I have become more involved lately in trying to read as many posts as I can and even respond and ask questions. I've bought and sold from this site. I'm just wondering where many of you are from (geographically speaking) and how long you have been doing Taxidermy and if you are Full Time, Part Time or a Hobbyist. I know that this has probably been asked before but I want to read upto date information.
I am located in NE Kansas, I am part time evenings and Weekends, My day job is the Sanitarian for our County and I have been doing Taxidermy since 1975, My father since 1959.
Thanks to you all
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Full time, live in Delaware,59 years old, mounted my first squirrel in 1958.
. . . hobbiest for the time being. In the process of selling one house and moving to another - more land and more room. 58 year old retiree from the phone company since September 2003. Took the Northwestern course (as did my father) and completed my first mount, a pigeon, in 1957.
Upstate NY, 49, own a small studio, partime until I retire. Mounted my first grouse in 1972. Started taxidermy shop in 1989, went fulltime in 1991. Y2K came a calling in 1995, money was to good to pass up, so I went back to IT (chosen field), been there ever since, work for a large Utility Co. Try to compete every year in our convention, we can never stop learning is my motto..
my husband and I are in Georgia,part-time,him 40 me 37. Him Director of Fleet Maintence for the county,Me Animal Care tech at the University of Georgia. I do our bookwork,tanning and all those extras that need to be done in a shop, My husband does the mounting.Have had our own shop for three years. My husband has been doing taxidermy since 1992.
Have two sons 22 and 19.
Kim Collins
Bubba's Taxidermy
http://www.freewebs.com/bubbas_taxidermy
I'm originally from Memphis, TN. I am presently living in Nevada but hope to move to Idaho in the future. I have been doing taxidermy since January 2002, where I was taught by a taxidermy great for 2 1/2 years in CA. I decided to try and make a name for myself so I moved and opened my own full time studio almost a year ago. I'll be 30 this June. Before I got into taxidermy I trained Tennessee Walking horses during the day and drove horse drawn carriages in the evening around downtown Memphis. I'm still horse crazy to this day.
I'm a Warsaw N.Y. Hillbilly. I grew up on a farm and am currently a Research and Development designer for Goulds Pumps in the heart of the Fingerlakes in N.Y. I am self taught and started taxidermy in my parents attic in 1980 and currently operate a part time buisness in Seneca Falls. I work in my shop from 3:45 am to 7:00 am weekdays only. Fulltime job is 8:00-5:00 and the rest of my time is devoted to my family.I started attending my state convention in 2000 and am currently a board member. I have learned more in the last 5 years of competition than the 20 years prior. Someday I hope to actually get good!
I'm new at this first year open. I'm a 46 year old firefighter in Springfield Ill,. Went to a taxidermy school after one of my mounts came back looking like Poo. Thought I could do much better. Thanks for asking it was fun reading the responses to this question.
this reminds me of how old i am.48 years old i run a full time shop in north west alabama.been doing taxidermy for a long time i done the northwestern course when i was about 12 years old.i allways get a kick out of how far the taxidermy trade has come.i know George and some of the others can tell you about the paper forms and man those eyes 30 years ago.
Hey Jeanette, Where you thinkng about in Idaho? Make it North by Canada. I don't need your competition down here in the South.I'm just getting started. LOL. Pig hunting in the spring... will get a hold of you about a class to mount him after he's down.
Jeanette you can always come up to Saskatchewan, we'd be happy to have you, I know that I would.
My name is Beavis and my best friend is Butthead. You said mount, Uhuhuh! Uhuhuh! Uhuhuh!
I'm Jeff Wickstrom, aka "458okie" at the NAHC (North American Hunting Club) website. I'm a part-timer, and have been in business for a couple of years, formally, but before that many years of tanning and hobby stuff. Love taxidermy: even when it drives me nuts, it still relaxes me! Love the smell of Critter Clay and Killer Glue (don't worry...I don't sniff it too much!)
Work full time for State of Oklahoma Dept. of Human Services (aka: "OKDHS"...yes, the "eeeeevil State!"), as a Case Manager. Also work part time as a psychological technician for 14 plus years, and, the fun job is the taxidermy when I squeeze it in by appointment only, with a business contract as firm as my skull-crushing handshake, of course!
I drive a big '83 Ford F-150 with "Deer Hearse" on the front bumper, a rigged out mini camp under the topper, and sun-bleached antlers decking the dash, shoot a 300 Win Mag with ammo I roll on my own, cure my own jerky, butcher my own deer, make my own knives, watch Dukes of Hazzard and Lost In Space on DVD and feel nostalgic!
I'm sort of the "Walker, Texas Ranger" of OKDHS when I pull up in the Deer Hearse on a surprise monitoring visit. I often spill some coffee inside my truck, but it helps keep the dust down. I work in a pit of liberals, but did manage to hand out numerous "Bush/Cheney 04" yard signs and "W04" bumper stickers to at least 10 coworkers who came out of the closet prior to the '04 election! I read the Horowitz booklet "How To Beat A Liberal" in October 2004, and put it to good use. It's amazing how the liberals get louder and more animated when they begin losing an argument!
I'm married to the curvacious and lovely Marian, who puts up quite well with my unique personality & quirks (God bless her). Have two kids (Kayla & Colton), two dogs, two gerbils, and too many tropical fish puckering in my daughter's fish tank! Both kids love the shooting sports (hunting and target shooting, and even participate under supervision reloading ammo!), and my wife knows how to cook the venison!
I'm 38, brown hair mixed with grey and half nuts & loving every minute of it (but I look at as "the cup is half full, not half empty!"). My Uncle David often said "the one thing we all have in common is we're all different." I bet George thought I was older the way I grunt around on this site like a decrepit old curmudgeon! My heritage is Finnish/Swedish, saunas (correctly pronounced "sow-naw", not "saw-naw" like the non-Finnish bunch!). Love to take a sauna and jump naked in the snow bank or a hole in the ice in the lake. Therapeutic!
I think peeling cartilage out of ears is as fun as popping those bubble blisters in packaging wrap! Remember..."half full!"
Love fishing, deer and turkey hunting, reloading, camping, conservative political studies & taking my boy, Colton, 9, squirrel hunting. My daughter, Kayla, 12, wants to go turkey hunting this Spring.
Grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan catching those great northern pike and walleye almost every day of summer vacation from school. Actually miss the 300 plus inches of snow fall! The ice would get up to 26 inches thick on the lake.
I'm tired, it's late (11:45 PM Okie time)...so it's time to crwal into bed with the lovely Marian and our cozy blue tick hound dog, Scruffy, who oinsists on sleeping with us and barks like a hoarse seal when a junebug craps near our back fence at 3 AM, causing spontaneous levitation acts and near instantaneous human combustion.
Nice to get to know you all...if you're in the neighborhood, or find a business card or flyer laying around locally, give me a call and we can perhaps arrange to spin yarns over a cup of coffee!
Jeff "458okie" Wickstrom
"Wickstrom Taxidermy"
PS, if anyone would like to see a copy of my contract, just email me and I'll send you a Adobe PDF file of it.
If I decide to head up to Iadho in the next year or 2 it will probably be Boise or Twin Falls where I end up. I really love Boise. Very nice city with just enough to do and not too many people. Twin is nice too. I am also considering Canada as a possible relocation spot. Alberta was sure nice!
about you moving close to Canada Jeanette. I live in Hailey, about an hour from Twin Falls. Alot of Taxi's down there. Most with crappy attitudes. The "you're taking my buisness type" and won't give any help. Hope you get this way. I'd like to take a class.