Another Sad Blow To Our Profession

Unscrupulous crooks hurt every industry but they come and go. Personally, I think we're our worst enemies.

 

I can agree with that but as you know not many of us play well with others.

 

Unscrupulous crooks , yes but I'd swap that for dumb white boys. Speaking of white boys , we totally lack diversity ?
When is the government going to grant the industry millions of dollars to work on diversification ?
The National Hockey Association is looking to diversify the hockey teams.

 

Richard, that ain't happening in my lifetime. I have customers of differing ethnic makeups but you are correct, I don't know of any other taxidermists around me that are not "White". Why do you suppose that is? It's not that others can't do this.

 

Actually it is. It's certainly not politically correct but look at facts. How many black artists do you know? Authors? Sculptors? If that offends anyone, supply me with facts refuting it and I'll quickly apologize. In fact, over 60 years, I've had only 3 black clients and only one was a repeat client. I've only met one black taxidermist.

Richard sent me an article years ago saying that in order to be an artist, you had to have bipolar tendencies. Where is this problem prevalent?

 

Hey now, I resemble that. Part of me may be offended,

 

I see this scammer used another taxidermist with the same name in Louisiana as a website link on his Google listing, which was also used in this article. Someone should warn him that his website is being used in this scam.

 

I aint getting in to all that shit.... Yall got decades of experiences that I understand will build some strong feels... Ive only been doing this a handful of years. I will, however drop two nuggets to this diatribe.

1 in regards to diversity, we may not be very dark, but we have pretty good representation by females. And if the taxis I see on tiktok and other soc media are any indication, the "old white guys" trend is decreasing. 1 in 3 taxis i see on Tiktok are female and I follow 2 black guys who are newer, just starting out but eager to learn more. I got a friend whos a black girl I went to highschool with who thinks taxidermy is awesome and wants to come help me skin out heads next deer season and pick up a hobbyist amount of knowledge (enough to come over here and do her own/her kids/her old mans stuff her self with my help)

2 I dont understand a taxidermist being more than a year behind. There may be some exceptions for special projects and whatnot but when it comes to the meat and taters of my business (wt deer heads) if I cant get it back to you in a year, I need to do some serious self evaluation and alter my business practices. I need to do some combination of: raising my prices more than just by the standard annual rate of inflation, start shipping green hides to a commercial tannery, hiring an employee or 2 (either part/full time or contractually by outsourcing lower skill tasks like skulls), or cutting out the work I do that has lower profit margins.

Because another deer season is coming. That calendar keeps rolling... Ho does it end? when you want to retire do you stop taking in new work and then spend 4 years emptying your freezer?

 

Your second point always baffled me how it is so common in this trade. I never took in work that I couldn't finish the next year. Most years I would start turning people away once I hit my estimated quota. I also learned how to complete my work more effeciently and faster, which equaled more money.

 

Now we are even putting stereo types on how people hunt.(sort of like the watermellon,chicken thing).Could be why minority taxidermists lay low.

 

I don't think it has anything to to with race. When I first started doing taxidermy, slit throat's were common. We still get way to many slug shot in the neck deer. It's a cultural thing.

The watermelon and chicken this is just a joke. It's cheap food that everyone enjoys.

 

I have no problem turning work away. I’ve been doing it for three years now. I know how much work I can do in a year and that’s all I want. I’m tired of working 6 days a week. In two years I’m really slowing down.

 

Full time? Do you derive all of your income from taxidermy?

 

Yes, full time. All of my income from taxidermy but my wife has a job too. In two years I’m signing up for social security then I’m slowing down. Maybe I’ll get to do something besides work. I’m getting tired!!

 

OK, I was just curious. You must be talented if you can make a full time career and a living out of taxidermy after just 3 years.

 

You misunderstood. I’ve been turning some work away each year for the last three years. I’ve been a taxidermist for 26 years. I know how much I can do in a year and turn work away once I reach the amount I want.

 

OK Jim, I now understand. Thanks for clarifying that for me. I had no idea how long you have been at this. I too turn work away, it has taken some time to get me to that point. You know how it is, those of us that actually earn our entire income in taxidermy hear all kinds of crap from some that have "Real jobs", and only do taxidermy for play money.