I love it when I get a commission to turn a child’s drawing into a puppet.

Children always design the best toys. It makes sense – toys are for children, so children know best how toys should look. We are surrounded by toys that were designed by adults who have forgotten what it is like to be a child and lost touch with the playful, imaginative world that children inhabit. Children draw with a freshness and originality that adults just lose – I don’t think an adult could have come up with some of the wacky ideas here with weeks of thought and planning, whereas children just churn inspired ideas out all the time on scrap paper and the backs of envelopes.

Having a toy made from a drawing is a great way to bring these wonderful ideas to fruition and preserve them.

Here are some puppets and toys I’ve made based on children’s drawings: