Tom has
years of
experience,
and it
shows!
About Tom
                               
Tom Blasco is the owner and operator of Puppets on
Hand and Puppetcraft Playhouse. Tom’s interests in
puppetry began in early childhood. “ As a child the first
film I remember seeing was Disney’s Pinocchio and I was
instantly hooked. He is still my favorite today, coincidently
the first puppet I ever owned was a Pelham Pinocchio
marionette, and I remember it had color coded strings.”
Tom’s desire for building puppets soon followed. “When I
was about 9 years old I had a brief interest in
ventriloquism. My mother and I went to see a local
ventriloquist act and learned he offered private lessons.
Well, my mother readily signed me up. I didn’t have a
ventriloquist doll to work with so I took an old 5 ft. purple
stuffed snake of mine, cut open the neck, took all the
stuffing out of the head, glued in a mouth plate made of
cardboard and hung the tail around the back of my neck. I
even went so far as to create a phony forearm and hand
that started at the elbow where my arm entered the
puppet head, then went across my belly with the fake
hand holding onto the tail of the snake. My parents, not to
mention the ventriloquist, were impressed with the illusion
that came from this 9 year old kid.”
Upon reaching adulthood Tom acquired the skills to
become an accomplished make up artist, specializing in
effects, however his love for puppetry didn’t stop there.
During an 8 year stint as a make up teacher Tom taught
advanced classes in the art of animatronic and cable
controlled puppets along with varied make up techniques.
After leaving teaching, Tom has maintained a successful
freelance career creating special effects for the
entertainment industry with clients including Disney, Feld
Entertainment, Universal Studios, and Hardrive
Productions. Tom then found a charming marionette
theater in Central Florida called “Pinocchio’s” There he
began building marionettes along with other puppet
builders for their productions. With his local reputation
rapidly growing he soon became the resident puppet
builder, as well as a performer, for “The City of Orlando
Puppetroupe”.  Tom continues to build puppets for both
companies.
Tom’s knowledge of materials, expertise, and attention to
detail has made him sought after by puppeteers and
puppet builders of all levels, from novices to seasoned
veterans such as Master Puppeteer Paddy Blackwood.
Mr. Blackwood is the acclaimed puppeteer controlling the
strings of the famous “Howdy Doody” puppet for the 1976
revival of the beloved children’s television program.

This site is dedicated to not only showcasing Tom’s work,
but also as a source for purchasing Tom’s puppet
creations and how-to DVD’s and other puppet related
items. We hope you enjoy the site!

Feel free to contact us, we’d love to hear from you.