We hope to see you this Friday for our Grand Reopening celebration from 5 to 9pm. Our new home is located in the Alley Shops at the beautiful Bauer Building located at 115 W. 18th Street. The shop is tucked away on the back side of the building, up a cute little staircase. It’s easily accessible from both W. 18th street and W. 19th so feel free to park on either side. The Bauer was our first home and we are so honored to return. The shop looks perfect and we can’t wait to share it with you all. If you’ve been to our old space then the street will be very familiar to you. Just travel to W. 18th street like you always did, find the Bauer Building on the other side of the street and then follow the yellow stones painted on the sidewalk. We are also easily accessible to Papa Keno’s pizza patio, so there are really good free smells. Also, we’re even closer to Mildred’s than before which was an unexpected perk. See you at the party!
{ Oracle Holiday Guide - Part 2 }
{ Holiday Gift Guide - For the Taxidermist }
Figures of Taxidermy - Perfect for the curio collector! We have specimens ranging from taxidermy, bones, and wet specimens. Have a fancy friend who enjoys wrapping themselves in furs? We got you! Can’t decide what to get? Join our Curio of the month club!
Our taxidermy tends to be a little bit more on the expensive side for our gift guide; with small specimens starts at $150 and our beautiful birds at $320. Hanging bats would be our best seller with our tiny new specimens starting at $30 (but they are selling out quick!)! If those don’t fit the ticket, we have a variety of furs and tails starting at $15, where you can choose from rabbit, fox, and even wolf! Of course, we pride ourselves at Oracle for working as ethically as possible, sourcing our specimens from local farmers, abatement programs, and natural death… so make sure to ask us and we can tell you where your specimens are coming from!
{ Holiday Gift Guide - For the Osteology }
Figures of Osteology is one of my favorites with a variety of beetle cleaned skulls we do ourselves, skeletons, wet specimens, loose bones, and vials of bones, teeth, claws, and stones! These are perfect for the yearning scientist, beginning collector, or even the bone collector who has it all (secret to my own heart, hah)! Just like the taxidermy, we work as ethically as possible and do everything in house; come in and see the new skeletons and skulls we are working on… our pouncing bobcat will hopefully be ready by the holidays ;) And if you can’t decide, then Curio of the Month is the perfect solution, where each month we handpick items that suit YOU… and not to mention first dibs on new merch in shop shipped directly to you!
Bug Club
$36.00 every month for 4 months
{ Holiday Gift Guide - For the Entomologist }
Figures of Entomology is perfect gift for the aspiring scientist. Our handmade frames and spread insects are done here at Oracle, sourced from farms in South America and Southeast Asia where not only do they wait for the specimens to drop naturally but also aids us to protect those beautiful pieces of rainforest… Our double glass frames are also made so you can see the specimens in the round (seeing the interior and exterior patterns of butterflies and those juicy fangs of those beautiful tarantulas). We also will be having a holiday class, Mimics and Disguises, where you can learn how to spread insects yourself! Or… if you are already an accomplished collector or want to practice more bug spreading OR just want to do it yourself, join our Bug Club!
-
We are so thankful for all of your support and our community of science and occult enthusiasts! We wouldn’t be able to put this all together if it weren’t for you all! Thank You! And especially thank you to our local artists and artists we are honored to carry and work with at Oracle. There are so many things that sometimes it doesn’t get to our social media or online store, so definitely try to make it in… Our Holiday Party, Dec 21st & 22nd, is the best way to see all our goodies and meet all the cool people that make Oracle possible - hope to see you then!
Thank you & Happy Holidays!
- xo Oracle
{ Upcoming Taxidermy Classes x2!!}
We are so excited to announce... We had to add more classes because the classes below sold out within 48hours! So exciting guys! Glad to see so many people are as excited about these classes and for the talented Mickey Alice Kwapis coming to Oracle! So, what did we add??:
Raccoon class with some exciting techniques on how to professionally taxidermy your own shoulder mount... skinning, fleshing, the whole deal... learning how to do mammal taxidermy can be hard, but Mickey will talk us through it (and once you learn how to do raccoon, it is pretty easy to bring that knowledge to other taxidermy projects)! Then her final class is a Cabinet of Curiosities class, where students will learn a little of everything; starting with wet specimens, botany with pressing flowers, and then finish off by identifying and dissecting an owl pellet. This is a great classes for anyone who has been fascinated with a little bit of everything... and you get two great specimens for your curio collection ;)
Raccoon Taxidermy
Saturday, July 7th from 12 pm to 3 pm
Deposit $200 (total $400)
Cabinet of Curiosities
Sunday, July 8th from 12pm to 2pm
Deposit $50 (total $150)
{ Upcoming Taxidermy Classes at Oracle! }
We are so excited to announce… Mickey Alice Kwapis coming to Oracle:
Mickey has taught classes here at Oracle before, a beautifully thought out workshop that she has taught for years all around North America. Last time we saw her here in Kansas City, she taught us how to press and preserve flowers, wet specimens, and an array of taxidermy classes... which was so inspiring to watch all the thoughtfully posed and well preserved wet specimens our students went home with! But for those of you who don't know her just yet, here is a little quick peak from her website about this lovely talented lady;
"Hey there! I'm Mickey. I'm a Midwestern taxidermist and craftsperson. Born and raised in Michigan, I took an interest in nature and biology from an early age. My obsession with animals, coupled with a desire to hold onto tangible memories, led to an unexpected intersection. My passion for taxidermy was discovered one night with a dead squirrel, a bottle of wine, and an old biology textbook. I have been working in the taxidermy industry since March of 2012 and I'm recognized internationally for my pop-up taxidermy workshops for beginners. Additionally, I have practiced metalsmithing since 2004 and create handmade, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces inspired by natural history and the occult.
I practice sustainable taxidermy methods, am a member of the National Taxidermists Association, and have worked, volunteered, and taught at museums and universities all over the world. Last year I won a third-place ribbon for my peacock (his name is Kevin) at the NTA National Championships. I have also served as a consultant to novelist Lauren Beukes for the award-winning book Broken Monsters. You can read a bunch of articles and watch a bunch of short documentaries about my work here. My lectures are primarily targeted towards those with an interest in biology, science, and natural history and focus on the role taxidermy plays in understanding the past, present, and future of our ecosystem. I reside in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago with four living pets and a whole lot of dead ones.
Want to know more? Read my FAQ. Interested in seeing photos of the taxidermy process? Follow along on Instagram."
*Also stick around for July First Friday - Mickey will be showing off and selling her work and her jewelry during our First Friday Crossroads Artwalk! Join us Friday July 6th, 6-9pm for some beverages, art, and a good time!
{ TAXIDERMY SALE }
Photo by Jenny Wheat
Taxidermy has been having a trendy moment of late, recalling it's glory days during the Victorian and Edwardian eras when it was considered a means to display one's worldly elegance and education to bring taxidermy and framed specimens into the home for beautiful decor. The art of taxidermy has come a long way from it's humble beginnings, when hides were tanned out of simple necessity for protective clothing and shelter. Eventually, scientists sought to preserve animal skins for ease of transport to facilitate their study - with little regard for artistic or anatomical integrity, these skins were stuffed with cotton, saw dust, rags, etc. The resulting pieces bore little resemblance to the actual animal and looked, in the vernacular of our times, busted.
The process became more involved and refined with innovations in tanning and technique, such as creating anatomically correct body molds from wood and wound string, and making extensive drawings of the animal for detail references and tracing exact outlines of the carcass for scale. During the Victorian era it was in vogue to bring the wilderness into the home to showcase tokens of exotic travel, so taxidermy made a move from exclusive museum display into the houses of the aristocratic families.
We are down with this, as you can see, because we are also well-traveled and fancy.
Because we love bringing natural science specimens into the home and believe that everyone who loves taxidermy should be able to do so, we are running a huge sale throughout May on ALL OF OUR TAXIDERMY, up to 50% off!! We have new freeze dry taxidermy pieces, shoulder mounts and full mounts, as well as part of a private collection from a former home zoo with beautiful custom-made glass and wood display boxes for the specimens! This is a great time for you to add to your own collection, or develop a taste for bringing the outdoors inside!
Martha Ann Maxwell, pioneer in taxidermy and lifelong vegetarian.
{Holiday Gift Guide }
Holidays are coming up soon, ready or not! For those of you with a wonderful weirdo in your life, you may be flummoxed over what kind of exquisite curiosity to give as a gift this season - and we are here to help! Oracle has put together a handy-dandy gift guide to help you find the perfect treasure for your loved ones!
