D-hare to Furrr

Halfheartedly, I drove down to the new Fancy Tiger location at South Broadway & Hampden in pursuit of some oversized oilcloth for my taxidermy workspace. I was excited to get oilcloth, but the drive and use of time weren't so appealing. I parallel parked in the closest spot to the store and hopped out of the car, proud to have not bumped the cars on either side.

And then, I looked up and into the windows of the shop I parked in front of, and I almost peed my pants with excitement. The windows were full of vintage fur coats, Native American dress, accessories, animal hides, etc. And that's when my quest for oilcloth became an adventure in animal fur and skins.

I realize fur coats, animal hides, and taxidermy aren’t for everyone, but they are for me. When I was a little girl, I wanted a rabbit fur coat more than anything; the one with mixed rabbit pelts, zipped up the front, cinched waist. Everyone I knew had one except for me & I had the fake rabbit coat from K-Mart! Thanks, Mom & Dad. ❤️❤️Fortunately, as an adult, you get to remedy your childhood wounds and fulfill your desire for a rabbit fur coat. And now I own twelve vintage fur coats and five vintage leather coats, and I created my own fur cape in January, which I named the Rablet, trademark in the works. The Rablet is going to be HUGE!!! Ha. Ironically, I actually scanned my fur coats before leaving the house to select one to wear tonight.

Back to the storefront! I walked into the store, and I was speechless and giddy. I immediately knew that it wasn’t by chance that I stumbled across this place. I touched almost every item in the store, minus the items in the window, but I really wanted to crawl into that space when the owner wasn’t looking. Immediately, I met the owner, Frank Makray, an “Elder” with Hungarian roots, whose family’s been in the fur business for over 250 years, and at the peak of their business, they were making 80+ coats a day for Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, and other such places. His business is now more of a hobby, selling vintage fur, repairing coats, and at times creating custom pieces. We talked about taxidermy, which he taught himself when he was fourteen, I inquired about tanneries, while trying on a half dozen coats.

Needless to say, I left with my thirteenth vintage fur coat, which is a stunning well-loved white rabbit cape. The neck was a bit tight for my beefy neck muscles so he located a container of vintage buttons, which he had me sort through, and I selected two I loved. Plus, he provided a piece of cording for a loop so I could modify the coat once I got home.

When it was time to leave, Frank invited me to return so we could talk more about tanning and all. I would guess that most people don’t know this about me, but now you will, I LOVE Elders! I love them more than any age group, and I always have. So, Frank is basically my new BFF but doesn’t know it. I hope he’s prepared to see me Monday morning when he opens.

BTW, Fancy Tiger had NO oilcloth, and I never made it to the yoga class I dressed for, but who cares?!?!?!