How Long Is Too Long?

[Double Buck Taxidermy]

Well said!!

[WalkingW]

Now I may open a can of worms, however this is my opinion on this subject. I know there are exceptions to what I am about to say, but in the 36 years I’ve been in the industry, this is my take.

 

When you first decide to start your own taxidermy business, your turn around time is dependent on how fast you receive your skins from the tannery. Assuming you use a tannery. And if not, 99 percent of the taxidermists out there know nothing about how to provide a quality tan. That’s like the mechanic saying he can machine the parts for your car himself to save money and time. So the fastest you can get a mount done is about 4 months, using a tanned cape, not home tan or dry preserve. Now as you get more business the turn around time increases.

As you get better and news travels, the one man shop at best can get turn around time to about 11-13 months. The problem arises when the taxidermist just keeps getting in more and more and can never say “sorry, I’m full” or give you an accurate turn around time. Then, these problems exist. Most taxidermists are artist not businessmen. So they don’t find quality people to help them with their workload and it gets worse. Then quality suffers. Then these problems exist.

 

Here is another problem that creeps up. Commercial tanneries only warrant their product for 12 months after they are tanned. (That’s another story). So unless the taxidermist has taken the correct precautions the skins start to fall apart after about a year and a half. Now some do and some don’t. But after that time they become much more difficult to mount.

 

Here is something you can do as a customer. When you drop off your animal make sure he gives you an approximate completion time. Make sure you let him know how you want the animal mounted. If you don’t at the time make your minds up as soon as you can, and let him know. When it is about 1 month from that completion time he gave you call him and see how it’s going. And politely stay on him for the next 2 month.

 

For the ones that are over 1 ½ years I would call him up and tell him that it has been way too long and you want your animal done in the next 30 days or you will pick the animal and deposit back up and take it else where.

 

I think if more customers would treat taxidermist as business, and more taxidermist would treat taxidermy as a business. Then it would be so much more enjoyable to have your trophies mounted. Everyone would know what to expect from each other.

 

That’s my take.

I would rather have a artist do my work than a business man that just wants the money, but a good artist will know when to say "sorry I am to booked". I have never had mounts take over 2 1/2 years and the ones that took that long was because I asked him to for lack of a place to put them at the time. The best mount that I have evry seen was my best friends sheep that only took a few months. So you can be good and fast. I would be real nervious about trying to rush my mount in fear that it would be just tossed together.

[elkaholic]

Kinda a funny story - i had taken a lion and really wanted to get it mounted- I had the hide tanned and had to wait a yr or so to figure out who to use for the mount. -

 

Now I was fairly known to a few taxi's around town I'd drop in occassionally and see what kinda work they were doing.I picked a guy to do my mount and put down a small deposit to get the wheels turnin- i was to make payments. I only made 2 and then due to no work really could not make anymore-i just let it go. about 1 1/2 yrs later i dropped in - the guy says hey i'll have your lion done fairly soon - I was took back cuz i hadn't made any payments and i still had the hide in my freezer at home - no way he wa workin on it!

 

Moral - they get so busy it's easy to skip or forget whats on the books - they are involved in several projects usually -- so unless you've been buggin this guy - regularly - the squeaky wheel- he may have over looked your mount!-

 

time for a i need asap or ask for full refund and start someplace else agin - or hang around his shop the next few weeks tellin every new customer your story !!

[Hunter58]

I’m confused. Taxidermist = Artist or Business? Why not both? I am business oriented. Why would anyone, whether part time ‘artist’ or full time artist as a business, not want to get paid for their time and product? True, you are paying for their experience, artist ability and the knowledge that your mount will be handled properly.

 

In response to ‘How long is too long’? I recommend anyone to ask the proprietor what their turn around time is when they drop off their animal. Then, follow up with the taxidermist when it is near to that time. As explained in a previous post there is good reason not to wait too long, product warranty, proper handling and storage. If the reason the animal is not being mounted is due to your delay, then, enough said.