i know that when it comes to antlers, deer heads, and skulls, the general consensus is pretty mixed on love vs. hate. but i think these delicate porcelain skulls from christine facella of beetle & flor are beautiful. christine has been working on them for about a year, while working as a freelance illustrator for a scientist who studies the phylogeny of turtles at the museum of natural history. christine has been focusing on illustrating turtle skulls and fragments of fossilized bone, so after four years of working on paper, she decided it was time to give what she drew dimension. hence, her “north american wildlife” series was born. everything christine makes is handmade in brooklyn and each skull is carefully dissected and then molds (consisting of up to 20 parts) are created. each piece is individually cast, assembled and sculpted and then 23k gold is added to the teeth of select pieces.

in addition, 25% of the proceeds support christine’s community projects- she works with artisan communities in developing countries, helping them redesign their traditional crafts, or help out with graphics and identity.

i love the scientific and artisan story behind christine’s work and think that these delicate little skulls would be beautiful under a glass dome, or displayed with some sort of “specimen” theme. clearly not for everyone (i know, dead animals, fake or real, are not cool with some of you), but if you’re loving them too click here to check out christine’s work online and shop.

also: click here to check out haylie’s guest post for today! she has a fantastic tea towel diy project, as well as some gorgeous textiles finds (like those kicks above)…thanks, haylie! (images above and below from haylie’s post)