As promised, this is my official review on the coyote tail I purchased from thegreenwolf (Lupa) on Etsy. Firstly, I'd like to rewrite my original review and then elaborate and add photos of the tails flaws so that others can see firsthand what I mean. Deeper review and photos below the cut.
In my honest opinion, thegreenwolf (Lupa) is way too overpriced for the quality of her work. The tail I bought came up to $46.44, making it the most expensive tail I've ever bought (and all my tails have come from Etsy shops) and it's the worst quality tail I have. There's a giant bald spot on one side that can't be covered, the sides of the tail are flattened in a way that makes it look like a sideways beaver tail no matter how much I fluff it and shake it out both rightside up and upside down, the hide where the loop (for tying or attaching a clip) is completely exposed a good inch or two and the loop itself is literally just stapled on. I paid $27 for Cash (my other coyote) and even though I was slightly disappointed in his size when he arrived, even he's better quality than this one. Obviously when it comes to taxidermy, there are things that are unavoidable, like the bald spot, but that also means you need to price accordingly to the flaws. I paid $65 for my entire gray fox pelt (paw pads and whiskers still intact) at a renaissance festival. If I'm paying almost $10 less than that for just a tail, it better be the best quality money can buy. So. In my opinion, she's price gouging the shit out of scrap quality taxidermy and only able to get away with it because of her claims of spiritualism.
After being called "petty and rude" and getting accused of doxxing Lupa (??????) for simply having a negative review and opinion, I just wanted to say a couple of things to kinda of clarify things?
In no way was my review meant to elicit hate or harassment toward Lupa. While I am aware of some controversial things regarding her views on nonhumanity, the intention of my review was simply to warn the nonhuman and vulture culture communities that this seller is, in my opinion, pricing items much higher than they are worth and doing so simply because she claims them to be more spiritually charged based on her spiritual practice and beliefs.
I have bought tails from Etsy shops since 2012, not only have I never encountered a taxidermy tail that wasn't altered (meaning: not sewn together with other tails to make them longer) for more than $25, I've never purchased a tail that I felt needed to be reviewed poorly; let along a tail that was purchased from a seller who very proudly and confidently talks about her decades of work with taxidermy and her skills in the field. I guess I just expected more from her based on the "experience" and "skill" she says she has. I've also personally started to work with taxidermy myself, though I'm not nearly as skilled as many in the field, and I really only end up working with bones after I let the animals I find naturally decompose. I did try my hand at preserving a rabbits foot, which I am happy with, but even so... I am far from "skilled". Even if I were, I wouldn't be selling my work for more than I believe it's worth. If I sold my rabbits foot right now, I'd only want $15 max (including shipping) for him which includes the leather wrap around the top, money spent on Borax, the overall time I spent working on him (severing the foot, cleaning, waiting for preservation, cleaning again, wrapping the leather) and then the shipping costs if I had to ship him. From what Lupa says in her listings, her tails are secondhand, to quote her:
"" The majority of what I work with is secondhand or reclaimed in some manner, whether its old fur and leather coats, [...]
meaning she doesn't even actually tan/preserve them, they come to her already tanned and she just adds the loop and spiritual ritual. If she were working with these tails from the death stage, doing her own taxidermy, then maybe I could understand the price. The fact that she's basically charging for a stapled on leather loop and a spiritual ritual that not everyone subscribes to is frankly asinine. I've seen taxidermists who tan their own hides charge way less than Lupa is. So yeah, I definitely think people are getting ripped off.
Now for the photos. (some of the flaws I talked about don't translate well through a camera so totally feel free to use your own discretion when it comes to whether or not you think I'm over exaggerating or just bullshitting. This post isn't meant to be an "evidence of". Explanations of what the photos are depicting will be given in the alt text.
And there ya have it, folks. My review on Lupa Greenwolf. Feel free to take it or leave it. I’m not here to tell you not to buy from her. I’m just here telling you that I personally don’t think her stuff is worth what she charges and that you can definitely find better. While I’m disappointed in what I spent my money on, I won’t be returning my tail simply because for one, I’d have to pay return shipping so I’d still be wasting money even if I got a refund, and secondly, in the grand scheme of things, spiritually speaking, the way a tail looks is unimportant to me. None of the flaws I’ve mentioned make me love or respect the tail as a once living being any less. It’s just the principle of price gouging and inflated ego’s that I have an issue with.
My copy of Vulture Culture 101 by the awesome @thegreenwolf arrived the other day and while I haven’t read it cover to cover yet what I have read is fantastic! Such a wealth of well-researched and beautifully compiled information. Really wonderful work, Lupa (and the other contributing writers!!) <3
I can finally post these :D! Just a few of the images I did for the skinning section of Vulture Culture 101 by @thegreenwolf <3! Went for an illustrative approach to really help first-timers see which areas to cut. I had a ton of fun working with Lupa on the essay and images, and you guys should totally grab a copy~!
thegreenwolf replied to your post: owletfluff replied to your post: ...
I like the term Xennial, myself. I was born in 1978, and we experienced a unique transition from a largely analog life to one highly digitized. From Encyclopedia Britannica to Wikipedia.
‘Xennial’ is a great term!
And yes, I lived an analogue, off-line life as a child. It was only when I was 13 that the internet started being a thing ordinary people could access. I’ve seen a lot of dramatic change to lifestyle in my time, and I’m not even that old!
“…somewhere within the cold darkness that had consumed her life, there was a scream. A scream as vibrant as the Winter Rose and as loud as a dragon’s roar.
Metaphorically, it was a light at the surface of a dark water, a water Sara was drowning in. A water she could not see through, save for the light. The damned, persistent light that wouldn’t let Sara die without seeing a way out of the waters that endured to drown her and her alone.
Physically, it was not a scream at all, more so a babe. A babe born of silver hair from her womb. Oh, how her womb had betrayed her. A male. A silver haired male born of fire to a dark haired mother of ice. He could not deny his father whenever he looked into the mirror and viewed his pale, silver mane. He would never be able to wash the image of his father from him but he could refuse his mother, bathing her blood from his hands to pursue a destiny that gave his power and strength; that harmed innocents like the one he was born of. Sara would be erased from his story, as most innocent mothers of powerful men were.
Spiritually, it was the Drowned God that answered her prayers and revived her from the pool of blood she lay in. The only father to ever answer her. The only father to love her.
