My name is Steven. I knew I was a little different when as a young kid. I thought Doc’s Catfish Bait smelled good. I remember growing up and not being able to be outside enough. During the summer my friend and I would pack our lunches, tie our rods to our bikes and head to the river. As summer began to wind down, dad would pull out the shotguns and we would spend our afternoons at the ranges preparing for the day known as pheasant season. The closer opening day got the harder it was to concentrate in school. I remember when I was 10 years old I wanted my own shotgun. I remember throwing newspapers for 2 years for the Boone News Republican to make enough money for my first shotgun. Over the next 30 years I had the opportunity to spend countless hours on the water and in the woods. I traveled outside the country looking for that perfect fishing spot and climbed mountains just to enjoy a hunt. I realized it was not a hobby, but an obsession when I would get up several hours before the sun was up just to spend the day in the cold and driving snow and call it fun.
In 1987 I was blessed to marry a woman that loved the outdoors as much as I did. Not only did I find an outdoors partner but she was cute too! Susannah is a professional full-time K-12 Art teacher and artist. Her artistic talents bring uniqueness into the art of taxidermy, in that she is able to realistically re-create the original colors of the animals and fish. After serving my country for 23 years in the National Guard I decide to retire and start my own business. I wanted a business that my wife and I could do together, would incorporate who we were and was something we could do for the rest of our lives and taxidermy fit perfectly. Wanting to ensure we put out a quality product and preserve the lasting memories of the sport enthusiasts we started to search out the most knowledgeable and experienced taxidermy school in the midwest and found Roger Hutton who ran the Hutton School of Taxidermy in St. Charles, Iowa. Roger had 40 years of experience, was the President of the Iowa Taxidermy Association and whose goal was to ensure that the students that graduated from his course had the knowledge and ability to produce quality mounts. “We spent over $10,000 to learn the art of taxidermy but feel that it was money well spent. I know there are taxidermists that are self taught but I would rather learn and be mentored by someone with 40 years experience than to take 40 years to learn on my own.”
