Meet the Mascot Makers [Video]

Meet The Team That Makes The Mascots! [Video Transcription]

“We’ve done hands that have webs in-between them. Horns, spikes, lizard feet, Viking boots, teeth. There is no ‘mascot handbook’, and if there is, there shouldn’t be.

My name is Brittany, and I make custom mascots. Olympus Group was founded in 1893. It is located in beautiful North Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Each mascot is different. It’s such an art form. It definitely takes a lot of passion, takes a lot of creativity, and takes a lot of teamwork. The people that work here are absolutely amazing at what they do.

There’s Molly- she is the Head Fabrication Technician. Steve, he is the Sketch and Sculpting Artist. Sally is the Engineering and Prepress Specialist. Mary is the Foam Fabric Technician. 

Whenever we get a request in, we gather around a table and come up with a plan. The request can be anything from a detailed presentation to a doodle on a cocktail napkin. The sketch team will sketch up a rendering for the customer, and then we’ll send that out for approval.

Collaboration is very important. One person can’t make a whole custom mascot costume. First, it will go to the sculptor, who sculpts the mascot head. We’ll turn that into a mold. The mold will then be vacuformed It’s kind of like something out of a science fiction movie. It’s a lot of fun to watch. Once the molds are vacumformed and all put together, then they go to our technicians on our head covering team. They will pull fabrics from the wall and begin gluing the fabric to the head.

PS: Wanna learn more about mascot heads? Check out this blog on everything you need to know about mascot heads.

Then, it’s a matter of cutting fabric, sewing it together and adding the finishing details to get the whole mascot costume to come together. Then, we will make sure that it is able to meet all the necessary requirements the performer will need.

Once you put that head on, the person becomes that character. Some people will start to dance and do poses. Mascot performers can make the costume larger than life.

Then, we will do a photoshoot. It is very cool to see the entire process come together, and the process finished. There is a ton of pride in that moment. Once the mascot is complete, we’ll go wherever the next cocktail napkin takes us.”