Yesterday’s News

Yesterday I was going through a closet, and I found a large box full of ribbons and trophies that Animal Artistry won over the past 30 years in taxidermy competitions. Some were very prestigious awards, and I remember the anxiety and the effort that went into getting them.

Competitive Taxidermy

It was a critical time in our development to raise the standard of quality as well as creativity. It was also a critical time in establishing our reputation as a leader in the taxidermy industry.

The Lie About Awards

However, as I was looking at the ribbons and trophies, I got a small smile on my face, realizing how they were totally irrelevant today. In fact, the awards we had received were simply yesterday’s news. While it was an important part of the journey, it by no means reflected the end.

The Truth About Reputation

A reputation is meaningless, in one sense, if it is NOT validated by the work that we create each day. Each mount that comes into our building must achieve, or excel, our standard of quality and creativity. It is a message that we instill in our employees: "We are NO better than the last mount that we create.”

A Football Reference

It is kind of like football teams that have won the Super Bowl — lovely accomplishment but irrelevant to where they stand today. In most cases, we do not even know the team who won the Super Bowl five, ten, or fifteen years ago. What we do know is who is competitive this year and what they are doing on the field each Sunday.

Staying Relevant

It is the same in the taxidermy business. Our only relevance is what we do EACH day: listening to our clients, perfecting our skillsets, and pushing the limits. This is how we stay relevant, and it is what makes the work fun. And we are still so excited and enthused about exceeding what we have done in the past, so that we can stay relevant today.