We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Spencer Lott & Grace Townley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Spencer Lott & Grace Townley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Simple Mischief Studio was tasked with recreating the iconic puppets from the longtime PBS show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, for the 2019 feature film, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks. Fred Rogers was the god-father of Simple Mischief co-founder Grace Townley, so it was incredibly meaningful for her to have the opportunity to be a part of this feature film.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Simple Mischief Studio is a creative studio with a soft spot for puppets. Founded by a social worker and a muppet, our studio focuses on telling stories that are heartfelt and hilarious.
One half of the business focuses on designing and fabricating puppets for TV, film, advertising and theater. We create original characters as well as re-imagine iconic IP such as Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Squarepants and Avatar.
The other part of their business centers on original stories and IP. Simple Mischief’s unique and offbeat IP is currently focused on two markets – picture books and TV. The company has plans for their characters to be able to authentically exist in both spaces, making the characters as accessible as possible for a wide audience.
Simple Mischief is a creative studio with a soft spot for puppets. We get to collaborate with incredible artists, production companies, and brands to create practical magic. Some of our partners include HBOMAX, Nickelodeon, Paramount Studios, Tristar Pictures, The Rabbit Hole, PBS Arkansas, Hellosaurus, and even the band Phish!
Co-created by a Muppet (Spencer) and a social worker (Grace), we ask smart questions and generate exciting ideas, honed by years of improvising, devising, and collaborating.
Grace brings her social worker’s perspective to every project. We believe in the dignity and worth of our audiences, artists, and clients, and create narratives to inspire others to do the same.
We craft each project by hand. Whether it’s a picture book, pitch deck, or custom-built puppet for film & TV, we think carefully about style, form, and function to create the most engaging work for our audiences.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
We love stories that celebrate uncommon heroes. The media landscape is full of superheroes, but we think it’s important to focus on the sidekicks who may not see themselves represented in media.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
We are so fortunate to be professional artists. We love building new worlds and spending time each day making things with our hands. (Often, these things are tiny, puppet-sized items!) We love the opportunity to connect and share our work with new audiences!
We plan to launch our Youtube studio later this year featuring a variety of characters, so stay tuned for that!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.simplemischiefstudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplemischiefstudio/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/simplemischiefstudio/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SimpleMischiefStudio
Image Credits
Justin J. Wee