This is a REAL stretch, friends, but if you can accept star ceilings and flowers...
As for the rationalization, well, griffins are mythological creatures (representing nobility and bravery), so they
might have existed in Middle-earth, and just didn't make it into Our Book.
Here they are in a photo album
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v326/gegoodwin/griffins/These are puppets, designed to sit on your shoulder (with the help of pins or a tie-down). The control runs down the griffin's tail under your clothing into your hand, and is used to make the head nod and shake back and forth. The control doesn't work very well - I was never able to come up with a method to really move the head effectively.
ANYWAY, yes, I made these. I hired a sculptor to make the bodies, forming the molds out of hard resin and pouring the bodies, and I did the wiring together, glued on the fur and made the wings. If you are wondering why anyone would go to the trouble, I had intended to sell them at Renaissance Faires. I got the crafts committee approval (unanimously, which is very rare), but couldn't make enough of them to meet the demand. So I've sold a few here and there and given some away, and only have a few left.
Would you like one?
All of the fur is genuine, mink, beaver, mooton, rabbit, wolf, and about everything you can think of. The feathers also are genuine, mostly turkey but also exotics. The eyes are top-quality Toheken glass. The forepaws are curved to hold a crystal or something. They are a real show-stopper sitting on your shoulder at a Renaissance Faire or LotRs convention!
If you would like one, please let me know. I only have a few left. All I ask is you pay the mailing (parcel post). I'll pack them and mail them to you. I cannot promise to send you one from the photos - some are gone. You'll just have to take pot-luck. But (speaking as their mother), they are all beautiful.
If you'd like one, please e-mail me at budgielover_1@netzero.com, and send me your address.
EDIT - ALL OF THE GRIFFINS HAVE FOUND NEW HOMES. I'M SO SORRY I COULDN'T SEND ONE TO EVERYONE WHO ASKED!