Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Porter.
Hi Kate, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am an avid hunter and have always been an artist, but during the pandemic I found myself with a lot of extra free time, as well as the overwhelming urge to let the intrusive thoughts win and start processing my skull mounts myself. Anyone that knows me would tell you that once I latch on to an idea, I go into hyperfocus mode and there’s really no stopping it.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and I found myself raising a colony of dermestid beetles that I would use to process what we refer to in the industry as “European style mounts”, which is just a beautifully cleaned and whitened skull.
This service soon extended to close family and friends, but one day my curiosity got the best of me, I turned my paintbrush to a fox skull rather than a canvas. Thusly, Laughing Fox Boneworks was born. From that moment on, something clicked and I finally found my “voice” as an artist. We all have our own unique flavor, and this one happened to be mine.
I started out by making a Facebook, TikTok and IG page for my art and taxidermy, got all my licenses and permits to stay legal, started an LLC and launched. I was floored by the immediate outpouring of love and support from my followers, and my commissions were booked out 6 months to a year at that point.
Fast forward to today, hunting season has us busy all year round and I fill the off season with unique 1 of 1 art commissions that book with me throughout. I am also now married with two sons, and Laughing Fox has more or less become a family affair for us. My husband lends a huge hand in all of the hard labor so that I can focus on the detail work and maintaining a thoughtful relationship with our customers. My oldest son has taken interest and lends a hand with photos and deliveries; as long as he keeps the interest, I can see him becoming more involved as he gets older.
We also just launched our official website on February 18th, which was long overdue! We have an online shop set up, commission forms, even a page where you can book your European Mounts or other services with us. Soon we hope to launch a Masterclass on the site for the ones that like to DIY, as well as some pretty awesome brand merch I am designing myself.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It is inherently demanding to run a business in any capacity, and takes a toll on your time, energy, and relationships. You don’t realize it when you first get started, but there is a standard that needs to be met around the clock in order to be successful. That means sacrificing time with your family, and stress eating up some bandwidth in the background even when you are spending time with them. Its hard to stay in the moment on a day to day at times, especially when we’re busy or I’m working a big project.
Operational struggles for us look more like a loss in resources, and profit margins disappearing faster than Houdini. The most notable was that our beetle colony has been compromised a few times now, and that’s the hearth of our business. Not only are they worth thousands once established, they also process everything that comes in the door here, so when they go down it’s like trying to start a fire without tinder.
I’d also like to mention that finding ethical sources for the skulls I process and embellish is far more difficult than one would think. I promised with every sale that every mount is vetted as ethically harvested for meat or dead when we meet, and as difficult as it is, I intend to keep that promise to our customers.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Embellishing skulls and bones has been an art for thousands of years, and it is an honor to be able to continue that tradition. There definitely are other very talented bone artists out there, but I have yet to see or meet someone that matches my art style, as well as bone processing, preservation and refurbishing/repair services as a one-stop shop. We bridge the worlds between traditional outdoorsman and curio art enthusiasts, underlining their common love for the beauty of nature and a deep respect for life. My shop does not discriminate. We had a dozen beautiful Euro mounts on the wall of the shop waiting to go home, while at the same time I was processing a beloved house cat into a memorial piece. Recently, I was repairing broken pronghorn and mule deer jaw bones, sculpting aritifical teeth for them, and discussing a custom-painted Bison skull for another customer all at the same time. We are simply too niche to replicate.
I also lead a double life! Today you are meeting the mother and wife turned artist, taxidermist, hunter and business owner, but tomorrow you would meet the Army Veteran and Combat Vehicle Tester at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
I take my full time career just as seriously as my business, and could never walk away from it because of how much I enjoy the job and the people I work with. Its incredibly fulfilling knowing that what I do today improves the reliability, survivability and lethality of these systems for the end users tomorrow, and I am damn good at it.
I am so proud of the fact that we’re out there making history with these systems, and in a couple of cases, I have been the first woman to operate them. What an absolute gift it is to hold this position and get new opportunities every day to help make sure someone’s beloved family member or friend can come home.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My husband Chris deserves more credit than he would ever accept. I showed up in his life and LFB came with the Kate starter kit. He just jumped right on board. He is always so supportive of my ventures and feeds into my delusions when I get a visit from the Good Idea Fairy. He is such a supportive, intelligent, and amazing partner that it fuels me to give my absolute all on every single project I have.
If it wasn’t for him taking on the most labor intensive parts of the job, I’m pretty sure my LLC would be dissolved by now due to some of the challenges we’ve endured in the past. I can single-handedly give him the credit for being the reason that I am here to do this interview today.
I also have an incredible village of family and friends that have cheered me on and encouraged my special interests since I was very young. I truly believe it was their encouragement that allowed me to flourish. They were some of my first customers and gave me the confidence that I needed to expand and market my talents. I would love to list everyone here but it would just be too many names, that is how fortunate I am. But I would hope that as they read this, they know who they are. I love you guys to the moon and back.
Pricing:
- Full Service European Mounts ($150, $20 skinning fee)
- Basic Service European Mounts (beetle clean only $50, $20 skinning fee)
- Refurbishing ($15/hr)
- Commission pieces (Inquire for pricing)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://laughingfoxboneworks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laughingfoxboneworks?igsh=MWh6M2F5MW54aDRkZw==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laughingfoxboneworks
