When I have someone working for me, the first thing I try to get them to be able to do is build a squat frog, per my father’s design of so many, many years ago. From now on, such people will be working a lot smaller than this. Maybe it is not so smart to teach this skill. I had one person who worked for me who stole the design. He learned how to do it, then repeatedly showed his work in none other than the gallery I had been selling my frog sculptures in for years and years. I’m taking action against this. Not a pleasant task.

But anyway, when I have someone work for me, and they have anything to do with “The Frog”, I want them to learn stuff. I want them to learn how to build some frogs. This may be insane. But the truth is, when I’m busy, I do need help with these things. In other words, there is often a tremendous amount of labor in these frogs. So, even if I have someone sign a non-compete statement and that they will not go off and copy what I do and steal my (and my father’s and brother’s) design, I also have to give a lot of attention to who ends up working for me.

I actually have my son, now 21, working some for me, learning how to make-a-duh frog, as I call it. Which I am very excited about. And if I can get him to be excited about it, well, that would be great. He does not yet have the fire in his belly for this work. I cannot blame him. I never did for many years. But now it is all I do. How about that?

This frog, represented here, was made by a nice enough fellow I have had work for me, on and off, Sebastion. I think he’s done a commendable job. It looks rather art deco. Nice. The mouth is a bit wonky. But, that is the beauty of the frog. The wonkiness and funkiness works with the frogginess of the frog design. That, incidentally, is how others have been able to “steal” the design. Cop it or whatever. Because they do not have to have the same skill level as I have to do it. The frog may come out wonky. But that’s…okay, as Al Franken’s Stuart Smalley used to say.

It worked for me. For many, many years my frogs were wonky. And they took a lot longer. I got better and better. The frogs changed. And they continue to evolve and devolve or whatever.

Now you can see that I do not mind saying if someone else made what I am selling and say I made. It is rather a collaborative design. I’m into that. As long as Sebastion doesn’t go around saying that this is his design and his frog… He wouldn’t do that. Would you, Sebastion? No. He wouldn’t do that. Todd did. But he wouldn’t. That’s one reason he works for me. Another is because he can make a squat frog, even if the mouth is a little wonky. Actually, it looks good.

Available or soon to be in the Frog ‘n Froglet SHOP! .