If you’re looking for dark, spooky and all around strange, taxidermy and other oddities shop Rest In Pieces is the place to go!
If you’re looking for dark, spooky and all around strange, taxidermy and other oddities shop Rest In Pieces is the place to go! RVA Mag had the pleasure of speaking with Justin Torone, co-owner of RIP, about all the exciting events we can look forward to.
Established in 2014 as an online shop, Rest in Pieces offers taxidermy services, but also sells skulls, fox and coyote paws, skeletons, bone jewelry and other wet specimens for the curious collector.
Torone and his girlfriend Alaina Gearhart, co-owner of RIP, have had a store in RVA since May and have been making huge splashes in Richmond. Every Friday and Saturday night in October you can expect Eerie Nights Ghost Tours to make a stop at the RIP store to check out their fascinating wares.
Eerie Nights is a theatrical story telling experience where guides in character, special effects makeup and costume tell you the history and paranormal activity associated with several historical and haunted locations, according to the website.
With Rest In Pieces being the first place we go for our taxidermy needs, we really appreciate that they do all their own skull cleaning with dermestid beetles. Though they do have a few things that are nature cleaned, they don’t accept any animals that have been hunted or killed for profit. All of the animal parts are accepted through donations only.
On October 23, RIP will have a booth at Gallery5 for The Haunting of Poe: A Burlesque Masquerade’ where you’ll get to enjoy some exciting performances. And on Sat. Oct 24, RIP ill host a pop-up shop at Urban Outfitters in Short Pump.
And probably the biggest event the Richmond taxidermist will be involved with is the first annual Richmond Voodoo Festival on October 29 at The Broadberry.
If you’re looking for excitement past the punch bowl and endless bags of halloween candy Halloween night, check out RIP where Eerie Nights Ghost Tours will be making a spooky stop.
If you’re only interested in treats, you can find Torone and Gearhart at the RIP store where they will be greeting trick-or-treaters.
“We love when kids come by the shop,” Torone said. “We want it to be educational for everyone,” said Torone. “I’ll answer the two hundred questions that they have all day long. It’s really cool, I wish I had someone, when I was kid, put a bunch of skulls in front of me and let me try and label them.”
Past October, you can expect to see RIP selling their spooky collectibles during the Richmond Tattoo Arts Festival November 20-22.
If you just can’t make it to any of these awesome events, you can always catch them at the shop, located at 1 S. Stafford Ave or check out their unique collection here.
