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About Us

My Story

I often get asked how I got into articulating, and collecting skulls and other oddities. Here’s a summarized version of the story, I hope you enjoy:

My story starts back in the fall of 2014. I was taking a nice little nature walk when I noticed something white among the leaves, a skull. I found a strange looking skull with big orange teeth, and half of the lower jaw. I took it home, evicted the resident spider that was living in it, scrubbed it with a toothbrush, then soaked it in diluted bleach (NEVER use bleach on bones. It’s horrible for them.) After a little research, I found out that it was a beaver skull and I have had him on my shelf ever since.

On April 1st, 2015 I was taking another walk through this huge field with my friend when we stumbled across a mummified carcass. It was mostly just bones and dried flesh, and a little bit of fur. From looking at the little bit of fur, I thought it might be a raccoon. I carried that smelly mummified raccoon through the woods, through a creek, and through another field all the way to my house. I thought it would be cool to have another skull, so i started doing some research. With the help of Jana Miller’s (From BoneLust Studios) guides online, I decided that maceration was the best choice cleaning it for me. After about a month of macerating, the skeleton was flesh-free, and then I began sanitizing it and whitening it with peroxide (not bleach this time.) Once all the bones were clean, I discovered that my little coon was missing both of his front legs, and the bones were quite weathered and damaged from being in a dry field for so long. I was saddened that I would not be able to try to put together my little coon, but that day was the day I became interested in articulating.

About a month had passed since I cleaned the raccoon, and I found a mummified mouse skeleton in my AC unit. I knew it was a bit too small to be my first articulation, so I cleaned it and set the bones aside for a later project. I started searching for more articulators on Instagram, and found one that was willing to send me a cleaned groundhog skeleton to practice on (Thanks, Gregg (@inthecornfields is his IG)). I was so excited. Finally, my chance to put a skeleton back together.
The groundhog was a lot of work. I didn’t know the names of bones, and I had no idea where they went on the skeleton. It didn’t help that the entire skeleton was disarticulated, including the epiphysis caps because it was a young animal. After hours and hours of trying to find references online, I began my work. I sat for hours gluing bones together, using Elmer’s glue and a blow dryer to help the glue dry. It took a few months to finish, but I did it; my first articulation was complete. It was my birthday present to myself to finish it on June 18th, 2015.

Over the next few months I found and was given a few other animals, and cleaned them and articulated a few. By now I had upgraded my methods and knowledge; I wasn’t using Elmer’s glue and a blowdryer anymore, and I knew the name of almost every bone in a skeleton. On September 27, 2015 I started my Instagram account, OddArticulations. On it I showed what I was working on and showed my finished articulations. I was getting a lot of positive feedback, and was gaining almost 100 followers every day. On October 17th I decided to open an Etsy shop because I didn’t have room to store all these skeletons I was articulating, and made my first sale that same night (Thanks, Jana!)

Fast forward quite a bit and I managed to hit 1000 followers on Christmas day of 2015, and was given two of Lee Post’s bone building manuals. These helped tremendously to ensure my skeletons were accurate and all the little bones were in the right place. On Easter of 2016 I hit 2000 followers.
I’m truly amazed at how far I’ve came in such a short period of time and I’m excited to see what happens in the future. It all started with finding a nasty mummified raccoon out in a field on April 1st, 2015; Now I’m writing this a year later on April 1st, 2016, and I just finished my 13th articulation a few days ago. Thank you for reading my story, I hope it helped you better understand how I got so addicted to this wonderful hobby.

Updated: Writing this Dec, 2017. I’ve completed over 50 articulations, have over 11,500 followers on Instagram, have worked on some very cool animals (rhino skulls and elephant feet to name a couple- I now work for local zoos), and continue to make odd articulations! My journey has been an exciting one thus far, and I’m looking forward to what comes next.

Updated #2: Writing this Dec, 2018! Completed 63 articulations, over 24,000 followers on Instagram (7,300 on Facebook), have worked on a ton of Ligers, Sloths, Anteaters, etc etc, and now make guides on my Blog to teach you how to clean your own skeletons!

FAQ's

Do you ship worldwide?

Yes and no, I can only ship animal parts within the US. I cannot ship internationally due to shipping costs, export/import fees, and numerous customs regulations. I can however ship human bones internationally to any country where they’re legal. Please contact me if you’re an international customer and there is anything human you’d be interested in.

What if my piece breaks during shipping?

Every piece is packaged to the best of my ability to ensure safe travels. I spend a lot of time on each piece to ensure its packaging is specialized for the specific articulation/skull/wet specimen. I do not do generic packaging. However, I cannot guarantee the handling of packages through the delivery process and do not accept returns due to poor handling that I have no control over. If damage does occur beyond repair feel free to contact me or the post office to file a claim. Most pieces can be put back together and I am more than happy to work with you on fixing or replacing damaged parts. If a bone comes loose do not panic, as it is an easy fix with a little super glue and patience. Again, please feel free to contact me if your piece does not arrive complete.

Where do your specimens come from?

No animals are harmed or killed for my art. I do not harm or hunt any animals. I receive my animals from a vast array of sources. Some of these include but are not limited to: zoos, breeding programs, casualties of the pet trade, hunter/trapper/taxidermist leftovers, roadkill, nature finds, or gifts from friends and family. If you are curious as to how I acquired any specific piece, please feel free to ask and I will tell you. I understand many people have different views and beliefs on the ethics of using dead animals in art. I personally see it as giving the animal a life after death, letting it live on eternally and be loved and cherished in its afterlife.

Can I send you my pet to articulate?

Of course! Please go to the Inquires page to read more about how to go about doing that.

Do you sell clean disarticulated skeletons?

I do, but they are not always posted in the Shop. At the time I’m writing this (December ’18), I currently have sloth, tamandua anteater, cuscus, fennec fox, coatimundi, kinkajou, prehensile-tailed porcupine, wolf, four-eyed opossum, yawari black-eared opossum, pacarana, plantain squirrel, arctic fox, and several other animals’ disarticulated skeletons either cleaning, or ready to buy! Feel free to Contact Us if you’re interested in any! Payment plans are usually available if needed!

Do you give discounts for wholesale orders?

I do offer wholesale pricing for any shops that would like to resell my articulations. Wholesale pricing is only available for orders including multiple articulations. Please contact me via the Inquires page if you are interested in wholesale sales.

How do you clean bones?

I’m beginning to write guides for you to learn exactly how to process bones! You can find them by going here. I also have a list of Everything You Need to Process and Articulate Bones that you can check out to get started.

groundhog skeleton
My very first complete articulation, the groundhog. Missing some bones, clavicles are misplaced, scapulae in the wrong spot, arms at the wrong angle, repaired femur from my dog wanting a new chew toy..... Seeing this makes me cringe, but it shows how far I've progressed in the past few years.There is hope for everyone.