Creating art out of wire has become quite an unexpected business for Carroll County resident Todd Goss. He has sold over 700 pieces of wire sculpture art on Etsy, an online global marketplace for artists from all over the world. He also sells his creations in Mississippi Gifts in Greenwood and is working with Simply Southern in Covington, Louisiana.
“It just kind of happened. I never expected it to grow so much” Goss said.
Goss made his first wire sculpture in 2012 when he wanted to add a deer head on his porch after doing some remodeling.
“I wanted a deer head for my porch, but not a real one. I started playing with wire and made one. I liked it and my friends liked it,” he said. Goss showed it to his friend Cindy Tyler, the owner of Mississippi Gifts in Greenwood. She loved it and took his work to Mistletoe Marketplace in Jackson. “I then started selling on Etsy.”
He created his Etsy shop A Head of the Game in 2012. Some of his customers have been from England, Israel, Australia and Germany.
Goss said customers can order what’s online in his shop or he can do a custom order.
“I can’t do everything, but I will try,” he added.
Some of the items found in his Etsy shop are personalized ornaments from Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi. Customers can order larger items mounted on reclaimed wood. He can make personalized name ornaments, different shapes of states, any animal or sea life. There is a variety to choose from. He uses galvanized wire so it won’t rust. It does darken over time, but it won’t rust. He does painted finishes also. Some of the wires have a dark grey finish, Goss added.
Goss said he has always loved to draw since he was a child. After he made his deer head sculpture, he created a pattern to go by for the deer. But most of his designs are done freestyle by hand from seeing it in his head.
“I see things in lines,” he said. “I am in architectural design by trade.”
Over Christmas, Goss had a huge order to fill. “I was making stuff from the 15th of October through Christmas Eve,” he said. He joked his family does get tired of his wire nest in the house.
“I have a studio outside where I do the mounting and painting, but when I am bending, I bend in the house. The reason I like this is I can sit in the den with my family and be working on this while we are all together,” he added.
Bigger pieces can take close to an hour to make. The smaller pieces like ornaments take from 15 to 20 minutes.
He had a table set up at Mississippi Gifts during open house making personalized name ornaments, which has been popular for him this year.
“I was so busy. I sold over 70 names that night,” he said. He also recently attended an artist event in Columbus and made more ornaments. “We were very busy for two days,” he said. He is hoping to do more craft type shows after his success in Columbus and possibly go into more stores.
To see more of Goss’ work visit; aheadofthegame.etsy.com, for faux taxidermy and handmade wire sculptures.
