Weldy Hill Fur & Hide Tanning in Wakarusa showcases the art of tanning and taxidermy. Co-owner Christy Borkholder has been doing taxidermy since he was a kid.
“I learned how to do this when I was a young child,” Borkholder said. “Taxidermy started as a hobby, but I was able to get better at it. After I learned how to do this as a kid, I became busy with other things and quit doing it for a long time.” After several years went by, he decided to start doing taxidermy again.
“In 2004 I decided to get back to it, and between 2013 and 2020 I started getting busier with it,” Borkholder said. “Every year the work picked up. I was very fortunate and was happy to do it. A local taxidermist eventually got hold of me and said he really liked the work I was doing. He said I could really make a business out of it. I wanted to see what would happen next.”
Borkholder, who co-owns the business with his wife, Lorenna, started out part-time and saw the business grow dramatically.
“By 2020 I decided it was time to go full time with the business,” Borkholder said. “I’m glad I did. The time was right and I was able to make the business grow.’
Borkholder offers fur dressing, decorative hunting items, leather, furs and more. He does fur and tan hiding on just about any animal, but says he stays away from working on pets who have passed away.
“We work on a lot of deer,” he said. “That’s the animal I really get the most. We have had about 800 to 1,000 deer through here. There are a lot of hunters in the area that want to have taxidermy done on their deer. I also work on a lot of elk,” he said. “We work on some bears. We also do work on sheep. I get a lot of business from the 4-H groups. They bring me a lot of cowhides to work on. They have been great customers.”
Borkholder said some customers have him do fur and hide tanning on foxes and muskrats.
“We also do skunk, possums and almost anything else,” he said. “We also do hair-off tanning, skinning, fleshing, soft tans, and wet tans.”
To find out more about Weldy Hill Fur & Hide Tanning, located at 71985 County Road 100 in Nappanee, call 574-907-4246 or check out weldyhillfurandhide.com.
