Face Painting Puppet-Master

New extra-cirricular activity! Puppet making! I'm a huge fan of Avenue Q, and for a holiday presentation, I re-wrote some of the songs and made the puppets, and my team and I performed for the rest of the company. It was fantastic! Now, I'm thinking of adding it to my list of marketable skills. New question is, how much would a parent pay to have a puppet made of thier child?
So, here's a few:

High end clients would have no problem with that. The issue is going to be getting the promo materials in front of them so they would order one!

How much does it cost you to build one?

Well, I made 11 for less than $200, which we made in a bake sale over the summer. So, not very much, but I hot glued them and would want to make sure a kid wouldn't be able to tear them up easily. And I'd want to use better materials. Maybe add it to a website I'm building.

Is there a youtube of your show/presentation?? It looks like so much fun!!!

I don't know. I think someone video-ed it, but it was kinda dark, and the jokes would only make sense if you worked for a home visiting program.

This could have long range marketing prospects. Think about the American Doll. I think that is the one where you specify the features to look like your childs. Hair, skin, eyes.

Very cool idea though. How long did one take to make? Seems like materials is around $20, but your time should be accounted for. Don't forget travel time to and from getting the materials as well as making them.

And don't forget, whatever it cost you in time and materials should be your wholesale price....you should at least double that for retail customers.
Do an online search for puppets similar to the ones you make, and charge accordingly.....just be sure to add a charge for custom puppets.....if they want to choose the features so it looks like someone in particular, charge an extra $20 or so.

Thanks for the input guys. After I got used to making them, I could put one out in 3-4 hours, depending on the hair. When you really enjoy what you are doing, it's so hard to put a price on it, but when you break it down like that, it makes sense.

Well, we all do what we love when we can, but it is still a source of income and should be thought of with a business sense. What you are offering in your puppets is not your run of the mill product. It is a specialty product and is expected to cost more than just any old toy from Wal-Mart. It is a customizable novelty item that will most likely be kept for years and years, maybe forever.
I mean, hey....have you seen the prices on those American Girl dolls, and the like???? And they aren't even made with the love and attention you are putting into your puppets. Sure, they are "customizable" but only if you choose from the "stock" faces, hair, and skin colors available. They don't actually construct anything after looking at a photo, etc. They just pop "head A" on "body B" etc.....the features are still all the same...just a different color.