We've been custom costume, mask and prop makers for over 25 years. This blog is a peek behind the Tentacle curtain, written mostly by Bev.
4th November 2020
Is this world getting you down? No problem, retreat into your own world with a globe mask head like this one we created for a regular client in New York.
29th September 2020
The second seasond of The Masked Singer (NL) has just launched on TV, and we are so pleased with all the costumes we created! It was even bigger and bolder than the series 1 costumes we made - the masks were more elaborate- and we used literally thousands of Swarovski crystals!
24th August 2020
Just finished creating these two custom made heads: a big Bowie for an entertainer in New York, and a Pill themed DJ helmet for an epic mixer in Texas. All this in between designing and creating a whole host of crazy costume and masks for some extravagant TV shows! We'll be sharing those with you soon :)
24th July 2020
Just finished this custom cookie mask for DJ Cockycookie, complete with a fake cigarette! This quirky rebel mask perfectly portrays his wry humor. He quips that he'll take over Marshmello as the new food-based DJ!
21st July 2020
Go for gold! This set of glittering accessories was created for a decadent fashion show with a horoscope theme. A lot of work went into creating them. Perfecting the ratios between the size and twist of the horned headdresses turned out to be a real brain-twister: we were knee-deep in prototypes before we suceeded! In addition to looking great
everything needed to be ultra light weight, but very secure, to allow for some pretty wild dancing :)
We're very pleased with how they turned out, and we'll soon make more of these same designs, and have them available to buy via our website and Etsy shop.
9th May 2020
Spot the serpent!!! Karina Aya Serpent and her python pal, put the feather headdress we created through it's paces! Photo by
Paige Craig.
27th April 2020
Adding to the hundreds of 'everlasting' hyacinth flowers from last month, now we're building an army of 'everlasting' tulips! Cut, glue, curl, heat and repeat...
Well, the clocks went forward one hour today: hurrah for Springtime! It's a gloriously bright spring day, with just a nip of cold in the air. However, there's no one on the streets to enjoy it; they are all isolated at home. A quick trip out to buy bread, then back indoors. Shoppers seem tense, and very few people make eye contact.
But cosy at home, I'm happy to be doing something to keep my fingers busy, or I'd be going stir crazy. I've got a whole production line going, making hundreds of 'everlasting' hyacinth flowers. Cut, paint, glue, roll, heat and repeat... 900 times!
These fake flowers will be adorning a set of custom flower costumes and headdresses for Bloemencorso Bollenstreek, one of the biggest flower parades in the world. And when we've finished all the fake hyacinths, we start on the fake tulips, then the fake daffodils. Mike and I will be flower-making experts by the time this job is finished.
But there's no rush... this year's flower parade has sadly been cancelled, which is no suprise considering they normally attrach a whopping 800,000 visitors over the course of two days. The only bright side to this is we've now got plenty of time to finish the costumes: we can really go to town on the decoration, as they won't be needing them til next year's parade.
20th March 2020
This rustic rabbit we created is celebrating Easter in Hamburg, Germany. Styling and photo: Christian Walmroth. It's funny to contrast this furry friend with our previous blog post; the Big Bowie head is different from the Easter bunny in every way! I love making such weird and wonderful things, for so many lovely, diverse clients.
We now have similar rabbit and hare heads in stock and ready to ship
See our webshop for prices and ordering.
11th March 2020
We finally finished this commission for a Big Bowie head- with removable Ziggy Stardust face flash!
Next: the mould is filled with paper mache. We've improved on the traditional paper mache recipe, to create custom big heads that are waterproof, and extremely durable.
We use a high tech compound and a special type of art paper from the centuries old Canson paper mill in France. It has a facinating history, and has supplied paper to many famous artists, including Picasso! Once the paper mixture in the mould has hardened, it's taken out, sanded and painted.
Next we need to fit a head harness inside so that the big head stays secure. But it's a very frustrating process because your head needs to be perfectly aligned to see out through the big head's nose and mouth: there's a lot of tweaking and testing! Then comes the wig making. The wig for a big head is more than 4 times the size of a normal wig, so this also has to be totally custom made. Phew! To be honest, by the time it's done we are feeling pretty frazzled, but in the end we are very pleased with how Big Bowie turned out.
3rd Feb 2020
California checkmate! Our chess hats and breakdancing chessmen in Richmond last week. Check out their acrobatic extravaganzas!
Earth Circus Productions on Instagram.
23th Jan 2020
Irish comedian Ger Carey is producing a new theatre show for kids about literacy, and needs a colourful, child-friendly costume with an alphabet theme. This character has to eat some letters during the show, so the egg's big smiling mouth is the perfect solution!
13th Jan 2020
We created these custom made fruit head masks, to launch a new product range for a brewery.
10th Jan 2020
Happy new year!
The Sad Cato custom DJ head in his new music video.
20th Dec 2019
It's the most Nutcracker time of the year! As usual, the run up to Christmas finds us creating Nutcracker heads for many different Ballet companies around the world. The most notable Nutcracker commission this year came from California's Santa Barbara Ballet, who asked us to custom-make a wearable, light weight head to match their much-loved Nutcracker doll that's been on stage with them for more than 40 years! We loved the happy, friendly character of the original doll's face, so it was great fun to sculpt this larger head for them.
10th Dec 2019
Time was short, but we managed to finish this custom dancer's feather headdress in good time for Aya Serpent's mystical dance performance! Her dance group creates truly beautiful performance rituals. Her website gives you a good feeling for what she does, and is well worth a look: Aya Serpent Website.
13th Nov 2019
We made this custom cat head for Chinese DJ Sad Cato, and there he is in the video!
26th October 2019
Last week, we were feeling flush but exhausted after some well paid commissions. So on a whim, we took a trip to the ancient Greek island of Delos to see an exhibition by sculptor Anthony Gormley.
Delos has always been a very special place: inhabited since 3000 yrs BC, for millenia it was a famous port and holy sanctuary. It is also the legendary birthplace of Apollo. The island's extensive ruins include Doric temples, markets, an amphitheater, houses with mosaics and the iconic Terrace of the Lions statues. There's no airport or accomodation on the island. The best bet is stay on the neighbouring island of Mykonos, so that's what we did.
I'd heard Mykonos is a mix of wealthy party people and a 'dream wedding' destination. So I expected the contrast between modern Mykonos and neighbouring ancient Delos would be quite eye-opening, and I wasn't dissapointed. Mykonos was unlike any other Greek island I've ever been to; in addition to hordes of young party people, the harbours are jostling with cruise ships and big yachts. This leads to a whole culture of golden bling jewellery, and rows of snooty restaurants with way too many beige scatter cushions and astronomical prices! At the old windmills (which is the main tourist photo op on Mykonos) any day you pass by, you'll find swarms of young women aged 15-25, all taking multiple selfies. Every day: different girls, same poses. Totally focussed on their screens; it was weird.
Island opposites: Men from Delos, girls from Mykonos.
After 2 days of Mykonos madness and bling, Delos was literally a breath of fresh air; the Greek sunshine and the warm sea were as timeless as ever. The ruins span many centuries, and stetch over the whole island, so at every turn there was something new to explore.
Gormley's sculptures, which were dotted about the island, were sometimes dwarfed by the scale of their surroundings, but some of the more wistful ones; namely a lone figure gazing out to sea- really captured a spirit of eternity.
However, since we got back to Amsterdam it's hardly stopped raining. Hard to believe my toes were tripping along warm sandy beaches just a few days ago!
We also stock ready-to-ship costumes and masks, handmade by us.
Other blog posts:
Latest custom work & Masked Singer series 2,3,4,5
Masked Singer series 1 & custom work
Bowie Head
Work for Dior
Dinosaur Wedding
Piggyback costume and the Ghost Tree
DJ 2 Hearts
Harrods and Horses