high quality, professional puppet it is usually best to talk to one of the pros who build custom puppets. Be warned, these usually go for hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars. But again, you get what you pay for.
Some of the best builders of the lot are
Nina Keogh ,
Noreen Young,
Rick Lyon,
Terry Angus,
Kanja Chen as well as the aforementioned
Marlene Reimer and
Axtell Xpressions.
Oh there's also some outfit in Canada called
OMCS, I hear they are not bad either.