Adrian Johnstone began his hobby of taxidermy when he was quite young, around the age of ten or eleven.
He first used a book from Darlington library called Step by Step Taxidermy to learn the basics. Many of his early subjects were small birds which were found by the roadside whislt out cycling on a weekend. Mostly victims of road traffic.
When he was eighteen Adrian moved to Harrogate in North Yorkshire to become a full time taxidermist, and did a three year apprenticeship with a company called Starbek Taxidermy, previously known as The World of Nature from Kirby Fleetham.
Later he moved back to Darlington and opened up a shop where he prepared and sold taxidermy from June 1986 until December 2007.
We still use many of the traditional ways in taxidermy. We use woodwool for making the mannequins, glass eyes for a real life effect, and natural poses for every animal and bird we do.
We are a small friendly business with extremely professional results in our work.
Please contact us and we will be happy to advise you of current stock.
THE SCOTTISH GAME FAIR
Thank you to all our customers who popped by our trade stand to buy a piece of taxidermy, or just to say 'hello'. It was good to see you.
Friday and Saturday were nice days weather wise, but Sunday was gales and rain.
And the Game Fair packed up earlier than planned.
Next year will be better!
Please click on the link below for
The Scottish Game Fair
Know your stuff about taxidermists
The first form of taxidermy was Egyptian mummification
Taxidermists have mounted creatures from mice to elephants, and even created fabulous beasts.
Taxidermists don't actually stuff animals
They mount the skin on a sculpture of the animal. While some ready-made mounts are available, a taxidermist often creates the sculpture from scratch. So taxidermists must be experts on anatomy and art as well as the removal and preservation of skins.
Adrian Johnstone Taxidermist
Our portfolio is varied and extensive, supplying taxidermy to private clients, businesses, museums, schools, artists, and the entertainment industry.
Adrian Johnstone has been a professional taxidermist since 1981 and the taxidermy produced is of top quality, and extremely collectable.
mobile: 07745 399515
email: ado@callnetuk.com