Emmy Award winning designer, a puppetmaker, and puppeteer – these are the creative roles Karen Valleau has inhabited with her work in television and film.

Karen attended the Sheridan College Classical Animation program, and is trained in a wide range of media, working in both animation and live action puppet series television, commercials, and feature film.

Her work in theatre and television as a puppeteer lead to Valleau working with Jim Henson’s Muppets on such shows as Fraggle Rock, The Jim Henson Hour and on CBC’s Sesame Park and Mr. Dressup.

Beginning in 1992 Valleau was responsible for the character and production design of the highly acclaimed and award winning children’s television series The Big Comfy Couch.  For the next 12 years she was head of the Radical Sheep Shop, leading a team of artisans in the creation of over 100 hours of television series production,, including such titles as:  Ruffus The Dog, Panda Bear Daycare, Land O’ Hands, Amigo & Me, Longhouse Tales and many more.

In 2007 Karen Valleau received an Emmy Award for her set and production designs on the final season of The Big Comfy Couch.

More recently she has provided stop-motion animation puppet character design, and puppet fabrication, for Cuppa Coffee Animation, Head Gear, Stop Motion Dept., and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, as well as live action puppets for CBC, TFO, and Family Channel.