Local man’s ‘darrionettes’ becoming a part of the rock scene

A local artist's work is getting a lot of exposure in the rock world.

Darren “Geppetto” Moreash recently made a set of wooden marionettes of the band KISS for a client, then shared a photo of his creations — which he calls darrionettes — on social media.

“The next thing I know, KISS took the photo and, they didn't retweet it, they posted it themselves and then they posted it on Facebook and tagged me in it,” Moreash told NEWS 95.7's The Sheldon MacLeod Show.

The band is no stranger to Moreash's work. When KISS last played in Halifax, he had to chance to go backstage and present puppets in person to Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.

“They get millions of things every year, but a couple years later I saw Gene Simmons online doing something from his home … they showed some pictures of his house and there was the marionette hanging in his KISS collection.”

Moreash made his first marionette about 20 years ago. A girlfriend wanted one and all he could find were cheap toys so he decided to create one himself.

“About 10 years ago I started making them more and contacting bands, and for about the last 5 years it's been my main income.” 

Not only does taking orders from clients pay the bills, Moreash also gets to see a lot of shows that come to town.

“I reach out to a lot of bands,” he explained. “A lot don't contact me but some do.”

In fact, it was a backstage meeting at Casino Nova Scotia with Cheap Trick that lead him to give up his job and focus on his art full time.

“Rick Nielsen said, 'What do you do for a living?' I said, 'I have a dead end job just like everybody else.' He said, 'Well you shouldn't, you should be making these.' That kind of planted the seed in my head.”

The band ended up ordering a full set of darrionettes which ended up in their video I Want You For Christmas (see below).

Moreash's work also appears in Myles Goodwyn's recent video I Hate To See You Go (But I Love To Watch You Walk Away) and a video by punk rock band Green Jelly.

He doesn't just make custom carved darrionettes of celebrities for clients.

“Whoever they want, their husbands, their wives,” he explained. “I ask people to send me a couple pictures of the person and give me something they're interested in, a hobby, something they like so I can incorporate it in.”

Moreash generally charges $135 for local orders, which he takes through his Facebook page.