The Niche Lab

I’ve taken a few of Mickey’s taxidermy classes when she travelled around teaching, so I was excited when she opened The Niche Lab!
I tried something different this time and took the wet specimen class, where we learned the basics of preserving a fetal mammal. I liked that it was a small class and it was cool that it was all female. None of my friends are into this stuff so this is an awesome girls’ night for me! The class was informative and fun, and I left knowing I could definitely do this at home. I also have something cool to add to my oddities shelf.
If dead animals aren’t your thing, there are art classes such as needle felting, book binding, among other neat ones. Make sure to stop in and check out the awesome art and jewelry for sale in the shop, too!

This place is amazing! My wife and I had a great time watching Mickey skin a rat, checking out the art and jewelry, and socializing with the other customers. We plan to go back to take some classes and see what else we can learn.

Instructor spent most of class time complaining about her own clients and their «tacky» requests for taxidermy pets. Also she went on about a recent ex boyfriend, the music she was listening to, an annoying abundance of taxidermy themed gifts from many people, and condemning «hipster bullsh*t». She was impatient with her students, didn’t explain certain steps and just did them for everyone, and definitely rushed us at the end because she had a BBQ to attend. You can spend the same amount of money for a more thorough and professional experience. She’s intelligent and talented, but ultimately immature.

I came here for a needle felting class hosted by Dani from Be Good Natured.
This was prior to its opening so the setup was not complete. At the time, it was an open space with plenty of room for hosting events like the one I attended with 15 or so people. The owner is into taxidermy and art so a lot of the pieces around the shop were a unique combination of the two. Located in Humboldt Park this is a nice location that you might expect in Logan Square or Buck Town. It is good to have shops like this expanded into other communities.
Dani’s interactive needle felting lesson was fun and I think others would attend events similar to this one in the future.
Go Buckeyes!