Even Taxidermists Do Their Thing On-line
In the physical world, Pam Kadlec has lots of competitors - perhaps 1,000 in Florida alone. But the taxidermist is only one of a handful in Florida who have outposts in cyberspace, and her Web site already is generating some business. Kadlec, 41, co-owns P.K. Whiskers Wildlife Art & Taxidermy Studio in Starke - about 25 miles northeast of Gainesville on the map, or at www.daccess.net/ pkw/pkwskrs.htm on the Web - along with partner Roger Strickland. Kadlec held various "dead-end" jobs before settling on taxidermy in 1979 as a way to provide a retirement income. She spent eight years skinning fish as an apprentice before hanging out her own shingle. On average, she spends four to six months on each project; prices range from $125 (a squirrel) to more than $1,500 for a custom mounted pit bull. "My family mostly thinks it's gross," she says. Kadlec established her Web site in December 1995 "because it was a different way to promote my business, [and] it's practically free." Her $300 investment paid off when an American serviceman surfed her site then shipped her the goat he bagged while hunting in Russia. Of the $40,000 she grossed in 1996, about $2,000 came from the Web. Kadlec also surfs for reference photos to use while preparing the mannequins and hides. The Norfolk, Va., native also runs Web Designs by P.K., which has authored pages for the local paper and the city of Starke, among others. "I expect the StarkeNet site to begin paying for itself by the end of the year," she says. "That's not asking a whole lot, but Bradford County isn't as technologically advanced as Gainesville and Ocala." |
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