Several small wool-felt mills say they're struggling to keep up with order volume as finger puppetry demand outpaces what a craft that was, until recently, a fairly quiet hobbyist niche.
One mill owner said her backorder queue has stretched from roughly two weeks to nearly two months over the past two quarters, and that she's had to turn away new wholesale accounts entirely while she catches up on existing orders.
The shortage has had a knock-on effect on kit makers, some of whom have had to substitute thinner craft felt in starter kits, drawing complaints from buyers used to the stiffer material older kits used.