About Simpson Taxidermy Studio

   Studio Hours

   Completion Times

   My 10 Year Guarantee

   My Satisfaction Guarantee

   Work Order (Blank to download and print)

   Shipping Information

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   When you choose to have your trophy or reproduction done by Simpson Taxidermy Studio, you are dealing with me.  I offer my clients  high quality, detailed mounts,  personal service, a 10 year guarantee on each mount , an unequaled satisfaction guarantee and a reasonable completion time.    Simpson Taxidermy Studio is truly a "soul" proprietorship.  It is owned, operated, managed and promoted by myself, "Red" Simpson. This is a complete, professional taxidermy service and I have over 25 years experience in the field.  My business has been built on a constant striving for improvement in both quality and service.  Thousands of satisified customers  is why most of my  business is now repeat customers and referrals. 

       I have won numerous ribbons and awards in various state taxidermy competitions, including many 1st & 2nd place ribbons as well as several Best of Category and Master Division ribbons.  These ribbons were won in almost every category of competition including fish, fish groups, upland birds, gameheads, white tail deer, rugs, small mammal, large mammal and others. Many taxidermists have a "competition" level of work and a "commercial" quality that their customers receive. I have won most of my ribbons with work I have done for my customers and I continue to give them the highest quality work that I am able to give.
         
        In 1990, I earned the certification of Professional Master Taxidermist from the International Guild of  Taxidermy.  I was the 41st taxidermist in the nation and the 2nd in Wisconsin to have earned this distinction.
    Taxidermy is all I do and I do almost everything.  I  mount birds - including turkeys, ducks, geese, pheasants & grouse of all types.  I mount fish - including freshwater & some saltwater,  trout & salmon,  as well as reproductions.  I mount mammals of all types and sizes in full body, 1/2 mounts, shoulder mounts or rugs. This includes small mammals like weasels, squirrels and mink;  medium mammals like foxes, raccoons, bobcats & coyotes and large mammals like deer, bear & mountain lions and many others.  I do scene mounts like swimming ducks, leaping bobcats and splashing fish.  I also have done a great deal of repair and renovating of old mounts.

    My tanning and fur dressing is sent to a reputable tannery that I have dealt with for over 20 years. I also send out any skulls for cleaning and bleaching to a specialist.  Any cabinetwork, panels or Plexiglas cases are made by other  professionals in their field.   Other than that, all items are done "in house" by me.
    Because this entire business is operated by myself, and because I put the quality and beauty of your mount before volume and speed, I often have to limit the number of mounts and new customers I take in each year.  This helps me maintain a reasonable completion time.  Previous customers will be given preference when I am almost "booked up".  I also reserve the right to reject any customer or any piece brought to me for mounting.  Customers who cancel a work order, fail to pay a deposit or fail to pay the balance on a completed mount  will be "blacklisted" and no future mount will be accepted from them.  Customers who become annoying, harassing or abusive will have their work orders canceled and will be billed for any work already completed.

    I stand behind my work and will repair, at NO cost to you, any defect in my workmanship, in any mount I have done, for a period of 10 years from the date you pick up the mount. Or, at my option, you will be given credit equal to the amount you originally paid (not including tax)  towards a new mount.

    Covered problems include but are not limited to, problems with the paint or finish on any mount, grease bleeding, cracking on the show side of fish, separation of the skin at the seams or any place on the mount, odor, etc.

    Mounts with habitat bases - Natural materials (such as weeds, cattails and grasses) may break and need to be replaced occasionally.  I use silk, plastic or preserved natural materials to keep your mount looking as good as possible.  I will replace materials and touch up habitat bases on mounts I have done at 1/2 my usual rate.

    Mount must be hung in a normal living environment and reasonably well cared for as instructed.  Mounts placed in basements, bathrooms, boathouses, un-heated cabins, garages, outdoors or any other area with excessive swings in temperature or humidity, will not be covered by this guarantee.

    This guarantee does not apply to mounts that are broken due to handling or any abuse, fire or smoke damage (including cigarette smoke), water or excessive humidity damage, sun damage or other acts of God or man over which I have no control.

    I guarantee that you will be pleased with any mount I do for you.  If upon picking up your mount, you are NOT happy, for any reason, you have a choice between a refund of all money that you have paid or credit towards a new mount.  Your mount will then become the property of Simpson Taxidermy Studio and may be sold, displayed or disposed of as I choose.  Where it is legal, I will pay you for the value of the raw skin of your animal and any antlers or horns.  If the mount was shipped to you, it must be returned in original condition, properly repackaged and shipped in the original box.  I will refund the full amount you paid for the mount, shipping excluded
 

Almost any mount can be shipped from almost anywhere in the world now.  The following procedures should allow you to safely and legally ship any mount to me.

Fish, birds and mammals up to about 40 lbs. can be shipped via UPS without problems.  Take extra care when shipping small fish or a single fish bird or small mammal to prevent thawing in transit.  Birds, small mammals and fish under 15 lbs. should be shipped whole, without gutting or field dressing.   To reduce weight and shipping expense, large fish can be cut on the back (wall) side and gutted.  Medium mammals (fox, bobcat, etc.) can be field dressed using a short cut down the center of the belly.  Wipe as much blood off as possible, then -
    1.    Wrap fish, bird and small mammals in a wet cloth and place in a plastic bag.  Medium mammals can be placed in 2 or 3 heavyweight garbage bags.
    2.    Roll the fish up in the bag, seal with tape and freeze solid.  This may take several days depending on the size of the animal
    3.    Remove the animal and roll in several sections of news paper.  Be sure and cover the ends.  Tape in place.
    4.    Smaller fish and mammals (under 3 lbs..) should be rolled up together in the newspaper.  Birds can be wrapped individually.   Put back into the freezer until you are ready to box & ship.  There are a couple methods that work well.

    1.    Use a STURDY cardboard box, and place several layers of newspaper on the bottom, then crumple single newspaper sheets and fill the box 1/2 way up.  OR, cut a piece of 2" thick Stryofoam and place on the bottom.
    2.    Put all the animals to be shipped together in a heavyweight plastic bag, (at least 2 mil) and  place in the center of the crumpled papers or on top of the foam.
    3.    Place sections of newspaper on all 4 sides of the box OR cut foam to fit the sides.
    4.    Crumple more newspaper and pack all around and over the frozen critters, then place foam or newspapers on the top.
    5.    In an envelope, place the filled out and signed work order, your deposit and any tags or copies of  required paperwork, i.e., Cites tags, hunting license, special permits etc.   Place the envelope in a Ziploc bag and tape to the underside of the lid.  This keeps the important info dry and from getting cut when the box is opened.
    6.    Use GOOD tape and seal all the seams on the top and bottom of the box.  Label as PERISHABLE
    7.    Call before you ship so I am am expecting the package.  Ship via UPS on a Monday; or Tuesday if you are in one of our neighbor states.  Do not ship on a week with a holiday.  Packages under 5 lbs.. should be sent Next Day, 6-15 lbs.. - 2 Day and 15 lbs.. and over can go regular Ground Freight.  Freight warehouses and trucks are not "climate controlled" so in hot weather use your judgment.
    8.    I will call or e-mail when the package arrives and is unpacked.  You will be mailed a numbered receipt for your shipment showing poses, lengths, and other mounting instructions as well as your deposit.  Use this number when making payments or contacting me about your animals.

    1.    Prepare animals as above for shipping , then place the animals on top of a layer of crumpled paper in a cooler. If you are shipping multiple animals, put them all together in a heavy plastic bag.
    2.    Pack the cooler with crumpled paper.
    3.    If you are using a  cheap cooler, place it in a cardboard box, pack paper around it if it is not a good fit If you are using a regular ice chest, then -
    4.    Follow #5 thru 8 above

    Life-size mammals and gameheads must be skinned first.  Do not forget to take the necessary measurements.  Go to the Trophy Care page if you need that info.  Once you have the skin off the animal, DO NOT SALT.  Remove as much fat as you can to reduce weight, roll it up and  place in several heavy plastic bags.  Freeze solid, this will take several days.  Packages up to 70 lbs.. can go UPS.  Anything over that must go by truck freight. Follow the instructions above
OR have a professional taxidermist in your area measure, skin, flesh and salt the hide.  The dry salted skin can then be shipped regular ground delivery without fear of spoilage.  I will deduct my charge for fleshing and salting from your bill if the hide is properly prepared.

    I accept cash, personal checks, money orders, bank checks and Visa/MasterCard.  No 2 party checks or payroll checks.  I can now accept credit cards over the Internet thru PayPal, but there is an additional 4% handling fee for orders paid this way.  Or you can call our tol free number - 1-877-582-7005 and use your credit card to make payments over the phone.

    DEPOSIT - Effective August 2004 - ALL work brought in will need a 50% deposit.  This includes - birds, fish, gameheads & mammals. Full deposit shoud be paid within 30 days of the mount being received, unless arrangements have been made to accept payments.  Tanning & fish reproductions require a minimum deposit of 50% of the total.  Once your deposit is paid, no further payment is due until the mount is completed.
    After 60 days, or if you receive a deposit notice,  the minimum deposit is 75% of the total.  I ONLY SEND 1 NOTICE.  Failure to pay a deposit within 30 days after receiving a notice will place you on the "INACTIVE" LIST.  If you wish to have me  mount your animal after being on the INACTIVE list, your minimum deposit is 75% and your bill will be adjusted to reflect any price increases.  Your mount will be skipped and if no deposit is paid when I  am ready to mount it.  After 1 year, your mount will be considered a "donation" and  may be sold, mounted for display or disposed of as I see fit with no additional notice or compensation paid to you.    All of this is stated in the notice you receive.
    MONTHLY PAYMENTS -  You may make monthly payments on any mount.  There are no charges or interest.   If you are paying the total amount in monthly installments, take the full amount and divide by 12.  You must make the first 6 payments and your deposit is considered paid.  After that you may pay as often and as much as you like.  Please include your Work Order # in the Memo line on your check when making any payments.
    FINAL PAYMENT - The full amount is due within 30 days of being notified that your mount is completed.  Final payment should be in cash, money order or personal check for local customers.  If your mount is being shipped to you, I will accept personal checks, but your mount will not be shipped for 2 weeks after receiving your check.  I will ship on the next Monday for orders that are paid in full or when final payment is made with a postal money order or bank check.
    If the balance has not been paid after 30 days, you will be charged $15 per month storage for each mount.  After 90 days, your account will be turned over to a collection agency.  Any additional collection cost including attorney & court fees, etc. will be added to your bill.   After 90 days, your mount will be placed for sale for the balance of charges due. No mount leaves until all charges are paid in full.