We were lucky to catch up with Britney Jones recently and have shared our conversation below.

Britney, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

We have had the privilege of working on a variety of “personal specimens”. These include organs, tissues, and implants that were removed from someone for a variety of reasons. We have preserved placentas from various human births and displayed them in snow globes. We have made jewelry from breast tissue to commemorate reassignment surgery. We have done the same with testicles and fallopian tubes. We are currently working on a display for a woman whose mother died. Her mother had knee and hip replacement surgeries and we have been given the honor to display the hardware left from cremation for family keepsakes.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Neil and I each had lengthy career paths that left us both feeling burnt out. He had been a funeral director for over four years, eventually moving on to a quality inspector for a machine shop. While I was in back-office banking for just under a decade. While we enjoyed the steady pay, we just weren’t happy continuing on those paths. It wasn’t until I found out I was pregnant with our first son that we decided to change things. Neil told me that if I found something I could do from home that would keep me sane, earn some money, and allow me to care for our son, then he would support it 100%. The hard part was figuring out what I wanted to do. After he spent a sickening amount of money on a bat in a shadow box for my first Mother’s Day gift, I knew that I wanted to make affordable, ethically sourced oddities, specimen art, and taxidermy. Shortly after discussing it, Neil surprised me after work with a small mammal dissection and embalming lesson. The joy we both felt, the enthusiasm we shared together, and the overall sense of support we both gave each other helped us launch Mz. Jones’ Curio in 2015. 8 years in we have managed to make this my full-time career and his part-time.

As far as the types of products we offer, our possibilities are endless. The only rule we have for working on a specimen is that it’s ethically sourced. Our most popular products are our Sheep Brain Globes and Tentacle Pens. We carry a variety of Wet Specimen Vials and Oddity Starter Bags for the new collector. One of my favorite items to work on are the Die-O-Ramas, which feature a dry preserved mouse in a dollhouse scene. We pride ourselves on using every piece of the animal we can. Any bones, teeth, fur, etc. we can’t use in our own work goes into our Mini Oddity Machine. For one dollar you turn the crank and out pops a new crystal, tooth, bone, or even a wet specimen.

Something we pride ourselves on is our commitment to providing quality, long lasting specimens. Since Neil was a funeral director, we guarantee our specimens are preserved with the best chemicals, using the best methods. If something were to happen to a specimen purchased from us, that we could have/should have prevented, we will repair it at no cost to the customer. Our only issue since we have been in this business has been the occasional cat knocking over a piece. In the event someone has a specimen that we did not create that is in need of some TLC, we will happily repair items for a small fee.

How did you build your audience on social media?

It is extremely difficult for small businesses to have a social media presence. It’s even more difficult with what we do. We almost always find ourselves shadow banned due to the things we make. We have also noticed an unsettling trend with the social media overlords, where our reach will drop significantly around the holidays, and our pressure to post an ad or two will increase. My advice to anyone trying to build their audience or presence is to not give in to any pressure. Post what your heart desires. Forget the hashtags. Forget the trends. Post your business, memes, anything. Encourage your customers to leave reviews, share your posts or photos of your work in their collections. Word of mouth is always the best advertising for your business.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

We pour ourselves into every piece we make. Neil is extremely cautious to be sure the animals and specimens we work on are well preserved and positioned perfectly. I scrutinize everything that goes into making a piece. It’s extremely rewarding to see our fans and customers appreciate all the details we put into our work. The feeling of knowing our work is displayed in so many collections across the country is indescribable. It’s so beautiful that so many people can connect with and see themselves in our work.    

Contact Info:

• Website: Mzjonescurio.com
• Instagram: @Mzjonescurio
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Mzjonescurio
• Other: To wholesale our work: https://mzjonescurio.faire.com