Romney Designs — Upgrading Skin Mounts in Anchorage

On our way back home from Bristol Bay last month, we had seven hours to kill on a Saturday night before our flight left Anchorage for home. Rather than sitting and stewing in an airport where just about everything was closed due to COVID, we rented a car and decided to scoot around town with nothing on our agenda other than dinner at the 49th State Brewing Company. (Note: The halibut cheeks were exceptional when washed down by a Grapefruit Lager, although I was sorely tempted by the King Crabby Grilled Cheese and the Yak Burger.)

We hit Bass Pro Shops and Sportsman’s Warehouse upon arrival, and then headed down toward the brewery – but we still wanted to kill some time before eating, so we ventured into the downtown area, a mix of gift shops, cannabis dispensaries, and a few local galleries. The most intriguing of that latter group was Romney Designs on G Street. Unfortunately, it was closed at 8pm on a Saturday night, but even a quick view through the window was enough to spur my intrigue.

Romney Dodd used to paint clogs for Nordstrom and other retailers, but her latest passion has been to take old skin mounts of fish and repaint them in distinctive and decorative manners.

This is absolutely brilliant. All of the taxidermy in my house consists of fiberglass replicas – they last longer, generally look better, and you don’t have to kill the fish to get one – but in past generations skin mounts were the standard. In houses throughout the country and indeed, throughout the world, there are multitudes of skin mounts either gathering dust or looking decrepit on walls. With a quality touch-up, they can be reinvented. If you don’t have access to such mounts, or the talent to resuscitate them, give Romney’s website or social media galleries a glance. Most of the species of fish I’ve caught in Alaska are beautiful in their own right, but she made me see them in a new light. When we visit next summer we’ll have to make sure to be in Anchorage while she’s open.