Top Shelf Taxidermy
Top Shelf Taxidermy
1357 Steaders Pass Zeeland, MI 49464 US
616-610-1366
About Top Shelf Taxidermy
Taxidermy for me is all about the quality. I have a true passion for bringing those animals from God's creation "back to life." Quality taxidermy starts with quality skinning, then quality tanning and finally quality prep work of the hide. If all these steps are not followed, such as an at home pickle or a dry preservative, instead of a top quality tan, your trophy may look fine when you pick it up but it will not last. While reading many taxidermy websites and pages, I found that a lot of career taxidermists take exceptional pride in doing this as a full time job, which they point out over and over again; I find my pride in my role as a quality driven taxidermist. Most people in this business focus on the bottom line, as they should - they're trying to make a living after all; I am re-creating memories. The average career taxidermist spends 8-10 hours on a whitetail shoulder mount, trying his best to cut corners and expenses that will not be visible to the untrained eye. I spend twice that amount of time, making museum quality pieces for your home. I do septum and inner nose work on all my mounts, use competition eyes, and many other trade secrets that the full-timer does not; they can't afford to. Bottom line is that your satisfaction is guaranteed!
"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."
About Wally: I grew up in rural Iowa, near Sioux Falls, SD. From a very early age I had an intemse relationship with the outdoors, always looking for time to hunt and fish, riding my bike 7 miles to go fishing was a common occurence. At the age of 10, I was able to get my hunting license and started pheasant hunting all around the countryside, often being able to limit out within an hour. I went deer hunting and was able to shoot a few does; it was always about the meat for me.
At the age of 24 I enlisted in the Navy and became a corpsman (medic) and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA with 1st Marine Division. War broke out later that year and I ended up doing 2 combat tours in Iraq and 1 in Afghanistan. I also met my wife while stationed in California.
After I was honorably discharged, I went to college on the GI Bill. I graduated from GVSU in 2009 and my wife and I promptly opened a physical therapy clinic where we see children with special needs. Because we see kids, we are very busy during the summer, so I was looking for something to do during the winter. I found out that my leftover GI Bill benefits would pay for taxidermy school, which was always of great interest to me. I ended up going to 4 schools before the money ran out, learning an incredible amount about the taxidermy industry.
Currently, I maintain my learning and refine my art, by competing at multiple state shows and the World Taxidermy Championships, held every other year. I have never had a customer be anything but ecstatic with their mount, and you have my guarantee that if I get the privilege to do work for you, you'll feel the same way.