Story and photos by Laurel Swanz
Many pairs of eyes overlook Tinsley’s Custom Wildlife.
Glass eyes, that is.
From whitetail deer to bears to baboons, taxidermied creatures of all kinds are mounted on every wall and positioned around each corner of the store.
Owner and founder Justin Tinsley said that practicing taxidermy “fell into his lap” after the recession damaged his excavation business in 2009. Having always loved hunting and nature, Tinsley decided to start a taxidermy business in his basement “to pay the bills.”
And pay them he did. He’s since moved to a larger facility behind his house, where he’s able to process and preserve over 200 animals a year with the help of his wife Kristi Tinsley and his small but mighty staff.
Kristi quit her job at an auto plant this year to assist her husband due to the business’s recent growth.
“We’re really good partners. I don’t think everybody could work with their spouse, but we make it work,” Kristi said. “He knows things I don’t, I know things he don’t. So when we come together…we’re better together than we are separate.”
Kristi keeps track of bookings and invoices and leads their meat processing efforts, making Tinsley’s a one-stop-shop for hunters. Tinsley’s can get a deer’s meat ready to eat and turn the animal into a long-lasting decoration for hunters, all in one place.
Hunter and Tinsley’s customer Clay Strickland expressed his appreciation for Tinsley’s skill when he came to pick up his deer mount.
“The biggest part is just remembering the memories. It’s not about him (the deer), but the hanging out that we do, the socialization,” Strickland said. “This thing right here is a big part of that and it’s honoring him. God made him look like that for us to do it.”
Though they are the most common, deer aren’t the only animals taxidermied at Tinsley’s. They also do just about any animal hunted legally, including birds and African animals such as giraffes and zebras. Tinsley’s resident “everything girl” Rebekah Doss said she loves the oddity and mystique of taxidermy.
“Anatomy has always kind of fascinated me. So in working here, it’s a good way for me to have that learning experience that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to,” Doss said. “Plus, it’s kind of a way where, like, my artistic talents can merge with my love for animals.”
Tinsley’s serves as a training ground for 17 year-old aspiring taxidermist Makayla Hopper, who co-ops in the afternoons from Anderson County High School.
Though it’s not the typical environment one would expect to see a teenage girl, Hopper said she likes “the death part and enjoying the animals’ beauty” and that the gruesome sights and smells don’t bother her one bit.
“I’d rather smell this than the kids in the hallway,” Hopper said as she removed the flesh from a deer skin with her bare hands.
Though some disagree with hunting and taxidermy, Tinsley sees it as a natural process. He believes taxidermy is a way to show respect for the animal and celebrate its beauty forever.
“This is their life after death,” Tinsley said.