Why a Wooden Jumping Jack Puppet Makes Better Wall Art Than You'd Expect

How we make them in Cherkasy

Every puppet in our line starts as a sheet of birch plywood. The design is printed directly onto the wood — not a sticker, not paint over the surface — so the natural grain shows through every color field. Then the parts are cut, the edges finished, and the figure is assembled by hand: each limb set on a metal rivet tight enough to hold a pose, loose enough to move.

The back stays natural plywood, with a small brass hook for hanging. Each figure ships fully assembled, ready to go on the wall. And because no two sheets of plywood have the same grain, no two puppets are exactly alike — that's not a flaw, that's the point.

We've been making jumping jacks alongside our steel work since 2012. The current line runs eleven characters, from 27 to 41 cm tall — strongmen, acrobats, dancers, a jester, a beetle.

The circus and the Bauhaus

The most interesting designs pull from two places. Vintage circus iconography — strongmen, acrobats, performers in bold costumes — translates beautifully to wood: the shapes are clear and the colors read from across a room. And the Bauhaus movement understood the same idea a century ago. Oskar Schlemmer's geometric stage costumes from the 1920s weren't far from circus dress — primary colors, simplified human forms, shapes that work as both costume and sculpture. A Bauhaus-influenced wooden puppet carries that history without announcing it. It doesn't look like a toy. It looks like a considered object.

How to style one

The simplest option is the one most people overlook: hang it on the wall and leave it alone. A single puppet on a white or off-white wall, arms posed at a slight angle, does more work than a framed print three times its size. The three-dimensionality matters — it casts a shadow, it has depth, and it changes depending on how you've set the limbs.

If you have two, put them together. An acrobat and a strongman side by side read immediately as a pair — a little circus of two. Give them room to breathe. On a shelf or a desk they work differently: at 27–41 cm tall they're substantial enough to anchor a surface next to books and plants without taking over. They also make an unusual gift for people who are hard to buy for — architects and designers especially, who tend to recognize the Schlemmer reference on sight.

What to look for when buying

The quality difference shows up fast. Check how the joints are finished, whether the printed design has depth or looks flat, and whether the figure has any sense of proportion. Direct printing onto the wood — rather than a sticker or paint hiding the grain — is the clearest sign of care. And weight matters: a figure that feels light and hollow will feel cheap on the wall. It should have some heft.

Jumping jacks are not a trend. They've been around for hundreds of years, and the good ones outlast the apartment they hang in. The full line — all eleven characters — is in our wooden marionette puppets collection.

Meet the characters

Eleven characters so far, each sketched and drawn in the workshop before anything touches plywood:

• The Strongman — the original of the line, selling since 2012.
• The Acrobat — black and cream stripes, one step into a routine that never ends.
• The Bauhaus Jumping Jack — a yellow dancer under a blue arc, our closest nod to the Triadic Ballet.
• The Jester — a medieval fool in engraving style, the only non-geometric character.
• The Little Gymnast — 27 cm of color blocks, the smallest of the family.
• The Beetle — a round black shell, the newest and largest at 41 cm.
• The Athlete — black and white only, a 32-kg kettlebell in each fist.
• The Harlequin — a diamond, a circle and a disc for a costume.
• The Flamenco Dancer — black dress, pearls, a skirt where the wood grain becomes the flounce.
• The Circle Dancer — circles on circles, mid-move even on a wall.
• The Gentleman — a monsieur in a black tuxedo, forever tipping his top hat.