Three generations of Wisconsin taxidermy — built one mount at a time.
What began with Greg Stehling in a small Wisconsin shop has grown into one of the most respected taxidermy studios in the country. Same family. Same standard. Same quiet obsession with getting every detail right.
A Wisconsin shop, an industrial engineer, and a patience for fish.
Greg Stehling founded Stehling’s Taxidermy in 1978 after years of training through the 1970s. He came to the craft with a different toolkit than most — as a trained industrial engineer, he saw in taxidermy the same problem-solving discipline he’d spent a career in: precision, efficiency, and process.
He worked in every area of the craft in those early years, but his passion kept returning to one place: fish. His skill and speed on the bench quickly made him one of the most sought-after fish taxidermists in the country. Word traveled the way it does in outdoor circles — one hunter tells another, and another, and another.
“Every animal a hunter brings home deserves to be preserved with the same respect it earned in the field.”
From one bench to a production powerhouse.
Through the 1980s and 90s, Stehling’s became a name that moved through the industry itself. Thousands of specimens passed through the shop each year — mounted for sportsmen, museums, nature centers, universities, biological supply companies, and other taxidermists who couldn’t keep up with their own demand.
Greg’s sons, Aaron and Austin, grew up inside the business. Mornings before school were spent in the shop. Summers were spent on the bench. By the time they were teenagers, they were contributing to thousands of fish mounts a year alongside their father — learning the craft the way it’s supposed to be learned.
The shop’s reputation reached far beyond Wisconsin. Partnerships with Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Texas Roadhouse, zoos, and museums became part of the rhythm of the work.
Turning the bench toward the hunter again.
After decades dominating the wholesale side of the industry, Stehling’s made a pivotal decision: turn the shop back toward the people who started it all — the hunters and anglers themselves.
We built a state-of-the-art facility in Jefferson, Wisconsin to serve as our flagship. Eight thousand square feet of production space, climate control, a state-approved paint booth system, dedicated fish and bird rooms, and a showroom where clients could see finished work up close before committing to their own.
Demand kept growing, and in time a second location opened in New Franken — just outside Green Bay — to serve hunters across northeast Wisconsin and the U.P. Two studios, one standard.
Aaron & Austin, carrying the bench forward.
Today the shop is led by Aaron and Austin Stehling — Greg’s sons, the second generation, the brothers who grew up in the studio and never left. They run both locations. They still do the work themselves. On any given day you’ll find one of them sculpting a cape, airbrushing a fish, or walking a client through their options in the showroom.
Their philosophy is simple: a mount isn’t something you produce, it’s something you build. Every hunt is a story, and the craft exists to tell it honestly — muscle tone, posture, expression, the tension in the moment the trigger broke. Get those right and the mount does what it’s supposed to do: bring the memory back, every time the owner walks into the room.
Built in Wisconsin. Serving hunters far beyond it.
Our Jefferson flagship sits just off Highway 26 in Jefferson County, with 8,000 square feet of production space and a showroom built for walking clients through every option before they commit. Our New Franken studio, just outside Green Bay, serves hunters across northeast Wisconsin, the Fox Valley, Door County, and the U.P.
Both run the same bench — same hands, same process, same standard. The only thing that changes is which one’s closer to your driveway.
Two studios, one family, one standard.
Honoring tradition, shaping what comes next.
In 2016, Stehling’s launched Taxidermy Insider — the first complete online training platform for taxidermists anywhere in the world. What started as a side-project to help fellow craftsmen has trained taxidermists across six continents through a subscription streaming model.
Beyond training, we’ve spent the last decade helping other shops and outdoor businesses find their footing online — building hundreds of websites and marketing campaigns built specifically for the industry we know.
As we move into 2026 and beyond, we’re taking on the next frontier: artificial intelligence in taxidermy. Predictive models for specimen preservation. AI-driven workflow and quality control. Fifty years of bench experience, translated into tools that help the whole craft move forward.
Tradition and technology, side by side on the same bench.
Hunters, anglers, institutions — and the brands that outfit them.
Three generations of craft — one conversation away.
From a child’s first turkey to a once-in-a-lifetime African safari, every mount gets the same care we’d give our own. Visit one of our Wisconsin studios, or start your piece online with our Mount Builder.