How long does it take to make a mascot?

When the clock starts

Lead time is quoted from written design approval, not from first contact. The design stage before it takes three to five weeks and depends heavily on how fast you can make decisions. Add both together when planning.

Where the weeks go

• Weeks 1–3: brief and concept. A written brief, then two or three directions in 2D. Ends with you choosing one.
• Weeks 4–6: design and 3D. Turnaround sheets, the 3D model, materials and colours fixed. This is the specification production works from.
• Weeks 7–10: pattern and sculpting. The 3D model is unfolded into flat pattern pieces and test-cut in cheap fabric. The head is carved and finished.
• Weeks 11–14: sewing, assembly, fitting. Fur cut with pile direction marked, seams reinforced, fans and cooling fitted, then fitted on the performer.
• Weeks 15–16: quality control and delivery. Checked against the approved specification, packed, customs paperwork, shipped.

Plush runs work differently: ten to fourteen weeks, of which roughly two are laboratory testing that cannot be compressed. Merchandise that is only decorated — printed or embroidered on existing blanks — takes three to five weeks.

What actually causes delays

Production time is predictable. Two things are not.

Approvals. The schedule assumes five working days for each of the three approval points. A two-week wait for a decision moves the delivery date by two weeks. This is the single most common cause of a missed date, and it is the one entirely within your control.

Changes after approval. A change requested after the design is signed off means re-cutting patterns, sometimes re-sculpting a head. We will always quote the cost and the new date before doing it.

Planning backwards from an event

If a costume has to be on a pitch or a stage on a specific date, work backwards:

• Event date
• minus one week for delivery and a safety margin
• minus sixteen weeks for production
• minus five weeks for design
• = start the conversation roughly five and a half months before

Tighter than that and you are into rush territory: from eight weeks for production, at a surcharge, with a limited number of slots each quarter. We would rather tell you a date is not achievable than take the order and miss it.