‘Purveyors of All Things Odd and Beautiful’
“I’ve always been into the dead things,” says Emily Felch, owner and operator of Natural Selection, a shop of exotic plants, taxidermied creatures, and curiosities in the heart of Midtown. Reporter Kat Fulwider talked to the entrepreneur about her fascination with wildlife...and death.
“Purveyors of all things Odd and Beautiful,” is written on the sign adorning the small brick storefront, tucked away on a side street of Midtown. Character is found in every inch of Emily Felch’s store, from the eight-foot taxidermied python adorned with a tiny, hand-stitched hat that greets you, to the basket of coyote penis bones for sale.
Felch has always had a deep appreciation for the beauty of the natural world, and in 2014 she and her mother Marcy, opened the store as an ode to the beauty found in nature.
“My mom has always been the plant side of things, I’ve always been into the dead things,” says Felch, “and together they balance the living and the dead.”
As a young teenager, Felch’s curiosity for taxidermy was sparked by a biography about Theodore Roosevelt, who shared an affection for the hobby. Felch decided it sounded really “fun” and recounts a colorful story.
“I picked up a roadkill marmot on my way home from babysitting and skinned it with a pair of scissors and a Swiss army knife — It didn’t go very well,” she says.
Growing past the days of Swiss army knives and roadkill, Felch says she no longer does much of the taxidermy herself, but now enjoys giving a home to all the rare specimens “in need of a home.”
Story, photos and video by Kat Fulwider for the Reynolds School at the University of Nevada, Reno.
