By CHRISTINA TATU
Pocono Record Writer
Posted Feb. 8, 2015 @ 9:21 pm
Updated Feb 8, 2015 at 9:22 PM

First it was pizza and soon it will be puppets. A Schaffer School House Road factory once used to manufacture frozen pizza dough will become “Imaginarium Galleries,” a family-owned company known for its mystical-themed puppets and ventriloquist dummies.

The Stroud Township Zoning Hearing Board approved the application of Imaginarium owner Albert Alfaro Jr. during their meeting Wednesday. The 1.24 acre property at 3188 Schaffer School House Road was previously owned by Michael Kasapov and had been used for 25 years as a factory to manufacture frozen pizza dough for resale.

The 4,000-square-foot building will now be transformed into a workshop for Alfaro Jr. and his sons to design, produce and store their puppets. According to Alfaro’s application, the business will remain a family-run facility. There are long-term plans to possibly add between five to 10 apprenticeships, though Alfaro Jr. said on Wednesday he does not anticipate any significant traffic to be generated by the business.

There will be no retail sales at the Stroud Township site. The puppets are currently available online.

Alfaro Jr. is very private about his business. He lives in the Poconos, but used to have his business in Long Island. When people realized where the business was located, too many people started stopping in, Alfaro Jr. said. He declined to pose for a picture with the puppets he brought to Wednesday’s Zoning Hearing Board meeting, though pictures of the creations are available on his website.

He created a type of puppet called a “drabbit,” which is a cross between a dragon and rabbit. The puppets feature a moving head and wings, and also breath “smoke.”He also created the “Wise Aces” dolls, which were imp-like creatures designed to sit on the shoulder and be animated via a concealed cable system.

Alfaro has since been granted a patent for the cable system, according to his website. The Wise Aces eventually developed into the handmade Drabbit puppets he’s known for today.

For more information on Alfaro Jr.’s work, visit his website: http://www.imaginariumgalleries.com/

Source http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20150208/NEWS/150209486