A 31-year-old woman who originally wanted to be a vet, but ended up as a taxidermist for over a decade is now using her skills to teach others. While studying fine art and sculpture at Loughborough University, Elle Kaye started looking into taxidermy and "fell in love" with the art.
Now, Elle is using her love of animals and creativity to teach the next generation of taxidermists. Prices for Elle’s creations, which come in all shapes and sizes from a blue tit to an exotic peacock or a flamingo, range from £250 to £2,500.
Elle said: "I love working so intimately with birds I wouldn't see in the wild. It is so rewarding to be close to birds.
"Taxidermy is a very valid and important part of conservation. When I first joined the industry, the resources were limited and there was little to no community - especially for the younger generation of taxidermists.
"I did the work, but it was an arduous process of learning and relearning methods and processes. Not to mention it was pretty lonely.
"Now that I have almost a decade of practice under my belt, I think it's really important to cultivate safe spaces for people who historically haven't had access."
After studying fine art and sculpture at university, a lecturer suggested Elle look into taxidermy as a possible career, as she wanted to work with animals but loved being creative. She spent days reading literature on the subject and decided it was the route for her.
Elle said: "It married my interests - both my love of animals and creativity. It was the perfect pairing for me, and I fell in love.
"It is so rewarding to be close to birds - taxidermy is a very valid and important part of conservation. This work will teach us about the planet and the species on it.
"I believe there is a fine line between being a taxidermist and a puppeteer, I have been asked to make shoes and clothes out of bird skins which I declined. I have been asked to make furniture and hybrid creations - the combinations of two different animals which again, I always refuse."
Elle said one of the biggest challenges of her role is dealing with trolls on social media who don't understand her role. She said: "The sheer amount of hate I get on a weekly basis is hard to handle.
"A lot of the hate is coming from a place of loving animals and working on the assumption that taxidermy is coming from a place of brutality - it is a knee-jerk reaction. I have been compared to serial killers, like Jeffrey Dahmer, I have had people say about my appearance, saying that I look dead behind the eyes and I should burn in hell.
"I work on my own, so I have to handle the negativity on my own too. I specialise in birds - I am a massive bird lover.
"I have worked with all sorts of birds, both wild and exotic. I have worked with flamingos, swans, peacocks, parrots and local British birds like robins and woodpeckers."
When Elle started as a taxidermist, she was one of a handful of women to take the unique career path. Now, Elle said there have never been more people starting out in the industry.
She said: "When I first started a decade ago, there were very very few of us. There were around 20 professionals in the UK, the numbers are increasing as the barrier to access is breaking down.
"Historically, it is a difficult industry to get into as it was marginalised to museums only."
Elle said that working with dead animals makes her appreciate her life more. She said: "Because you have that reminder of mortality so frequently it reminds you of the fragility of life it keeps me grounded in enjoying my life.
"It reminds me not to take every day for granted."
Elle started a mentorship platform in April 2020. Elle said: "Taxidermy is very misunderstood and has historically existed within certain margins, but I believe it is for everybody.
"I created a free mentorship platform with over 2,000 active members which provides a safe place for people to post their work for critique and to ask questions.
"I also have a Patreon where for as little as £1 people can access my comprehensive resources compiled from my almost 10 years of study, with over 150 blog posts, video tutorials, tool lists, and legal information.
"Where they can also ask questions directly for one-on-one mentorship."
Elle's work can be found at ellekayetaxidermy.co.uk
