I grew up in a family of hunters, so I'm not going to launch into a long rant about killing Bambi. I will say, however, that I'm not a fan of taxidermy and/or animal skulls as decor, although some of my best friends have deer heads and alligator skins and various other forms of no-longer-living-things on their walls and shelves. After all, this is Texas, y'all.
I am aware, of course, that antlers and animal heads and random pieces of horn left conspicuously lying around are popular these days, but Pinterest and the decorating magazines have failed to win me over.
Bend, one of the new lines we've started to carry in the store, has an alternative to real body parts in your home. Check out their trophy heads, which they call
Geometric Animals.
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| Here's Mama Bear as a stand-alone on a wall. |
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| And here's Cub used as hangers for clothes. |
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| And Papa Buffalo in all his majesty... |
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| Or Water Buffalo, a little less dignified with someone's shirt in his mouth |
Bend has taken organic shapes and created digital versions that are represented in a mathematical, engineered form. Available in black, white or orange,
Geometric Animals may look simple, but in actuality they are created with bends and angles that are the result of complex formulas. At the same time, they add a little whimsy to your home without requiring an animal to give up the ghost for you. And, anyway, where are you going to find a real animal head in orange?
I wouldn't mind a cowhide rug. I wouldn't put an animal's head on the wall though. I do prefer those geometric ones and like the way they double as hangers. Can't get enough hangers ...
ReplyDeleteI confess that I have a cowhide rug...but I don't feel like it looks at me and eavesdrops on my conversations the way taxidermy does. It really isn't an animal rights thing; it's the creepy factor. :)
DeleteOh, and the orange thing too...LOL
DeleteI have just popped over to the Bend website Dana, oh their stuff is awesome. Not just the animal heads. The seating and that Array pendant light. Wow!
ReplyDeleteI have a cowhide, but I picked it up from the side of the road during a verge collection, so the poor cow was well and truly dead before I got my (happy) little hands on it! I've got a skull too - I do like a bit of decay.
I love the Bend collection too. I'd really like to have one of their Ethel chairs and one of the table/ottoman pieces.
DeleteGreat selection Dana! You can't go past that orange! I'm partial to skulls and horns but I know what you mean about the animal heads, not that I have come across many to be honest!
ReplyDeleteI have a friend with a beautiful two-story log house which was professionally decorated. He has lots of taxidermy deer and elk (his dad was a hunter) and a huge snake skin and an alligator that he killed. It looks very masculine, and I'm not offended by it. I just wouldn't want all those beady little eyes in my house...LOL
DeleteTo be fair, I've seen some very stylish arrangements with skulls and horn, but I tend to stick to wood, glass or ceramics for the animals in my house. Now I may have to try metal. :)
I'm not a fan of taxidermy or killing for sport and I don't criticize those who do although I do fish and Advanced Taxidermy in the Toronto area make amazing fibreglass recreations of fish, all you do is take pictures and measurements of the fish before you release it back into the wild. They make glass sided coffee tables etc that have the fish in them that looks like a scene from the wild, still not quite my thing but interesting and incredibly life like. One thing I always keep my eyes open for when I'm out in the wild are antler sheds (seasonal shedding of antlers) to make cane handles out of or drawer pulls or coat hooks or whatever you might think. Finally cow hide, I am a fan of cow hide and covering just about anything in it. I have a low grade low value mid century dresser that I want to cover the drawer fronts with cow hide, I think it would look awesome. There are also some 1950's refrigerators I think would look good with the doors covered in cow hide...so many ideas so little time...
ReplyDeleteI'm like you, David. I grew up around hunters and fishermen, and we ate what they killed, so I don't criticize anyone who hunts or fishes for sport. I have vegan friends, but I don't share their views, so I enjoy my cowhide rug and my leather handbags, as well as a good grilled steak.
DeleteThe fiberglass fish do sound like a great idea for catch-and-release fishermen who want to show off their biggest catches. Like you, that's not quite my taste, but it's still a good idea.
I think one of the reasons I'm not a fan of real animal parts as decor goes back to the huge Southwestern craze here in the U.S. back in the 90s...fake Native American artifacts and cow skulls and silhouettes of howling coyotes. That just never did anything for me.
My mom fell victim to the southwestern craze in the 90's you speak of with the cow skulls and Terracotta rag painted walls, she even took it a step further and re-married a Mohawk gentleman lol. I kid but she did marry a really nice native Mohawk gentleman but that was the late 80's, the Southwest theme not so nice. I took some pics of the floor in that burger shop, I'll post soon I just wish they were better and I wish I had more of the rest of shop but didn't want to blind peeps with flash.
DeleteWow, your mom really did take the southwestern craze seriously...LOL
DeleteI can't wait to see your pictures of the burger shop floor. I'll be watching for them.
Better than the real thing. Check out the ones made of paper.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've seen some very cool ones made of paper and other materials.
DeleteI too have no problem with hunters that eat their kill and although I haven't had much time to fish lately, there's nothing better than fresh pan fried trout and eggs after a morning expedition or even some venison steaks for dinner. My wifes sister and her husband are big game hunters and have literally hundreds of heads and full body taxidermy adorning their multiple residences along with zebra skin and bear rugs. They've hunted all over the world and have trophies and pics from just about every continent and own a huge hunting preserve in Arkansas that amounts to shooting fish in a barrel. I really find it hard to justify what they enjoy, but I think they at least give the locals the meat. Doesn't work for me!
ReplyDeleteI do like the orange Bend stuff though!
We had many a fish fry when I was a kid growing up, and I've made many a pot of venison chili as an adult. Still, nothing about my decorating style could be considered rustic, so there's really no place for taxidermy. I'm telling you, it's those beady little eyes!
DeleteI think I was seriously traumatized years ago when my former mother-in-law was making tamales, and I lifted a pot lid to find a pig staring up at me. It didn't keep me from eating the tamales, but it put me off taxidermy forever...LOL
I see this post moved into a discussion on taxidermy. And gross tamale story. :)
ReplyDeleteI had to throw in a gratuitous tamale story...haha My former mother-in-law made the best I ever tasted!
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