Expressions of Wildlife Taxidermy Inc

02/26/2026

Update from Expressions of Wildlife

There has been a lot of progress over the last month but still a lot to do. For those who have missed my previous updates, we fell behind quite a bit throughout the latter part of 2024 and especially 2025. I had 100% turnover through 2025 which was unexpected and at the same time the biggest year in our Taxidermy Tech Program.

Customers bring in work expecting 10 months to a year turn around…this used to be our average time. Students book anywhere from 8 months to a year out for training and last year alone, we had 58 students. (Students are working on their own mounts and not customer pieces). Balancing both is manageable as long as we are staffed where someone is always working mounts while someone else is with students. All of the customer mounts we do take hours and some of them weeks or months in process . The loss of anyone on either side of it knocks it out of balance and the result creates delays.... I am working nights and weekends as always to close the gap and by Monday I intend to post a list of customers with pickup dates for items currently being finished and those scheduled for assembly and completion. We have a few deer and small mammals/reptiles left and just a few birds from last year….overall about 60 pieces. We will complete what we are working and if you have not heard from us expect to hear back shortly and be sure to check the list when it is posted. We get a lot of calls requesting drop offs, pick ups, status, information etc. We have 1 number for locals services…850-544-7865 that you can call or text. I am trying to get back with everyone as soon as possible but it may be a day or two before you hear back. That is a business cell line…not my personal line. Just a reminder… we are by appointment only.  Monday through Wednesday mornings and evenings are best but Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM is also an option... just sebd a message.

I had announced that we would not be taking any new work for a while (originally 19 January) and we will continue with that until further notice. Ultimately the amount of local commercial work we accept will decrease to just a few pieces per year as we become almost exclusively training and product development. We will do just a few pieces in the future for the local public… a few gameheads and predators and some waterfowl but will keep our numbers very low so that we can keep it manageable.. Things are changing here but I am committed to completing all projects as all are currently at some stage of progress. I appreciate everyone and especially your patience as we navigate this new normal for us.

01/02/2026

Update- We are making good progress. Thank you for the patience, space and the quiet time to get it done.

We are closed to the public from 1-4 January 2026 to complete our freezer inventory/records maintenance to ensure we are in compliance with State and Federal requirements going in to the New Year. We will also use this time to continue working our backlogged projects.

We will be back to normal appointment schedule on Monday 5 January.

As a reminder...we are not accepting new work until 19 January unless it has already been pre-coordinated.

We will accept 60 total pieces this year. Our normal average load historically is about 250+/- so our projected reduction is about 75%. Staffing/Manpower became the greatest obstacle over the last year with 100% turnover. It was significant especially considering this same period was the biggest year in enrollments and product development for Taxidermy Tech so we got way out of balance. To balance the dual effort and continue to serve the local public more efficiently and with better quality we have established the quota of 60 total pieces and will also publish an "invitation only" client list. I know that sounds bad but its not...there will be 15 wild cards for anyone not on the list. We have to establish strict limits and stick to it...and we have to say no sometimes. We simply can not take everything that might come through the door. This is where we have been heading for couple of years but this past year drove home the reality that we have to create stricter limits and stick to them. The first phase of this was eliminating the things we do not do. No fish skin mounts, novelties, flat/soft tanning, no euro mounts, turkey tails, restorations, etc......just standard gameheads, lifesize and birds and a few replicas. Next phase was really to do what we are doing now...catch up the immediate backlog, temporarily halt any work coming in so we can catch up, re-establish a new record/compliance system and then establish the strict limits and customer list. We are also working to restaff which is one of the biggest obstacles. More to follow over the weekend as we get new information up to carry us all into 2026. www.expressionsofwildlife.com

Training will continue but we have place limits on available annual slots. We ended with 58 bookings for 2025. For 2026 our quota of classes is 32 so a significant reduction. We are half way there already for the year. If you have any questions on training or are interested in a course please visit our Taxidermy Tech website... www.taxidermytech.com

Award Winning Taxidermy - Professional Wildlife Artistry serving the Southeast since 1991.

12/26/2025

Update
Unless it has already been precoordinated we are not accepting new work until 19 January in an effort to reduce our backlog to within our quotas. If you have work here being completed that is past the estimated date on your ticket this is the current priority and we will be contacting you shortly as we complete your mounts. You may leave a message and we will contact you as soon as possible. Thank you

09/09/2025

Update…Just to let everyone know… We did not forget you and we are actively working on a completion schedule. For the last two or three years I had been talking about quotas to progressively bring down the number of mounts that we were taking in in anticipation of the growth of our Taxidermy Tech program. It’s easy to get behind on this business because there are variables that you can’t control and still other variables that you might not want to limit. But I made that commitment and it has been painful. There’s one thing I can assure you… I’m in my shop seven days a week and sometimes 12 to 14 hours a day and more when necessary. I lost a couple of my folks here and it spread me even thinner. Skylair is still here with me but back to three days a week for now because there’s many of you know she owns Skys the Limit Taxidermy and needs time to stay ahead with her own customers. We’re getting it down to the light at the end of the tunnel, but there’s probably still about 100 pieces in here. I am going to be posting a list here shortly that will show where you are in our completion process. We teaching somebody every single week and while one of us is teaching the other is working on completing your projects. On the weekends, I am here, Saturdays, and Sundays and holidays until we complete your projects. I can’t always talk during the day and it’s easier if you text the cell line and I can get back to you after close of business or in the morning before we get started. But rest assured we are moving forward with completion. Going forward we have been transitioning from being a 400+ piece per year business to about 50 to 60 select pieces a year. I am in the process of staffing up with more dedicated permanent professional employees for the Taxidermy beside the house and a coupjec of contracted instructors to assist with our training program. Things are changing and have been changing for the last two years. There are some things that I did not anticipate in the growth of the training, but we are moving in the right direction. It’s been painful and not everybody’s been healthy in the process either, but I am positive about the direction we’re going. I pray every day that the Lord reveals to me the path that I’m supposed to walk… I don’t always want to to walk those paths but I do because I trust in him. I ask all of you to trust me as well and we will get it done. Once we are there, everything will change and how we operate and it may not be business as usual, but my intent is to produce high-quality products to include your amounts… Better quality than we’ve ever done before and to do it in a reasonable amount of time. A lot of lessons learned on this journey, but I’m thankful for it. Thank you for your patience with us.

01/05/2025

We are by appointment Monday- Friday during normal business hours.
If available we may accept appointments on Saturday or Sunday.
Please call, text or message to coordinate a day and time.

11/24/2024

FWC CWD

Fight CWD, Draft Rule Amendment, Deer, Disease, Cronic Wasting Disease, Deer Hotline (866) 629-3982, Import, Importation

11/24/2024

Chris Butt with Wildlife Taxidermy walks us through the process of caping your animal out in order to comply with Tennessee's import restrictions for bringin...

11/23/2024

For those of you hunting out of state wishing to come into Florida with your deer to be mounted…

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