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FAQ

2024 workshops now live!

 

 

How and when did you get into taxidermy?

Before I was professionally trained in 2010, I had done a few beginners workshops as a hobby down in London and before that I was self taught! I would find deceased animals near my parents house in Northumberland countryside and in the city and practice the basic techniques or even just clean them up to study their bones and skulls. I always had an amazing interest in anatomy and natural history from a young age.

Where did you learn?

I have been trained by master taxidermist Mike Gadd in bird and mammal taxidermy, along with other touring taxidermists. From there I trained and self taught myself. There are no formal qualifications in taxidermy, a love for animals and a passion for your interests helps the learning process.

How much are your classes?

Classes vary in price depending on the specimen and the skill of tutoring in the class. Taster taxidermy classes range from 3 to 6 hours. Entomology and art/crafts classes range from 1 to 3 hours. Please take a look at our class timetable on our website to see all pricing and dates. You can also contact us directly if you are interested in a certain workshop.

Where do you get the animals from?

All of Moth Studios specimens used in classes and in works are responsibly and legally obtained. All animals have been donated or found once they have passed. The animals come from aviaries, road kill, pet stores, pest control, natural deaths in the wild and sometimes pets. We do not violate any legal laws nor do we support anyone who practices this. Moth is licensed to hold, taxidermy and sell certain protected species commercially. We have been a taxidermist for under 10 years, which feels like a long time, however, are quite happy to say that there are more highly skilled professional taxidermists out there such as the people I got trained off! And we are happy to pass you onto a more skilled taxidermist for more valuable jobs if need be!

Moth Studios has the upmost respect for animals, in life and after death and this is a priority in our constitution.  We try not to use the word “ethical” as this has many different meanings and points of view to most people. For us, its the beauty, respect and preservation of an animal that we can study during the taxidermy process and admire for years once its been mounted. Butterfly, moth, beetles, bugs & insect specimens are obtained from sustainable sources. Stock received is from responsible breeders from the Lepidopterist Breeders Association, and donations from natural deaths in the wild.

What is your favourite thing to work on?

I love bird taxidermy. This is what I focus on the most. I find bird taxidermy to be more aesthetically pleasing, the anatomy of birds is astonishing and the creativity that comes with preparing your mount can be so much fun. I take a lot of inspiration from various forms, such as the natural world, sitting and watching birds go about their day and a lot of contemporary inspiration comes from modern artists and couture fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen, who in turn used a took a lot of inspiration from the natural world in his sculptural runway pieces.

I sometimes get requests to preserve some amazing specimens too. Recently, I was asked to mount an albino mole, which I was very excited about as they are extremely rare! The percentage of albino moles in a population of 40 million is 0.001%, which equates to 400 albino moles in the UK. He turned out great! You can see my post on him on my Instagram feed.

Opening Hours

We usually have our hands full with taxidermy pieces Monday to Friday 9-5, meaning emails, DM’s, texts or voicemails will be answered 5pm onwards. You can contact us here on our website, via email contact@mothstudios.co.uk, you can also contact us via our Facebook page Moth-Studios or even on our Instagram via @moth_studios.

Terms & conditions

Refunds and exchanges on workshops:

Our refund and exchange policy is set as we are a small business and we have all of our materials, tools and set- up prepared way in advance according to numbers.

  • No refunds on classes
  • Exchanges only allowed with 24 hours notice.
  • In the event of an exchange, please have your choice of exchange ready to transfer, and we will arrange depending on available seats at the time of exchange request.
  • Exchanges can also be used as shop credit.
  • one exchange per customer per class.

Moth Studios is a self employed small business, so when it comes to cancellations on classes, we can’t offer any refunds as valuable time and stock has already went into prior management of these events. We hope you can understand the time it takes to arrange and plan these events, so please make sure you are able to attend before purchase.

  • No refunds or exchanges on shop items, please make sure you are definitely sure on your decision before purchase.
  • No video or audio footage during the workshops. Please feel free to take photographs.
  • If you wish to purchase a gift voucher at a custom price, please get in touch with us via email contact@mothstudios.co.uk
  • All gift vouchers are redeemable for 12 months after purchase date. To redeem your voucher on shop items or to book onto a workshop, please email us via contact@mothstudios.co.uk and we will sort you out direct from there.  Vouchers can only be used once, and must have a valid name and code (Moth Studios has a record of all purchase dates along with your unique code)

Other terms & conditions:

  • Free postage in the UK
  • If you are purchasing from outside of the UK, you will receive and email from us stating if this product can be posted to you through customs or not. If so, you will receive an additional email from us with a breakdown of the additional calculated postage costs to your country. If we don’t receive the payment within 24 hours of you’re order, we will refund the order, under the assumption you don’t want to pay for the postage costs.
  • We post orders within 1-2 working days of payment being received
  • We mainly use Royal mail or parcel force for our post service/couriers
  • Items are posted and signed for

*Please note that booking a class on our website, you will receive an e-ticket confirmation only (you don’t need to bring a physical ticket on the day of the class). If you are buying a workshop for someone else & require a personalised gift voucher to be posted out, or an e-voucher that you can print at home, please message us with another email, following your booking on the website.

Sherene is a professionally trained and licensed taxidermist based in Newcastle upon Tyne,  a contributing member of the UK Guild of Taxidermists since 2010 and abides by any laws regarding taxidermy and its counterparts.

For more information please visit:

www.TaxidermyLaw.co.uk

www.gov.uk Natural England organisation

www.gov.uk DEFRA

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