The floats that roll down St. Charles Avenue on Mardi Gras Day did not materialize in a vacuum. Neither did the millions of beads, coins, and collectibles that get thrown to eager hands. Behind the spectacle of Carnival is a year-round industry of artists, engineers, craftspeople, and manufacturers who transform raw materials into the cultural artifacts that define the season.
In Part 1, we explored why Mardi Gras is a season. In Part 2, we examined the organizations that make it happen. Now let's meet the artisans and industries that craft Carnival itself.
The Float Builders: Engineering Spectacle
Walk into a float-building warehouse in the New Orleans area, and you enter a world that feels halfway between a carnival theme park and a steel mill. Enormous wooden frames sit in various stages of construction. Artists apply papier-mache to skeletal structures. Welders work on mechanized appendages. Painters add detail to scenes that will exist, fully formed, for only a few hours on a Saturday afternoon.
The major float builders—Kern Studios, Blaine Kern Artists, Mardi Gras Indian Supply, and a handful of others—operate year-round in these massive facilities. They are not just craftspeople; they are engineers managing projects that rival small theatrical productions.
Kern Studios: The Gold Standard
Kern Studios, founded in 1947 by Charles Kern, is arguably the most prestigious float-building company in New Orleans. The facility spans 85,000 square feet across two locations. At any given time, it may have 300 floats in some stage of production or storage. Kern builds roughly 125 new floats each season, plus refurbishes and updates hundreds more.
A single float design process begins months in advance. Krewes submit themes and sketches. Kern's design team creates full-scale renderings and blueprints. Carpenters build the frame, typically from cypress or white oak, woods chosen for their durability and workability. Once the skeleton is complete, artisans cover it in papier-mache, molding and sculpting to match the design.
The detail work is meticulous. A single face may take weeks to sculpt and refine. Hands, fingers, folds of fabric, and decorative elements all require individual attention. The goal is not just visual impact from a distance—the floats are designed to photograph well, but they are also built to reward close inspection.
Then comes the painting. Kern maintains a team of painters who apply multiple coats of primer, base color, and detail work. Some painters specialize in specific techniques, like airbrushing, shadowing, or fine detail. The final painted float is transported to the storage yard, catalogued, and held until the krewe that commissioned it is ready to deploy it.
Blaine Kern Artists: Innovation and Spectacle
Blaine Kern Artists represents a different philosophy. Blaine Kern Jr., who took over the company founded by his father in the 1950s, embraced mechanization and innovation. His floats are known for moving parts: spinning wheels, articulated joints, platforms that rise and descend.
Kern Artists pioneered the "super float," oversized structures that pushed the limits of what could be motorized and moved through parade routes. The Krewe of Endymion's massive animated floats, some exceeding 100 feet in length, come from Kern Artists. Their facilities house both traditional craftspeople and engineers who program hydraulics and electrical systems.
A modern Kern Artists float is part parade vehicle, part stage prop, part mobile art installation. The complexity demands collaboration between sculptors, painters, electricians, and engineers all working toward the same vision.
The Supply Chain: Wood, Paint, and Materials
Behind every float builder is a supply chain. Cypress and oak come from sawmills across the South. Papier-mache requires specific grades of paper and adhesive. Industrial paints must meet city environmental standards. Decorative elements—mirrors, rhinestones, feathers, artificial flowers—come from specialty suppliers.
A single large float may cost $100,000 to $300,000 to build or refurbish. That investment covers materials, skilled labor, design time, and storage. Krewes foot that bill, often through membership dues and corporate sponsorships.
Smaller architectural companies have emerged to serve float construction, supplying everything from structural materials to LED lighting systems. A company called Float Supply provides papier-mache, sculpting materials, and specialized paints exclusively to the float-building industry.
The Throw Industry: Beads, Coins, and Collectibles
When krewe riders toss beads to the crowd, they are not just throwing plastic strands. They are distributing mass-manufactured products engineered to survive rough handling, look vibrant under streetlights, and feel substantial in hand.
The throw business is global. The majority of Mardi Gras beads are manufactured overseas, primarily in China and India. Manufacturers receive orders from krewes, throw distributors, and retailers months in advance. Each production run is customized: specific colors, specific bead sizes, specific quantities.
The Bead Market
A standard strand of Mardi Gras beads—roughly three feet of purple, green, and gold—costs krewes anywhere from 15 cents to 50 cents per strand depending on bead quality, quantity ordered, and customization. Specialty beads cost more. Light-up beads, larger beads, or themed beads can run 75 cents to $2 per strand.
Over 25 million pounds of beads are thrown during a typical Mardi Gras season. That translates to roughly 10 million individual strands, consuming upward of $1.5 million in manufacturing and shipping costs before krewes even count them as expenses.
The production timeline is critical. Orders must be placed 6-8 months in advance to ensure delivery by late December. Manufacturing delays can push a krewe's throws into January, forcing last-minute adjustments to parade plans. Shipping logistics are equally complex. Containers of beads arrive at the Port of New Orleans and are distributed to warehouses across the metro area.
Doubloons: The Collectible Exception
While beads are mass-produced overseas, doubloons—collectible coins—are often made locally. These aluminum or brass coins, typically 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter, are custom-minted each year with krewe names, logos, and themes.
Doubloon production requires die creation and striking equipment. Companies like National Coining and Medals handle this work, often producing thousands of unique designs each season. A single krewe may commission 50,000 to 100,000 doubloons for a season.
Doubloons are the premium throw. Krewe riders often budget extra money for doubloons because they hold value among collectors. A well-preserved vintage doubloon from a historic krewe can sell for $5 to $20 at Mardi Gras collectibles markets. Serious collectors maintain databases tracking which krewes threw which designs in which years.
Specialty Throws: Where Krewe Identity Lives
Beyond beads and doubloons, krewes commission specialty throws that reflect their identity. The Krewe of Zulu's hand-decorated coconuts are famous. The Krewe of Muses throws decorated high heels. The Krewe of Tucks throws rubber ducks. The Krewe of Freret throws hand-painted bottles.
Producing specialty throws requires local manufacturers, often small operations that specialize in a specific type of item. The business of decorating, customizing, and packaging these throws supports dozens of small businesses across the New Orleans area.
One krewe spent an entire year sourcing hand-decorated plates to throw as their signature item. Another had custom-molded plastic items manufactured to celebrate their 50th anniversary. These specialty throws command loyalty from parade-goers who track which krewe throws which collectible and plan their parade attendance accordingly.
The Costume Trade: Sequins, Feathers, and Creativity
What riders wear matters. The costume industry supporting Mardi Gras has evolved into something substantial. Riders invest hundreds or thousands of dollars in elaborate outfits that they wear once or twice a season.
Professional Costume Makers
New Orleans has a community of professional costume makers who serve krewe riders, parade-goers, and tourists. These artisans source sequins, feathers, fabric, and embellishments. They draft patterns, cut materials, and hand-sew details that can take 20-40 hours per garment.
The work requires technical skill and artistic vision. A good costume maker must understand how fabrics move, how to balance weight and comfort, how to construct pieces that look good both in person and from a distance. They must also work within tight timelines. Orders typically come in November and December, with final fitting and delivery required by January or early February.
The economics vary. A basic parade costume—mask, beads, feather boa, and accessories—costs $100 to $300. A custom-made outfit with hand-sewn elements, professional tailoring, and specialty materials can easily exceed $1,000.
The Supply Chain: Sequins and Feathers
Like float builders, costume makers depend on supply chains. Feathers come from suppliers who work with farmers raising ostrich, peacock, and turkey. Sequins come from manufacturers in India, China, and now increasingly from suppliers in Mexico. Specialty fabrics, lace, and embellishments arrive from textile suppliers across the country.
Local costume supply shops like Maskarade and Karla's Costume Specialists stock thousands of items for makers and DIY enthusiasts. They source inventory year-round to ensure they have deep supplies of popular items like purple, green, and gold sequins when costume season arrives.
DIY Culture and Mass Retail
Not every costume is handmade by professionals. Many parade-goers assemble costumes from mass-market sources: party stores, Halloween retailers, and online retailers like Amazon and Etsy.
In the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras, retailers stock their shelves with mass-produced costume elements. Wig shops open pop-up locations in high-traffic areas. Bead importers set up temporary booths in shopping centers and parking lots. The seasonal economy shifts to accommodate costume demand.
The Supporting Industries: Food, Drink, and Transport
The Mardi Gras supply chain extends far beyond floats, beads, and costumes.
King Cake Bakeries
From January 6 through Fat Tuesday, bakeries across Louisiana work at full capacity producing king cakes. These ring-shaped pastries, decorated in purple, green, and gold, require hours of labor to produce.
Major producers like McKenzie's and Haydel's Bakery bake thousands of cakes daily during the season. They operate around the clock, managing fermentation and baking schedules, decorating to order, and arranging distribution to offices, schools, and retail locations.
The economics are tight. A king cake sold at retail for $15-$25 costs a bakery roughly $3-$5 to produce. The margin is slim, but the volume during Carnival season makes the business worthwhile. Some bakeries report that Carnival season represents 25-30% of their annual revenue despite lasting only seven to nine weeks.
Beverage Production and Distribution
Hurricane cocktails, which became a Mardi Gras staple at Pat O'Brien's bar in the 1940s, drive seasonal demand for specific rums, brandies, and mixes. Breweries produce limited-edition Carnival beers. Distributors stock bars and restaurants with seasonal inventory.
The beverage industry also includes what locals call "go cups"—plastic cups distributed by bars, restaurants, and street vendors. During Mardi Gras week, these cups are everywhere, often customized with krewe names or sponsor logos. Manufacturers produce millions of these cups annually.
Transportation and Event Services
Moving 25 million pounds of beads, dozens of floats, and hundreds of thousands of people requires logistics. Shipping companies, trucking firms, and local transport services work overtime during Carnival season. Waste management companies hire temporary workers to handle the refuse left behind after parades.
Street vendors—many of whom operate as sole proprietors—set up temporary stands during parade season. They sell hand-held food, drinks, souvenirs, and throws. Some vendors work the same routes every year, establishing regular customer relationships.
The Artists: Masking and Design Innovation
Beneath the mass production lies an artisanal tradition that remains central to Mardi Gras. Mask makers, feather artists, and creative designers keep older traditions alive while innovating new ones.
Venetian Mask Traditions
New Orleans has a small but dedicated community of mask makers working in the Venetian tradition. These artisans source plaster, papier-mache, and materials to hand-craft individual masks. Each mask is one-of-a-kind, decorated with feathers, foil, paint, and embellishment.
The work requires training and practice. A quality hand-crafted mask takes 8-20 hours to produce. The artist must understand facial anatomy to ensure the mask fits comfortably and looks flattering. Detail work—layering feathers, applying paint effects, embedding stones—is where artistry separates good masks from exceptional ones.
Mask makers like those at Mask-a-Rade operate studios where they teach workshops, sell pre-made inventory, and take custom orders. Prices for hand-made masks range from $50 for a simple piece to $300-$500 for elaborate custom work.
Feather Artistry
Mardi Gras Indian culture—distinct from but connected to Carnival—maintains traditions of feather artistry. These artists work in hand-sewn beadwork, ostrich plumes, and elaborate headdresses that can weigh 20+ pounds.
Creating Mardi Gras Indian regalia requires obsessive attention to detail. A single headdress may have thousands of hand-sewn beads and multiple layers of feathers. The work often takes months to complete. Families pass down traditions, designs, and techniques across generations.
Emerging Digital and Modern Design
Newer designers are introducing digital fabrication, 3D printing, and LED technology to traditional Mardi Gras costumes and floats. Some mask makers use 3D modeling to prototype designs before hand-crafting final pieces. Float builders increasingly incorporate LED mapping and projection mapping to create dynamic visual effects.
This blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern technology is pushing the boundaries of what Carnival can look like while maintaining its connection to historical traditions.
The Economics: A Hidden Industry Worth Millions
The Mardi Gras production industry is not well-documented in official statistics, but estimates suggest it represents hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Consider the costs:
- Float construction and refurbishment: Krewes collectively spend $10-$15 million per season on floats
- Throws: $1.5-$2 million in beads, doubloons, and specialty items
- Costumes and personal wear: Tens of millions as participants and parade-goers invest in outfits
- Permits, insurance, and logistics: Millions more
- King cakes and food production: Millions in seasonal bakery and catering revenue
That does not include wages for workers in warehouses, production facilities, and temporary support roles. Float builders, costume makers, and artisans are often self-employed or work for small businesses that depend heavily on Carnival season revenue.
A single float builder warehouse might employ 50-100 people year-round and triple that during peak production season. Those workers have mortgages, families, and lives built around Carnival timing.
For New Orleans, the production industry is as important as the tourism that Carnival attracts. Remove the artisans, engineers, and manufacturers, and Mardi Gras becomes impossible to produce. They are the hidden backbone of the season.
The Challenge: Sustainability and Modernization
The Mardi Gras production industry faces pressures that it has not historically confronted.
Environmental Impact
25 million pounds of beads, most of which end up in landfills, represents a real environmental cost. The plastics, metals, and other materials used in float construction, though often reused, generate waste. Papier-mache production requires significant water usage.
Environmental concerns are prompting conversations about sustainability. Some krewes are exploring biodegradable throw options. Float builders are investigating recycled materials. But systemic change requires industry-wide coordination that has not yet materialized.
Labor and Supply Chain Stress
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed fragility in the production supply chain. International shipping delays, manufacturing shutdowns, and supply disruptions threatened Carnival's 2021 season. While Mardi Gras ultimately proceeded, the crisis highlighted how dependent the industry is on global supply chains that can be disrupted.
Locally, rising labor costs and workforce shortages challenge traditional manufacturers. The pool of people trained in hand-sculpting, papier-mache, and traditional float-building techniques is small and aging. Younger workers often pursue other professions, leaving experienced artisans scrambling to find apprentices and successors.
Economic Pressure on Small Businesses
Many vendors, costume makers, and artisans operate on thin margins. Rising material costs, rent increases, and competition from mass-market retailers pressure independent businesses. Some are adapting by going digital, selling online year-round, or specializing in premium handmade goods that justify higher prices.
Still, the future of the small craft tradition in Mardi Gras remains uncertain. The industry is large enough to support major manufacturers like Kern Studios but potentially too fragmented to protect individual artisans and small businesses from economic pressures.
Why the Craftspeople Matter
It would be easy to treat Mardi Gras as pure spectacle—floats rolling, beads flying, parties raging. But that view misses what makes the season work.
The artists, engineers, manufacturers, and craftspeople who produce Carnival are conservators of tradition. They are also innovators, pushing techniques forward, experimenting with new materials, and bringing technical skill to bear on problems.
They are the people who understand that a float is not just a vehicle; it is a canvas for storytelling. That a bead is not just plastic; it is a small artifact that someone will treasure. That a mask is not just eye covering; it is a tool for transformation.
Without them, Mardi Gras would be conceptual, theoretical. With them, it becomes real—tangible, visible, wearable, throwable. Concrete enough that a child can catch a bead and remember the moment for decades.
In Part 5, we'll explore Carnival celebrations across the Gulf Coast beyond New Orleans—the unique traditions, the parades, and why Mobile, Biloxi, and smaller communities offer a different flavor of the season.
Sources
- Kern Studios - New Orleans Float Builders
- Blaine Kern Artists
- Mardi Gras Economic Impact - New Orleans & Company
- The Art of Float Building - Where Y'at
- The Science and Art of Mardi Gras - Smithsonian Magazine
- Mardi Gras Throws - Mardi Gras New Orleans
- McKenzie's Bakery - King Cakes
- Best King Cakes in New Orleans - New Orleans & Company
