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International Expo Tour 2019
Hello to everybody: clients, hunters, nature enthusiasts, zoologists, ornithologists, friends and partners from all over the world.
Taxidermy is a beautiful mix of Art, Creativity and Craftsmanship. Only the best quality is good enough for our clients. We always strive to deliver the best quality mount, everytime. Our day-to-day working guideline is: You are not better than the last mount you did!
We invite you to experience First Class Trophy face-to-face to see how we transform skin and feathers into beautiful mounts and taxidermy work.
The schedule below will provide you with information on how to schedule your trip to see us ”live”.
What to expect
Our staff at the expo will be delighted to have a chat about Art, Creativity and Craftsmanship. We love our work and will be more than happy to share ideas and suggestions with you about your next taxidermy mount. If you are a taxidermist yourself, you are more than welcome to come and ”hang out” and chat with us. We are always looking to share news in our industry, talk about new developments in techniques, materials and ”bits & bobs” that can improve the work we do. We are constantly looking for more staff to support us in our goal to be the best taxidermy company in Europe. So please come and see us.
Men at work. Meet the World Champion taxidermist and sculptor, Ken Walker
On the Dortmund and Salzburg Expo our Quality & Creativity Director Ken Walker and 2 of our talented taxidermists, Roland Rytko and Florian Horvath, will be doing ”show-mounting” on our stand. They will do both mammals and birds.
The reputation of the World Champion taxidermist and sculptor, Ken Walker, is known worldwide. For decades he has shared his talent and dedication to taxidermy with countless colleagues and museums all over the world and has done training seminars at numerous World Championships and European Championships.
His 40 years experience has led him to win the title “BEST IN WORLD” 3 times. He has also won numerous other awards. These results, in combination with our other taxidermists many years of experience and remarkable results at international competitions, ensure that you will have a fantastic opportunity to see and experience work of a world class standard done “live” right in front of your very own eyes.
The pictures here show some of Ken Walker’s and some of our other taxidermists work
We very much look forward to welcome you to our stand.
SCHEDULE
Dortmund Jagd & Hund 2019
https://www.jagd-und-hund.de/startseite/
Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH
29 January – 3 February (only show-mounting 29 January – 1 February)
Halle 7 Stand D30
Staff: Ken Walker, Roland Rytko, Florian Horvath, Stefanus Prinsloo, Carsten Skakkebaek
Salzburg Hohe Jagd & Fischerei 2019
https://www.hohejagd.at/de-at.html
Messezentrum Salzburg
21–24 February 2019
Hall 8, Stand 0208
Staff: Ken Walker, Roland Rytko, Florian Horvath, Stefanus Prinsloo, Carsten Skakkebaek
Jagt & Udeliv 2019
http://messecenteret.dk/arrangementer/jagt-udeliv-2019/
Messecenter Vesthimmerland
23-24 February 2019
Staff: Ole Nielsen and Tommy Jøns
The World Champion taxidermist Ken Walker becomes Director of Quality & Creativity in First Class Trophy
The canadian taxidermist Ken Walker has joined the Danish taxidermy company First Class Trophy as Director of Quality & Creativity
The reputation of the 3 times World Champion taxidermist and sculptor, Ken Walker, is known worldwide . For decades he has shared his talent and dedication to taxidermy with countless colleagues and museums all over the world and has done training seminars at numerous World Championships and European Championships.
”The Ronaldo in the art of taxidermy”
”The combination of Ken Walker’s creative talent and experience, together with First Class Trophy´s modern and efficient production facilities in central Europe, makes a unique possibility for our company to develop and grow further”, says the CEO of First Class Trophy, Carsten Skakkebaek. He continues : ” We have for a while looked for a Director of Quality & Creativity with international recognition and adequate human resources to lead and guide our taxidermist team. We have been extremely lucky to have Ken Walker on board. He has achieved the title ”Best in World” 3 times. I can´t think of anyone better actually. In my view Ken is an icon in the taxidermy world – similar to Ronaldo´s star status in the world of football. With Ken as our Director of Quality & Creativity I´m confident that we can achive our goal to be the best taxidermy company in Europe within a few years”. Our customers will experience a level of quality from our workshop, that other taxidermists in Europe will find very difficult to match”.
”You are not better than the last mount you did”
”In my opinion taxidermy is a beautiful mix between Art, Creativity and Craftsmanship. For my clients only the best quality is good enough. I have always strived to deliver the best quality in every mount, everytime. You are not better than the last mount you did. With First Class Trophy I see a unique possibility to be part of a large international taxidermy company which continuously focuses on Art, Creativity and Craftsmanship in combination with modern production technology, supported by an ecient IT-platform”, Ken Walker added. He continues : ”The fact that First Class Trophy offers the hunter a 360 degree service package around the trophy, makes First Class Trophy unique. I don´t know of any other international taxidermist who is able to coordinate the “battle” of repatriation of hunting trophies from all over the world and subsequent delivery of the finished trophy mount to the hunter’s doorstep – everything done with only 1 contact for the hunter. That is First Class Trophy”.
Ken Walker will share his time between his own workshop “Walkers Wilderness Studios” in Alberta, Canada, and the First Class Trophy workshop in Pásztó, Hungary.
For any further information and enquiries please send an email to : office@firstclasstrophy.com
You can also call Carsten Skakkebaek on tel +45 40415158 or Ken Walker on either tel + 36 304637149 (Hungary) or tel +1 (780) 924-3200 (Canada)
The European Taxidermy Championships 2018 – Salzburg, Austria
We are very happy with our results at “The European Taxidermy Championships 2018” Salzburg, Austria
With our many 1st Placements and 2nd Placements and the reward “Best of Professional Category” our skilled taxidermists again shows that First Class Trophy is among the best in Europe.
“TRACK & TRACE” Web Portal
Order – and Production Portal
First Class Trophy has introduced what is probably the taxidermy industry’s first fully integrated web-based Order and Production Portal where our customers and partners can log in and check order information, follow the production of taxidermy orders, check how far an order is progressing, check the expected delivery date, check billing / deposit and balance payment, etc.
Along with the ability to log in, you, as a customer, get an automatic email notification each time a work status changes in our production. For example, when the skin is tanned. We operate with 8-12 stages in a production process, depending on the type of taxidermy work.
Once you become a registered in our IT system, you get an email with a username and login info.
The Order and Production portal has been developed as part of our efforts to give our customers accurate and detailed information about the work we do.
The portal is part of our IT system that enables us to implement efficient production with a minimum of time wastage, so that we can continue to supply high quality workmanship at competitive prices.
Log-in
Top Placements at World Championships
First Class Trophy achieves very good placements at the European – and World Championships in Zoological Taxidermy work.
Bronzemedal at The World Taxidermy Champinonships 2012 (Himalyan Thar)
Silvermedal at European Taxidermy Championships 2014 (Leopard)
Goldmedal at European Taxidermy Championships 2015 (Woodcock)
“Best of Show” at European Taxidermy Championships 2015 (Perch)
Salzburg hosted the World Championships in 2008 and was, once again, the host for this great event. The competition, from 19 – 26 February 2012, was arranged by Reed Messe, Salzburg Gmbh, with contributions from the Austrian Guild of Fashion and Clothing technology, European Taxidermy Federation, and ‘Break Through’ Magazine Inc.
The World Championships has been called ‘the greatest zoological taxidermy event’, for many good reasons. Taxidermists from all over the world meet to compete, learn and experience first hand, the high standards in this art form. At the World Championship in 2012, no less than 402 trophy mounts from 130 taxidermists worldwide, from 22 different countries, were represented.
Allan Rasmussen and Carsten Skakkebaek, from First Class Trophy, inspect some of the fantastic trophy mounts, at the world championship. Copyright First Class Trophy. All Rights Reserved.
First Class Trophy was represented by our well known, high quality, trophy mounts that we deliver to our clients every time.
First Class Trophy participated in the competition with a selection of trophy mounts, with the purpose of getting a valuation from an international team of highly skilled judges.
Many of the other taxidermist spent 6 – 12 months working on one trophy for the purpose of sending it to the World Championships. A so called ‘show quality’. These ‘show quality’ mounts are so time consuming, that very few hunters can, or will, pay the very high price that is involved in making that trophy mount. These ‘show quality’ mounts do not give the hunter a realistic picture of the general quality of the trophies he can expect from his taxidermist.
First Class Trophies went to the world championship with trophies borrowed from our clients, that we had already made for them. Trophy mounts of our well known high quality, that the hunter can expect from us.
8 Placements to First Class Trophy at the World Taxidermy Championships 2012, 11 placements at the European Taxidermy Championships 2014 and 8 placements at the European Taxidermy Championships 2015
At the World Championships our taxidermists we received a total of 8 placements in the category ‘Professional Division’ (advanced taxidermist).
On top of that, First Class Trophy received the BRONZE medal – and a money prize – for our full mounted Himalayan Thar, in the category ‘Mammals bigger than Roebuck)
At the European Championships in 2012 and 2014 we achived total 19 placements . And besides these placements we got the Silvermedal in the “ATI Landscape Award” (habitat) for our full mount Leopard, Goldmedal for our Euresian Woodcock and “Best of Show” (best mount of all mounts presented) for our Perch.
Comments from the Chairman of the World Taxidermy Competition
“Our placements and results were far better than we even dared to dream of and it confirmed that our taxidermists are delivering a high quality product every time,” said Carsten Skakkebaek, from First Class Trophy. He added, “one of the judges, Wesley ‘Skip’ Skidmore, from the USA, gave us the following comments on our muflon trophy mount: “Taxidermy work of this high quality should make every client satisfied.” Mr Wesley ‘Skip’ Skidmore is not just ‘anybody’. He has been the Chairman for the World Taxidermy Competition since 1985, and knows what he is talking about. “So, to have comments like that, is highly appreciated”, says Carsten Skakkebaek.
Very thorough inspections were the characteristic for the international committee of judges, when inspecting the trophy mounts. Here is one of First Class Trophies undergoing a thorough inspection by the judges. From left: Karl Matt (Austria), Alexander Sokolov (Russia) and Clark Screibels (USA). The Roebuck.
Copyright ‘World Taxidermy Championships’. All rights reserved.
Judge Wesley ‘Skip’ Skidmore (USA) inspected and gave comments on his evaluation on our Himalayan thar, together with the First Class Trophy team behind the trophy mount. Copyright Frst Class Trophy. All rights reserved.
