Natural Curiosity: Inside Esoterica's World of Specimens & Storytelling
Esoterica founder Sofia reflects on how a childhood spent collecting the natural world became a lifelong devotion to preserving its beauty
By: The Lace Ledger Staff
It starts earlier than we think. Perhaps it's a feather discovered on a morning walk or a mushroom tucked beneath fallen leaves. Or, maybe it's a smooth stone slipped into a coat pocket simply because it was too interesting to leave behind. Long before those moments become collections, career paths or carefully curated spaces, they begin as simple curiosity.
For Esoterica co-founder Sofia, that curiosity first took shape alongside her grandmother in the forests of Russia, where afternoons were spent outside in nature, learning about flora, fauna and the personality of places. Years later, those early lessons found a new home in New Hope, Pennsylvania where Esoterica invites visitors to rediscover the same sense of wonder that first inspired its founders to begin collecting.
In our conversation, Sofia reflects on how childhood curiosity became a shop devoted to preserving the natural world.
Another Chapter: Soul Perchers on the Care Behind Every Creation
Some artists work with canvas. Others work with marble, clay or paint. The Soul Perchers team works with legacy. Every stitch is sewn by hand. Every garment is designed with the care of a historical costumer. Most importantly, every animal is treated with profound dignity, preserving a life that deserves to be remembered.
There is a palpable tenderness at the heart of this shop. Before the velvet, antique lace and jewelled crowns, there is an unwavering belief that every animal, every soul, deserves compassion. That philosophy guides each decision the team makes, from sourcing only ethical specimens to allowing each creature to inspire its character.
Inspired by Victorian dress, the visual language of Guillermo del Toro and Tim Burton, art history, fashion and fairy tales, their anthropomorphic taxidermy transforms each specimen into a character with a story of its own. Each finished piece grants an animal's story another chapter.
We sat down with the team to find out more.
Afterlife: 15 Natural History Artists to Know
From traditional taxidermy to lace bats designs, the intricate handwork of these artists give each creature another chapter
By: The Lace Ledger Staff
A butterfly seemingly paused mid-flight allows us to appreciate the intricate patterns across its wings. The preserved vertebrae of a snake reveal the elegant architecture that once supported its movement. Even the familiar raccoon becomes newly arresting when we pause to notice the dexterity of its paws or the intelligence held in its expression.
These details can pass in an instant while an animal is alive and in motion. Natural history art gives us time to see them. The artist looks closely at what made each creature singular, then considers how its character might be carried forward translating its unique essence through the passages of time.
That transformation demands an extraordinary kind of devotion. Each specimen is studied closely before the artist begins the patient work of preserving its form. Even pieces rendered in lace or traced from abandoned spiderwebs carry the same attention to the architecture of the living world.
The 15 artists featured here pour themselves into giving each creature another chapter. Through their work, nature becomes an enduring object of wonder and an invitation to look closer at the life around us.
Content warning: The following article contains images of finished taxidermy pieces. Readers who prefer not to view preserved animals should stop here.
Made with Intention: Handcrafted Art for the Gothic Home
From lighting to textile and ceramic vessels, here is a field guide to dark artists whose work shapes atmospheric interiors
By: The Lace Ledger Staff
Authentic curation is never about completion; it’s about attention, lived experience and the slow accumulation of objects that feel thoughtfully chosen rather then acquired with haste. A gothic home is not assembled through checklists or trends, but, instead, discovered over time, shaped by curiosity, intuition, oddity and the treasure-hunter’s thrill of finding something that’s impossibly right.
You are one of one; your home should feel that way too by allowing the pieces that adorn our spaces to carry the same singularity.
The artists gathered here create work that feels otherworldly without performative spectacle, offering objects that spark delight, reverence and the kind of pause that compel guests to stop mid-sentence.
The Stillness That Speaks: Ethical Taxidermy as Decor
A guide to honouring creatures through mindful craft and gothic interiors
There’s a quiet reverence in the gaze of a glass-eyed fox.
It’s not horror that draws us to taxidermy—it’s memory. Mystery. A love letter to mortality rendered in bone, fur and shadow.
In the wrong hands, it's a spectacle. But in the right home? It’s sanctum. Sacred. A curated echo of wild beauty held still, not silenced.