ABOUT MY FAUX TAXIDERMY BEASTS
General Information
- My characterful and fun faux taxidermy beasts are all made using discarded fabric swatch books or offcuts. All fabrics are high quality furnishing and upholstery fabrics.
- Each animal is unique. Unless (for example) twins are a specific, custom request, I will never make two the same.
- The plaques are made from offcuts of wood, recycled cabinet doors etc.
- They have a hard form underneath the fabric as with real taxidermy, so they are not soft like stuffed toys.
- Eyes are made from resin or glass.
- They mount to walls using a key hole type hanger, so installation is very easy using a nail, hook or screw in the wall.
- If you have a specific style and colour you love, I can custom make to your requirement. You can find the option to purchase a custom version of each beast within that beast’s category, or from the “custom” link in the menu at the foot of my website.
- I add to my menagerie regularly, so follow on Instagram or Facebook to keep in the loop. You can also head over to the shop page to see who is waiting for a home, or message me to ask if I have any animals that have not yet joined the online menagerie.
- Though I will usually start by creating a more “natural” coloured version of a beast, I really love using unusual colour combinations, so no request is too weird for me!
IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE! Faux Taxidermy creatures ARE NOT TOYS!
CARE AND CLEANING
To remove dust and other matter such a fly poop (sorry – disgusting I know, but it’s a reality!) first brush any matter off with a soft brush (an old tooth brush will do).
Then, either wipe carefully with a cloth soaked in warm soapy water, wrung out well, or you can put a little isopropyl alcohol on a cloth and use the cloth to gently wipe.
Do not soak or dowse in strong solvents such as isopropyl alcohol, spirits or acetone as this could reactivate the adhesive and cause delamination of the fabric. Absolutely no acetone or solvents on the eyes. These can be cleaned with turpentine or soapy water.
For best results and longevity, do not display in a consistently hot spot, or in direct sunlight.
I would not recommend positioning them in a place that is regularly moist (i.e. bathroom or wet room) due to risk of mildew or mould. These are not for outdoor use.
About the Types of Beast and their Features
Please click on a beast below to jump to that beast’s section.
Red Deer
Ram
Bear
Antelope
HARE
My first ever beast, and my bestseller. Everyone has room for an adorable hare to keep them company from a wall in their home.
Hares have wire sewn into the edge of their ears, so the ears are poseable. The whiskers are made from monofilament. Eyes are made from glass or resin. Hares are available with a regular wooden plaque, painted to any colour, or a choice of decorative frames.
To customise your hare, you can add a union jack chest, a crown, or even make it into a viking.
Every year, for Halloween, I made a Halloween themed hare. So far, I have made a Day of the dead hare, a zombie hare and a Beetlejuice hare. They are a lot of fun to do. I used theme events and make props, so making things in theme is something I’ve very used to.
If you would like a hare with antlers, please see the Jackalope page. Or for antlers and wings, please go to the Wolpertinger page.
ROE DEER - STAG OR DOE
Deer are available as Does (no antelrs) or Stags (with antlers)
Stags have beautiful, resin antlers that have been moulded from real antlers and look very realistic. I can painte them in any colour, but usually they come with a dark or light colour antler.
Antlers are left uninstalled for shipping to avoid breakages and to reduce package size. They are easy to slip into place once unpackaged, and you can see how to do this here.
Deer usually come without eyelashes, but can be added to custom makes if required. Their eyes are made from resin. The plaques are made from ply offcuts.
Does are available with or without eyelashes, and are exactly the same as stags, but without the antlers. Most customers prefer the grandeur of antlers, so I have yet to make a doe, but it is a good option if you have limited space, but love deer.
FOX
My faux taxidermy foxes come with whiskers, and resin nose and glass or resin eyes. I cast their noses from resin, and they can be made in any colour.
Accessories can be added to make a character fox. These include a monocle, a top hat, a flat cap, a crown, and a smokers pipe.
Pirate foxes come with silk ruffles or lace either side of the chest, an eyepatch and a tricorn hat.
I can also add mutton chops to their cheeks, and add a union jack to their throat.
I make all the accessories in house, either from scratch or by assembling parts.
Foxes come mounted on a painted or stained and varnished wooden plaque.
BADGER
Badgers have gorgeous beady glass eyes. The stripes are created using contrasting fabrics. Their ears have wire sewn into the edges, but pose-ability is limited because badgers don’t have very big ears!
Accessories can be added to make a character badger. These include a monocle, a top hat, a flat cap, and a smokers pipe
I can also add a union jack to the throat.
Badgers come with a painted or stained and varnished wooden plaque.
POUNCING BARN OWL
My first bird, and my only current full creature. The beautiful barn owl is in a pouncing or alighting pose.
It has beautiful spread wings creating using individually cut fabric feathers, with wire supports between. The tail is also created with individual feathers.
Each wing has a wire support so you can change the curve of the wing slightly if needs be, though they will come with what I consider the ideal pose. Wings will be shipped unattached.
The feet and beak are made from resin. The eyes are glass.
Owls come mounted on an oval wooden plaque, or a varnished slice of tree trunk.
GIRAFFE
Since these are smaller than an adult giraffe, these are baby giraffes. I’m not sure many folk could fit a full sizer giraffe in their home, even with a shortened neck!
They are made using contrasting fabrics to create their iconic markings, and each “spot” has a border of stitching around the edge.
They also have adorable flirty eyelashes to frame those big eyes. And of course, a giraffe wouldn’t be complete without Ossicones.
RHINOCEROS
As with the giraffes, I like to call my faux taxidermy Rhinos “baby rhinos” since although it is a large mount, they are smaller than life size.
I make a special form for these, so that the horns are cast along with the rest of the form, but are made of a harder material for durability. I paint the horns prior to covering the form with fabric.
TIGER
I use contrasting fabrics to create those classic tiger stripes. They have whiskers around the muzzle and eyes.
The ears are reinforced with wire, and are poseable.
LION
Lions have, of course, that iconic mane, created from strips of fabric. They have whiskers and slightly poseable ears. The piercing eyes are made from resin or glass.
RED DEER
Red Deer have beautiful antlers made from polyurethane – they look very realistic. The eyes are made from resin or glass. These beautiful beasts make a fabulous statement piece.
Red Deer are shipped with the antlers uninstalled.
RAM (SHEEP)
Rams have polyurethane horns and have either synthetic or real sheepskin. The eyes are made from resin or glass.
BEAR
Bears have wired ears so they are somewhat poseable. They have resin or glass eyes. This is a large sized, life-size bear.
ANTELOPE
Antelpes have impressive, realistic looking horns, cast using poluurethane. The horns are detatched for shipping. Eyes are made from glass or resin.
MINI DEER
A Mini deer has all the detail of a roe deer, but in mini! They are just a little larger than hares. The eyes are glass, and the antlers are made of resin.
MINI HORSE
Mini horses have glass eyes. Their manes are made from yarn, embroidery thread or by descontructing fabric to make fringing.
MINK
Minks have glass eyes, Their ears are wired so can be posed. The whiskers are made from monofilament. They are cute as a button!
PERYTON
An impressive (if somewhat dark) mythical beast. The wings and flight feathers are wired, so somewhat poseable.
The antlers are made from resin. The eyes are glass or resin.
Perytons are shipped with the wings and antlers separate.
JACKALOPE
This mythical creature originates from North Amereican Folklore. It is a hare with antlers or horns. I make my Jackalope antlers using resin. You can see a video of me making a mould and casting my first jackalope antlers here.
They have whiskers, glass or resin eyes and the ears are poseable.
WOLPERTINGER
A Wolpertinger is a creature from Bavarian Folklore. It is also known as a Raurakl in Austria.
My Wolpertingers have wings made from fabric and wire. The wings, along with the ears, are poseable.
The antlers are made from resin. You can see a video of me assembling some wings here.
COMING SOON (ISH...)
Puffin, Racoon, Small Horse.