by Sarah Maizes

The Jim Henson lot is no ordinary office. It’s a weird and wonderful place.

You can physically feel the world shift as you turn off of busy La Brea Boulevard in Hollywood and drive through the big iron gates. The air is different, the vibe is different, when you’re here, you’ve entered an oasis of creativity and inspiration. You can even hear how the conversation is colored by the extraordinary (and pretty darn funny) things that happen at Henson everyday — if you just listen.

“Great news, they can bring the sloth to your house!”

“The ladies room? It’s down the hall. Turn left at the chicken.”

“Oh good, you found the Skeksis chart.”

“Hey, if you bring that puppet over right now, I’ll trade you a cupcake for it.”

“Can we hide this surfboard on the stage until the whiffle ball game?”

“Which weasel should we use?”

"If I wanted to take a nap on some food it would have to be pancakes."

“I’m glad the head of cauliflower will be chaperoning them.”

“I took my cat’s medicine this morning. Can you keep an eye on me for hairballs or excessive meowing…”

“Thanks for fixing the pickle.”