From Roadside Salvage to Mythical Beasts: The Story Behind Our Dragons

At Bone Boutique, you know we're passionate about transforming the overlooked into the celebrated. While our fine jewelry and articulated skeletons have become our signature, the very first creatures we ever brought to life were far more wild and fantastical: our dragons.

Slender Dragon at the Moore Museum by Phillip Moore

Before Bone Boutique was a business, it was an experiment born from a creative need. My husband Phillip and I began by collecting fossils, then moved on to modern bones to articulate complete skeletons. But what do you do with the "leftovers"? The odd bits and pieces from bones that just didn't fit?

For me, the answer came in the most unexpected of places: an armadillo pelvis. Plentifully found on our area roads, the pelvic bone of a nine-banded armadillo is a fascinating and sturdy structure that, to me, looked just like a perfect dragon skull. I paired it with the mandibles of a opossum, and just like that, the first dragon skull was born. We then built the rest of the body from wild boar vertebrae and a variety of other bones, including raccoon toes and claws for added detail.

The creative process is a thrilling puzzle. While you can find anatomical references online, the real challenge is making the pieces work together, especially when it comes to the wings. Once you realize they are comprised of a humerus, radius, and ulna, just like a human arm, you can start to figure out how to "tuck them in" just right.

The dragons quickly took on a life of their own. Today, four of our creations reside at The Moore Museum of Art & Natural History. The first two we ever made hang proudly in our entryway, creating a scene right out of a B-movie, with Phillip's model military planes flying in formation as if preparing for battle. The largest of the group resides in our kitchen, a truly magnificent beast that Phillip recently refreshed. We also have a more slender one with a wide wing span.

Phillip Moore's first dragon

We’ve created and sold several other dragons over the years, and they always spark the imagination. That’s why we’re so excited to announce that we are currently crafting a brand-new dragon to be raffled off at our September 20th Pop Up! We’re returning to our roots to make a new mythical creature, and it could find its forever home with you.

We look forward to sharing these amazing stories and creatures with you.