Pretty Dead Taxidermy Inc.

Pretty Dead Taxidermy is easily one of the coolest spots I’ve ever stumbled into on Ontario St. I originally came in because I had several butterflies I’d been waiting over 12 years to get properly reframed. I was blown away by the space as soon as I walked in, it’s a total visual feast and the vibe is unmatched!!! The items, details and effort put in shows. You’ll have a laugh, find new interesting things you didn’t know where a thing, and leave with a smile on your face! The owner and the staff I dealt with were all incredible, very down to earth humans and supxer kind. When I dropped my pieces off, we went through everything in such detail to organize the layout. I actually got so excited that I ended up buying a little framed dragonfly right then and there. The cabinet with all the little drawers, "butterfly wing" or "insect antenna", was a top fav - pulling the drawers and seeing the pieces was so exciting!!! It took some time to get the final pieces back, but it was beyond worth the wait. The craftsmanship is stunning, literally. Seeing my collection finally organized in that large shadow box was such a highlight, I didn’t think I’d be able to get them fixed - so excited, I cant stop smiling even writing this review!! Pretty Dead Taxidermy has so many niche items, high quality work and a place that actually has soul, found it!!

I am beyond impressed with Jo and her team! They did an amazing job creating a keychain from my preserved pieces. Everything was handled with incredible care, and the finished product looks beautiful. On top of that, they thoughtfully put it in a lovely gift box, perfect since this was meant as a gift. Highly recommend their work! Thank you Jo.

Had my late dog made into a pelt, I was worried it wouldn't turn out well because he was my baby. Elle did a beautiful job, and the communication in between was stellar. Thank you again for making my pup into a beautiful piece and it's amazing to be able to feel his soft fur again!

It was my first time trying taxidermy! I loved the class , it was a welcoming environment and very informative. Elle was our instructor and she was super helpful and easily could help everyone in the class (around 9 people). Everything was set up and we could pick a place with the rat of our choice. There were a couple brown + a bunch of white ones. There is also a storefront with some pretty cool finds.

I attended a rat taxidermy workshop & had so much fun! It was so nice to be in a neurodiverse affirming, Queer/Women owned space, surrounded by like-minded weirdos like myself 🥰 Elle and Lexi did a wonderful job instructing everyone, being very informative, understanding (to those who were a little squeamish) and gave those of us who were slower (me 🐌) extra time and space to complete our critters. You can tell they really enjoy what they do, and take very good care of their clients. 100000% would recommend these folks & can't wait to be able to afford another course! Thanks y'all! 🙏💜

I requested a custom made anime themed piece for my nephew's Xmas present. Nat, at Pretty Dead Taxidermy, designed and created a wonderful and funny "taxidermy Pikachu rat" inside a stylish glass cover. It even lights up! Nat and Pretty Dead Taxidermy are professional, efficient, and reasonably priced as well as creative and talented. I would highly recommend them. My nephew is sure to get a kick out of it. See the photo.

I took some classes at the Roedde House museum with these lovely people. Each week was a different subject where we got an informative lecture about what it was that week (ie. butterflies, moths, poisonous plants, skulls, wet specimens). Each week we got to use a different medium to produce images/drawings/paintings of these specialties - a great art class! Highly recommend to take a class or two here.