How to take care of your Squeaking Tribe Marionette
No matter how careful you may be when playing with or even just storing your Squeaking Tribe marionette, accidents can still occur which might result in a tangle and tangles, once started, can often get worse. Here are a few simple tips to help you make sure this doesn't happen…
1. Have a hook around somewhere in your house, away from direct sunlight, wind and cats. Hang your marionette here when they are done playing. This is the best way to store your marionette and is a great way to show them off, too.
2. If you're done playing and don't have a hook convenient, you'll need to lay the marionette down. With the crosspiece in one hand, gently spin the marionette with the other so all the strings spiral together to become one. You can then lay the marionette flat on a table or other available surface without tangling it.
3. If you are travelling with your marionette or storing it for long periods of time, spin the strings together as above. Keep spinning the marionette until the one 'rope' string nears the crosspiece. With the hand not holding the crosspiece, you can take the weight of the marionette by the top of the 'rope' string and lift it up and over one of the arms of the crosspiece. The 'rope string can then be wound up along the arm as simply as a fishing reel! Wrap everything up together in some newspaper or a piece of cloth to prevent it from unwinding; nice and compact and ready to go with you anywhere!
(When you receive your marionette, you would have noticed that this is exactly what we have done…)
4. In the case of an accidental tangle, the problem is most likely one offending string which has come over and around the crosspiece. Hanging the marionette up and turning the puppet left and right should help you identify the problem string which can then be passed back over and around the crosspiece. Easy!
5. If there is a particularly-dramatic tangle, usually from small children or cats (see above), DO NOT FEAR! Each string has a good amount of excess string wrapped around the crosspiece that can be used as a replacement string if necessary. If you are re-stringing a marionette, always do so while it is hanging up. NEVER cut the head strings; it will always be an arm or leg string which is causing most of the trouble.
And remember… these marionettes have been made entirely by our own two hands and as such can easily be fixed by yourself if necessary. Don't be afraid to try!
We have gone to a lot of effort to ensure our marionettes can continue enjoying a long and healthy life after leaving the nest. We use a variety of clays which are fired to 1200˚C for strength and durability. They don't like being dropped onto concrete or swung against brick walls, so in the case that one of the clay pieces of a marionette becomes chipped, just glue it back with some simple household pva glue and put it aside to dry. The result should be more or less seamless.
We would like to thank you sincerely for adopting one (or more) of our creations; for giving them a home, a name, a story! We wish you the very best of adventures together!
If you have any further questions or curiosities, feel free to contact us directly at squeakingtribe.com thesqueakingtribe@yahoo.com.au or on our Etsy, Facebook or Instagram page.
Yours truly…
Sol and Sara-Lee of The Squeaking Tribe
P.S. NEVER STOP DREAMING!
