The young girl often collects dead animals and dyes them according to her preferences. She also earns a steady income from this job.

“Even though I’m in grade 12 quite busy, my parents also told me to focus on studying, but I still arrange a time to go to the lab to soak this, separate that. Every day is too busy to work, I feel very uncomfortable”, Tran Thi Mai Phuong (born in 2004, Hai Duong) confided.

The subject that she pursues is called Diaphonization – making a bone stain. It is a process that uses chemicals to make the flesh of the specimen transparent, staining the bone and tissue/cartilage. Small animals such as reptiles, birds, fish, snakes, etc. can make bone-staining specimens.

Phuong said that while surfing the net, she came across images of transparent animals with colorful bones. Intrigued, she researched and learned their specific names and how to make them.

Phuong picks up or buys animal carcasses to dye the bones.

After many years of reading and researching, in the 8th grade, the young girl officially started working. Phuong’s father supported her hobby, so she built her own laboratory, protective equipment and tools for her daughter to tinker with. Her mother helps her collect animal carcasses far from her home for her daughter to study.

All the animal ingredients she used to make were from dead animals she asked for from acquaintances, pet stores, markets, and seafood stores. Besides, many people know that Phuong sent her pets, which are reptiles that unfortunately passed away, also for her to dye her bones and keep memories.

During the 5 years of pursuing this subject, she has never killed an animal to use as a specimen. “Because I’m a person who loves animals,” Mai Phuong said. Currently, she owns more than 3,000 models and has a fairly stable income from these products.

Currently, she owns about 3000 templates.

Sharing about how to make these templates, she said that when she receives the carcasses of animals, she will use chemicals to remove the protein and make the skin transparent, then dye the bones. Simply put, when starting to do it, it is a problem because the chemical preparation must also be in the right dose, just a little mistake can damage the entire specimen and cannot be repaired.

After bone staining is complete, the specimen will usually be stored in a glass vial with a lid and containing Glycerol solution. Specimens can be permanently preserved if dust-free, tightly closed and unaffected by temperature.

There are products she sells for tens of millions of dong.

In addition, Mai Phuong also uses Resin to pour into the template to form jewelry and keychain products. But she believes that this method requires more difficulty and technique because careless use can damage the specimen.

The time to complete a bone staining specimen ranges from 1 month to several months, it can also be half a year or more. Their selling price ranges from 1-25 million VND/product.

According to Mai Phuong, this job requires meticulousness and high concentration when working. “Moreover, I have had many problems while working, such as cutting my hand, getting burned by chemicals or damaging an animal carcass because of a little carelessness…”, she shared.

This job requires meticulousness and high concentration when doing.

Therefore, she advises anyone who wants to pursue this career to determine to equip themselves with solid knowledge, be patient and to prepare their own room and protective gear carefully.

The products Phuong makes are mainly sold to foreign customers. Most customers also have to pre-order because she is rarely available, she sells out wherever she goes. In the future, the female student also plans to pursue this profession for a long time.

Photo: Internet (Vietnamese.Quest.net)