MY FAVORITE TAXIDERMY SUPPLIES

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Here are some of my favorite supplies (and accompanying tips and tricks) to get really nice-looking specimens. They'll change the way your work turns out! Whether you're a beginner or a veteran taxidermist, give these a whirl. I think you'll be satisfied. Click on the photos to be taken to the products.

1. I think one of the most important supplies to have in your arsenal is borax. If you're doing a bird taxidermy mount it's a must, but I also use it for small mammal taxidermy as well. Lots of taxidermists swear by tanning their hides but sometimes beginners in taxidermy just want to experiment with other methods. Use it to deter insect activity, slough off fat and fascia, dry the fur of hides, and of course, add to your birds right before mounting so they don't dry out too quickly. Borax can also be used to make slime or for your laundry if you decide taxidermy just isn't your jam!

2. I always use nitrile gloves while doing taxidermy. Vinyl gloves have, in my experience, reacted poorly to some of my preferred taxidermy chemicals, and latex gloves always make my hands smell really disgusting. Plus, the bright color is easy to see when you're skinning around a limb!

3. A good, sharp scalpel with a sturdy handle is a must. From skinning to fleshing and even some of the fine detail work of form-carving, you want a blade that can handle it all. I prefer a #24 scalpel blade, which fits on a #4 handle. The point of the #24 is very sharp and can help you with tasks like skinning around a mouse's eye, but the broad side of the blade is effective on skinning and fleshing much larger animals too.

4. Formalin is a very important chemical when it comes to specimen preservation. Not only can you use it to make wet specimens, you can also inject it into the feet of mammals and birds after mounting to help preserve, dry out, and protect them permanently. Formalin is a buffered formaldehyde solution and should be used and stored very carefully. Please mind the MSDS information.

5. Use a syringe that is large enough to hold a decent amount of liquid, but which is small enough that you can still handle and maneuver it comfortably. I also like to use a 20g veterinary needle so as not to leave very large holes in my specimens.

6. When skinning animals I prefer to dissect joints apart rather than cutting them, but at some points it's just necessary to cut through a bone (like inside of a squirrel's foot, or above a mouse's ankle). For these instances, I prefer a specially designed pair of poultry bone scissors. These come with a lifetime warranty which is well worth it. Make sure you push the bone all the way into the blades so the notch holds them in place when you cut.

7. Looking for a shortcut so you don't have to mess with salting, drying, rehydrating, pickling, and more that goes into traditional tanning? I like Chuck Testa's martini tan recipe - a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and gum turpentine. Skin your animal, submerge it in the solution, gently shake it every day for a week, and pull it out to wash it with lukewarm water and BLUE Dawn dish soap before you flesh it. The "martini tan" actually alters the proteins in the skin and fascia to make it REALLY easy to peel the two apart. Proceed with borax on the inside and outside before mounting as usual!

8. If you're doing a dry-mounted mammal project, try soaking your entire hide (yes, the fur too!) in isopropyl alcohol before fleshing it. Use borax to rub in the fur and fluff it up again! After about 15 minutes it will look like a whole new animal. I also like to use this alcohol as my permanent storage solutions for fluid-preserved specimens.

9. Crock-pots are great for cleaning bones, but only if you know what you're doing. It's nice to have a dedicated crock-pot for taxidermy to avoid cross-contamination in your kitchen. Always choose one with a multitude of heat settings so you can put it on the lowest heat setting. You should leave your skulls to soak in the crock-pot for only a day or so, gently cooking the meat off the bone on a very low setting with a soapy solution (soap and water) in the pot. Overcooking can lead to greasy skulls.

10. Use a set of wax carving tools to scrape the cooked meat off of your skulls. You can also use these tools for tucking eyelids and lips, manipulating clay, and more.

11. Use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution to whiten your skulls once you've cleaned any muscular remnants off of them. Check out this blog post for other bone-cleaning tips and tricks!

12. Sewing up tough hides can be a huge pain, but if you use a tri-sided leather needle it pierces right through even the toughest of hides. These needles are SHARP and have three blades on them that can be sharpened. Protect yourself with a thimble and try sewing with artificial sinew when you're working on a squirrel or anything else with a thick skin. There is no photo of these needles, but please trust me - they're a game changer.

13. Chinchilla dust is my favorite way to finish up both birds and mammals before grooming. Your specimens' fur and feathers will be as fluffy as a chinchilla after you give everything a good dip, douse, and shake followed by a nice blow-dry with a regular hair dryer on low or even a blowout from an air compressor.

Good luck and have fun!

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GUIDE TO ESTATE SALES — MASTER POST

It's no secret that I love estate sales and have since I was a kid. If you loved thrift-shopping before Macklemore wrote a dumb song about it, have a collection of anything from baseball cards to glass mannequin heads (that's me!), or are just in need of a new set of dishes, estate sales are for you! Here is my guide to finding estate sales, getting first dibs at everything, and negotiating great deals. You never know what you're going to find, because every estate sale is different! This is how I get the most out of every weekend.

Vintage All About children's books.

Firstly, "estate sale" is a broad term that was once narrowly used to define the sale of the belongings of someone who was wealthy and is now deceased. Now, it has a wider range includes all kinds of things — from families that are relocating cross-country or abroad to businesses that are going under. My grandfather recently had an estate sale when he downsized to a smaller house across town, getting rid of decades of stuff that he didn't want or need anymore. However, most often, estate sales occur when a homeowner dies, a homeowner is being relocated to a nursing home or assisted living, or very often, one elderly spouse dies and leaves the other with a house full of stuff that's impossible for them to sort through alone. That's when families either host a sale themselves or hire a company to do it for them!

Just a side note: Out of concern for the privacy of homeowners and estate sale attendees, I don't take photos at estate sales unless I specifically ask for permission to take a close-up of items I find. The rest of the photos in this post are going to be of things I have purchased at estate sales and have made part of my personal collection.

How do shoppers find estate sales? I like to search three websites for estate sales. The first is EstateSales.net (which also has an app), the second is EstateSale.com, and the third is searching "estate" or "estate sale" on Craigslist. I tend to favor the first option. When I search for nearby sales, I input my ZIP code and keep my search radius at 30 miles or sometimes less. I live in Chicago so even five miles can be a half-hour drive (or an hour+ at rush hour) but I also like keeping my options open — I don't want to miss a great item because I narrowed my radius to only ten miles! (You can also try EstateSales.org and EstateSale-Finder.com but they tend to list the same sales as EstateSales.net for the most part.)

I also use the keyword search for specific items; for example, "taxidermy" is one I use a lot. That shows me all of the estate sales on the whole website (regardless of distance) with taxidermy. I can see the locations from that screen and open all of the ones in my state (and near my family members) in new tabs to see photos. If the sales (with my keywords/items of interest) near my family members look worthwhile, I send them the links. My mom has a flexible work schedule and also loves estate sales, and my grandpa is retired and enjoys antiques as well. Sending links to friends and family members is just a nice way to say "Hey, I saw this and thought of you!" and sometimes they'll end up going to the sale. That's how I ended up getting a nice 1934 deer mount for my birthday!

I'm very over-the-top when it comes to searching, finding, and organizing estate sales in order of how important the items are, what day the sales are taking place, what time the sales are taking place, and where they are located. Below, I am going to post an example of the steps I take to route my sales in a given weekend.

First, I open a completely new window on EstateSales.net. I input my ZIP code and look for sales coming up in the next seven days. For privacy's sake, I'm going to use my old ZIP code from when I lived in Ohio.

Search using your ZIP code.

In this screencap I have circled the locations of estate sales. The grey dots are regular estate sales and the yellow balloon shapes are "featured" estate sales, or ones that have paid to be promoted.

Open each estate sale link in a new tab. Don't open too  many tabs at once! Ten is the maximum I'll do.

I don't bother opening the ones with no image. The orange "Locally Featured" sticker is just to let you know they paid extra to highlight their sale — this does *not* mean that the sale will be better than the others.

In case you didn't read the captions on the screen-caps above: After I have the new window open and have searched for estate sales within the desired radius from my location, I right-click each estate sale and open it in a new tab. When I have around ten tabs open, I scroll through each estate sale. If I see something I like, I keep a photo of what I like open as a reminder and I move the tab to the left of the original tab I used to make my search. This keeps my stuff straight (because at minimum I ALWAYS have two or three windows with at least five tabs each on my computer). Once I've peeked at a batch of ten, moved my desired tabs over, and exited the ones that I'm not interested in, I open another ten tabs and repeat the process until I've seen every estate sale in my desired timeframe.

When I find something I like, I move the tab all the way to the left so I can keep track of which estate sales have things I want. If a sale doesn't have anything I want, I just close the tab.

Once I have gone through all of the sales in my area for a given weekend, I look at the days each sale is happening and plot all of the sales with the same start date in Google Maps. I usually prioritize the sale with the coolest stuff and then try to map the rest in a route that makes sense and doesn't back-track. Most sales start between 9 AM and 11 AM on Fridays, but some companies only do Wednesday and Saturday and so on. Make sure you pay attention to this! The actual address for most estate sales isn't available until the day before, but you can still plot the ZIP code on your map if you're making plans a week or so ahead of time.

My collection of vintage dental models, used dentures, dental casts, and even a few boxes of baby teeth!

Take notes on everything: the location, the rules of the estate sale (like when the sign-up sheet will be posted — more on that below), and a list of the items you really want. You can ask the workers as soon as you get there where the ______ is, rather than wandering around the house looking for it. Usually they can tell you where it is, or if it has sold already.

What should shoppers be looking for at an estate sale? Whatever you want! Seriously — anything. Once, I found a ponytail in the bottom of a box of wigs. You can bet your ass I bought it. It was only two bucks and I have plans to put it in a cool antique bubble frame someday. Whether you're trying to add to your collection(s) of stuff (I collect taxidermy, rare globes, glass mannequin heads, working rare cameras, fossils and minerals, and nature books among other things) or you're looking to furnish a new home, every estate sale has something for just about anyone. Want a dozen half-used old dead ladies' lipsticks? You can buy that. Need a very expensive antique gold-plated microscope with prepared slides? Estate sales have got you covered there, too. Look for stuff that catches your eye and remember to buy stuff you love and will use (or plan on reselling and know it will fetch a fair market price for you) — don't just stock up on junk because it's there and it's cheap! There are no returns, so inspect everything and make sure you research its value before you buy, not after.

The first day of a sale, the largest amount of items will be available (in case that wasn't obvious) but it will also be very competitive (waiting to get in, people grabbing stuff you wanted, etc.). The last day is always the most calm, but things are usually picked over. The good news for the last day of a sale is that they typically mark everything half off (or more) and take offers on everything, so if you're just looking for something to do with your day off, have at it.

An anatomical torso model, vintage dental cabinet (with milk glass trays in the drawers!), goat taxidermy, pregnancy anatomical model in a glass dome, starlight globe, a few books and cameras, and a little mirrored glass case I use for displaying an assortment of small skulls.

How do shoppers get in when it's competitive? Estate sales typically take place indoors, in people's homes and businesses. This means that only a certain number of people are allowed inside at once, rather than a setup like an outdoor garage sale or flea market where people are free to roam about. Every estate sale company is different regarding how they handle entry, so you have to make sure you read the fine print on their listings. I usually keep my tabs (referenced above) open and refresh the pages the day before the sale, then re-read the rules for that particular sale in case new information has been added. This is also when I get the actual address of the sale rather than the general ZIP code.—

Here are examples of wording from different listings I've seen recently and what they mean:

• "A sign-up sheet will be at the door by 4 a.m." This means that the company putting on the sale is providing a sign-up sheet and they will put it outside the home at 4 o'clock in the morning (this is pretty rare, usually if the company provides a sheet it goes out the evening prior) and people are admitted in the order that they are signed up.
• "We will honor a watched list." This means that the company will honor a list, like the one mentioned above, that is started by a customer (at the sale at any time the day of the sale) that is constantly kept track of. This means you cannot just write your name on a piece of paper, tape it to the door, and walk away.
• "Our numbers at 9:30 on the morning of the first day of the sale." This means that the company will hand out numbered cards the day of the sale and admit people in that order. If there was a sign-up sheet of any kind (watched list or company-provided list) they will usually give people numbers in that listed order and then proceed to handing out consequent numbers as more customers arrive.

Vintage cell and frog dissection chart, taxidermy nyala, and on the bar cart is a beautiful pink glass Depression-era whiskey decanter. My dining chairs are also from estate sales.

These new phrases may sound intimidating but once you know what they mean, it's very easy to get used to. Basically, if you're able to sign up on a company-provided sheet the night before, you should do it! I just went to a sale that allowed me to sign up the night before. I was #19 and Jason was #20 but because many of the people on the list before us didn't show up on time, we got to go in with the first group of people.

On the flip side, which is my only estate sale horror-ish story, we also went to an estate sale last weekend involving four different lists including a stolen company list from the evening prior, two "watched" lists, a new company-started list, a fist fight, and a LOT of yelling. After waiting more than an hour and a half, the lady skipped over me and Jason completely! We had to pretend my name was Amanda (a person who had come and left, so we didn't steal anyone's spot or anything) just to get in. Moral of the story: not every estate sale company is going to have their shit together. I cannot stress this enough: if you sign up for any kind of list, whether it is provided the night before, posted the morning of, or a "watched" list started by another customer, take a photo of it on your phone WITH the house number in the photo as well. Then there's no disputing!

What should shoppers bring to an estate sale? It depends on when you're going! If you're planning on being the first to arrive, bring coffee, dress appropriately for the weather, and headphones for a podcast or something are advisable — or just bring a friend! I would suggest bringing someone who has different taste than you, otherwise you may end up fighting or arguing with each other, or even resenting each other because you were both coveting the same item. I also like to have a bottle of water with me, but remember to use the bathroom before you arrive because you can't use the restroom inside the house at most estate sales! Snacks are a good idea too.

Starlight illuminated globe (and smaller illuminated globe in the background) — the one in focus was slightly damaged but only $25. I just keep the damaged area facing the wall and it doesn't even matter. It gives off such beautiful soft light!

Regardless of whether I'm trying to get in first, I like to fold up a reusable shopping bag in my purse for every estate sale. Most sales do not allow you to put items into your own bag while shopping, but will provide shopping baskets. I also bring change for parking meters if needed. Always pay attention to permit parking signs, street sweeping, and utility work being done! The last thing you want is to get stranded in an unknown suburb with no car. Cash is a must — it's faster than using credit cards (and not every sale accepts cards), allows you to haggle a bit (notes on this below), and helps out the estate sale companies with their costs and provides families of the deceased or homeowners (for moving sales, etc) with a bit more money. Most companies have a minimum purchase requirement for credit cards and charge a "convenience" fee. (I put it in quotes because paying more certainly isn't convenient to me!)

One more luxury item that's nice to bring when going digging in a really old house, garage, or warehouse is a head lamp. Holding your phone flashlight is okay, but the light isn't great and a headlamp leaves you hands-free!

The last thing I'll leave you with is how to negotiate a deal when the sale is being held by a professional company. Just like anything, no means no and you'll just need to move on — no pressuring anyone to do anything they don't want to! But the easiest thing to do, especially if there's (a) no price tag on an item or (b) there's a sign saying "OFFERS WELCOME" is to make an offer. It's easier to negotiate a good price if you've got cash in your hand, and I like to have small bills on hand so I can say "I'll give you $35 for these three items" and then hand them $35, rather than handing them $40 and watching them make change (especially because the whole time they're making change, they resent you for being "able" to pay $5 more). Even if there are price tags, if you buy a lot of items you can always say "Would you be willing to take X amount for this?" because the worst thing they can do is say no. This weekend I got more than five dozen rolls of refrigerated film for $10 just because I asked. Don't try to haggle if you're only buying one item on the first day of a sale.

You can also save money by subscribing to estate sale company mailing lists in your area. Search EstateSales.net to find them, and sign up through their websites! Sometimes they send out secret "codes" which you can whisper under your breath to the cashier (like an elementary school boy with a treehouse) to get a discount.

Keep in mind that not all estate sales are held by professional companies. Some are held by family members of recently deceased people — meaning it could be hurtful to try to haggle for more ways than one. Often (a) the objects belong to someone and has sentimental meaning so haggling with a grieving family member could be a slap in the face and (b) often the funds are going towards funeral services and more. Please be tactful if family members are around!

Remember that estate sales are supposed to be fun! If you're like me, you'll enjoy the thrill of going to sales, meeting other junkers, pickers, and collectors in your area, and making some really good discoveries. Keep your cool, be kind to others, and enjoy yourself! If you have any other tips or if you've blogged or Instagrammed about your own estate sale finds, feel free to leave tips and links in the comments. You can find photos of my estate sale finds on Instagram under the tag "#mickeygoespicking" or just follow me for updates on all kinds of things. Thanks for reading this post! I hope it helps you find something cool!

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PREVENTION OF COMMODIFYING PROTECTED ANIMALS

When people meet me and find out what I do for a living, they very quickly try to find a relatable anecdote or tell me about their collections of taxidermy. I think that's how everyone is, but rather than connecting based on music or art or television, the easiest thing for new acquaintances to grasp onto is my taxidermy work and knowledge. Sometimes I hear about an uncle who hunts, or an interior designer looking for a European mount on velvet, but occasionally I hear about someone’s own taxidermy collection. Today in particular, I got to see photos of a man’s collection of owl, eagle, and hawk wings, feathers, skulls, and skeletons that he found. I’m disgusted.

I’m all for certain things that are illegal. Going ten miles over the speed limit, smoking a joint at a party, poking around in a long-abandoned building where no homeless people have taken shelter - all pretty much fine in my book. Collecting migratory bird parts, especially raptors, is not only illegal but it’s morally unsound. Legally speaking, collection and possession of those parts is poaching and amounts to years or decades in federal prison along with big fines. I uphold all wildlife laws because they’re in place for a reason, and also encourage others to do so. Morally speaking, though, there’s another layer here.

The collecting, display, coveting, etc. of illegal animal parts commodifies them. If you don’t know what that means, essentially once a handful of people start to think something has value, others hop on the bandwagon. It’s like shark fin soup (which is bland and renders the shark dead for a small part) or rhinoceros horn (not an actual aphrodisiac) - commodifying animal parts means people begin to seek out that species and kill it for vanity purposes. While you may think it’s fine to keep a bird skull you found, it becomes coveted and when that “cool” factor affects the wrong person, they begin to hunt and kill protected animals.

After pointing out not only the legal but also the moral implications of the issues at hand (which he was already aware of) and why this man should cease to collect illegal parts of animals, it was like a switch had flipped. I was no longer “adorable” or “amazing” - I was just a bitch with an opinion that didn’t coincide with his fantasy world where it was fine to traipse around and pick up dead and dying birds to display them in his home. I don’t accept that. My education in the natural world has been influenced by work with many museums, zoos, universities, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as well as friends who do wildlife rehabilitation. I’m not out to get anyone - I stand to educate and if me being “bossy” prevents even one protected raptor from becoming a commodity and a hipster decoration, I’m fine with being a “bitch.”

There are probably a few readers wondering what the difference between what I do and what this man is doing actually IS. I work with specimens that are 100% legal - this means that if they were hunted or trapped, they were harvested in season. Feeder animals are raised in abundance by small-time breeders here in Illinois, or Indiana, and are given quality living conditions for the duration of their lives. Domesticated animals like cats and dogs are euthanized after illnesses or accidents, or die of natural causes on their own. When working on birds, it is done so with the blessing of the USFWS and all specimens further scientific research and exploration on everything from evolution to the effects of pesticides on species. I do not work on mounts of protected (illegal) specimens for personal or client use because I respect wildlife laws and I do not believe in commodifying anything that’s protected. Furthermore, even when things are legalized (like the wolf hunts that have been happening the past few years) I still look at population numbers and if presented with work on a specimen with detrimental population statistics, I’d probably turn away the work unless it was a natural death for an educational institution.

To break it down even further and put it into terms that are easier to understand, I’ll talk about human specimens. We tend to understand comparisons to humans better than animals because let’s face it, most people don’t care that much about wildlife. In terms of human beings, I’ll use an example of my friend who works in a mortuary. There are often unclaimed bodies which, after being held for a certain amount of time and then used for scientific research, get cremated and then discarded. Just because these people are being essentially thrown away does not give me a license (figuratively or literally) to harvest bits and pieces of them to decorate my home. Commodifying illegally harvested human body parts is a terrible idea - both legally and morally, it’s not a good choice. Taking parts of protected birds and other animals, even if found dead of natural causes, is no different. The only difference is the type of organism in question.

The TL;DR version: illegal collection of parts of protected organisms is bad, contributes to commodification and poaching, and should be prevented. Also, don't call women "bitches" just because they know more about the law than you, and/or have different morals. I'm quite sure I'm not a bitch for wanting to prevent low-population birds from getting shot to become decorations.

Bone up (heh!) on your wildlife parts laws here or here or here or here. There's no excuse to not follow the law, protect animals, and not be a complete tool - no matter what country you live in.

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HOW TO FIX SNAGGED UPHOLSTERY

I love my cat. I do not love my cat's claws. For months and months, I have tried everything - citrus, trimming her nails, scratching posts, a spray bottle - and you name it, it doesn't work. She LOVES clawing things, especially in the middle of the night. It left my couch, armchairs, and dining chairs in shreds and loopholes.

Now, I'm going to keep trimming her claws every week and a half or so but she can keep doing whatever she wants because I finally found a way to fix it - and the solution is a cathartic and repetitive motion, so I can't even get mad.

Pictured above is the problem - ridiculous claw marks and snags all over one of my dining chairs. Pictured below is the solution!

Buy yourself a set of size 38 star needles from a needle felting supplier like Jo-Ann Fabrics or Living Felt. Two should do the trick, but if you only have one for some reason it'll just take you a little bit longer.

Forgive my photos, because I am not actually left-handed. Holding the needles in your dominant hand, you will essentially just poke them into the snagged area repeatedly until the snags disappear. I took a video that shows the whole process a little better.

It's really that easy! Here is a photo of the chair after I was finished.

Remember to use needle-felting needles and not regular needles. Needles made for felting have tiny notches in them, which grab onto the fibers and help tuck them in. For some reason I can't find a macro photograph anywhere online, but trust this advice. I also can't stress enough - BE CAREFUL! These needles are MUCH sharper than regular needles or pins and the tip is star-shaped which means each one is covered in barbs.

This video is part of my goal to make something every day this year. It's my very first tutorial video so I hope it was helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions!

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