Esplin's Wildlife Studio

07/18/2024

Another Lifesize Mtn Goat ready to head home

06/22/2024

Another Successful Year at the Colorado State Taxidermist Association Show!

Bobby- Masters Division
1st Place - Mule Deer and won Best Mule Deer
1st Place - Desert Sheep (excuse my crappy picture)
2nd Place - Whitetail and won Best Whitetail
He also won the Pro-1 Award for the Maters Division

Franny - 1st year in Masters Division
2nd Place - Mule Deer

Will- Youth Division
1st Place Mule Deer and Won Best of Youth

06/12/2024

A little before and after action on this beautiful buck!

This was a buck we did for our seminar at the Colorado Taxidermist Association show in Gunnison this year.

03/15/2024

Mountain Goat ready to head home!
We’ve been working non stop in the shop

12/23/2023

Just putting this out there. If you call or text us “how’s my animal coming along” today through Christmas or New Years Eve/Day you will NOT be getting a response…
This is time to spend with loved ones not to be just “checking in on progress”. Every year it happens and there will be no more of it or the ones that do will be fired from having future work done.
We hate to be this way but most people have a regular 8-5 job with weekends off and we do not, so the holidays we try to take an actual day or two off as we have kids and a life too.

Have a Merry Christmas may you all be blessed in the new year with good health and happiness!! 🎄🎄

The shop will be closed today through Tuesday, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and January 16-17

11/26/2023

Congratulations Delta Panthers Football!!! 💚🖤💚🖤

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DELTA PANTHER FOOTBALL TEAM - 2A STATE CHAMPIONS!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!! 54-14 win over the Rifle Bears! WHOOP! WHOOP!

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Customers, Family, Friends and Loved Ones 🦃🍁🦃🍁
We are thankful for each and every one of you

09/30/2023

Okay, folks. It’s unfortunate I even have to type this out, but here we go.

If you have a mount here and you have NOT heard from us; it is NOT done. We are behind on our log from due to things out of our control - slow turn around times at tanneries, slow shipments of forms, and one of the BIGGEST manufacturers of the glass eyes went out of business all factor in to this.

Our short turnaround time relies solely on TIME IN THE SHOP. When we are stuck on the phone; work is not getting completed. When people are sending constant messages wanting to know “when it’ll be done,” it takes away our time in the shop.

On average, we are getting messages/phone calls adding up to 1-2 hours a day asking about updates which adds up to around 8 hours a week…which is a FULL work day to most folks. In a full day, when we are able to mount things, we can do approximately 3 standard shoulder mounts. We are getting behind approximately 12 mounts a month dealing with these calls and messages that are unnecessary. This is time that could be better spent getting things completed in the shop, if we could be left to do our job.

The first phone call or text message asking about the status of a mount will be a freebie. Any additional phone call, text message, or Facebook message inquiring about the status of a mount, in which we have not called you about yet, will automatically incur a $25 fee per call/message. Three times and you will be moved to the end of the line or you can come pick up your antlers/horns, hide and form. Do not expect your deposit back as it went to our time to take care of your skin, tan your skin, and order your form.

We assure you, we want your mount done just as much as you do. We are not holding your animal hostage for the pure joy of making you wait. That’s obviously not how money is made.

We also ask that you have some patience during hunting season. We are working 16-17 hour days RIGHT NOW while also trying to raise children. Raw skins coming in take precedence over hides that are tanned and waiting to be mounted. The previous year, YOUR skin took precedence over other folks’ mounts getting done as well.

I also want to add that we really truly appreciate our patient customers that are so understanding, you folks make our job worth doing. We always strive to give the best quality mounts possible and when we are not rushed it makes the mounts turn out even better.

Thank you all and I hope everyone has a great day!

(Yes we used with permission this statement but changed wording that fit us)

09/29/2023

The unfortunate truth of owning and running a business.

Running a business is really hard.

What they don’t tell you is that it can cause severe stress and anxiety, and drains you mentally to the point of depression in even the most laid back people.

People will talk about you, compare you to others, use you, they will view you as a service and not a person anymore.

Friends and family will expect discounts and people will value you and your hard work less than a big chain store.

You have to worry about if you forget to email/message someone back, are they going to think it was on purpose? Did you disappoint them? Will they hold that against you? When in reality you just can’t get to everyone’s messages and emails.

Starting up and running a successful business puts incredible strain on personal lives and relationships, many of which fail because there is just often no work life balance. You need to be the director, the worker, the admin, the marketing team, the accountant, the cleaner..... All whilst being a parent, a husband or a wife, family support, friend... it’s one of the hardest things you will try and balance

There’s a reason you don’t see many people succeed in small businesses after 5 years. If they are successful they are overwhelmed. It takes a toll. It’s freaking exhausting. Especially the past couple of years when so much has been out of our control.

Here’s a small reminder that we are just normal people with hectic lives. Be kind, be patient, support small businesses…….and hopefully more of us will stick around!

I copied this from another small business owner.

08/16/2023

08/01/2023

To our Customers:
We’d like to let you know tanning has started coming in a bit so as they come in we are doing mounts associated with those hides, we have zero control over what we are sent from the tannery.
Also, if you have any RUGS with us please know we are working on them as well BUT the rugging part is taking much longer, that is again beyond our control.
Please limit phone calls as that puts us on the phone instead of getting work done, along with waiting on internet to be installed our phones don’t always ring in the shop.

HOURS:
Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm
If phone calls are made after those hours/days we will return them during business hours even though we work in the shop on the weekend

07/26/2023

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) has declined Colorado Parks and Wildlife's request to send wolves from Idaho to Colorado for reintroduction.

07/04/2023

Happy Independence Day ❤️🤍💙

Hope everyone has a fun and safe day today celebrating our freedom

06/04/2023

Franny got a 1st Place and won Best of Category Antlered Gamehead
Bobby got a 1st Place on his Mule Deer
Bobby and the boys got a 1st Place and Won the Parent/Child Award
Will won 1st Place on his hog he did

06/03/2023

Colorado Taxidermist Association Showroom

06/03/2023

Getting going on a Mule Deer Seminar on hide and form prep at the Colorado Taxidermist Association show

05/29/2023

May we remember the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedoms! 🇺🇸

04/11/2023

A different way to do a bear euro mount with incorporating the claws

03/29/2023

Come join us at the Colorado Taxidermist Association State Championship Show JUNE 1-3

02/22/2023

Beautiful Custom Double Antelope Pedestal Mount completed for a customer. The one antelope has been altered from a regular pedestal mount into a 1/2 Lifesize with legs. Came out pretty darn sweet.

02/15/2023

Mountain Goat all finished up ❤️

01/24/2023

Follow Up from the video ❤️ stud deer for this young man’s first deer!! Thankful they chose us to do the mount

01/21/2023

An awesome Velvet Muley Backpack Mount ❤️

01/20/2023

Beautiful Muley finished up for one our dearest friends ❤️

01/14/2023

Such Beautiful Animals

12/31/2022

From Our Family to yours we wish you all a safe New Years Eve!
Thank you to everyone that’s supported our business in 2022, here’s to 2023 🥂

12/29/2022

A couple more finished up, still have about 12 finishing up in the work side along with more going on the stands

12/24/2022

We’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas 🎁🎄
Thank you to those that have been patient with us through all the craziness and we hope you have a safe & blessed Christmas

11/22/2022

We want to send a Huge Congrats to lil Mr. Ashton!! Beautiful 🦌 buddy!! 🎯🇺🇲