Spread out like a disjointed skeleton amongst several small buildings at its Canoga Park facility, human and animal bone replicator Bone Clones Inc. wants to be whole again. Over its 23-year history, the manufacturer of lifelike bone, skull and skeleton reproductions for universities, museums and the entertainment industry leased more space as needed rather than move. But now it’s time for consolidation, said Gita Kronen, co-founder of the company. “We don’t want to continue adding because it’s fragmented,” she explained. “We want to get it under one roof, and we’re going to be adding about 6,000 square feet.” The new site will be nearly 20,000 square feet and allow the company to better fit its tallest replications – like the 12-foot-tall extinct short-faced bear. Also, Bone Clones will get a larger showroom to exhibit some of its several-thousand-piece inventory for visiting school groups, and more space for new employees it has hired after last year’s 15 to 20 percent growth, Kronen added. Bone Clones is on the high-end in the small market of bone and skeleton reproduction. It replicates skulls, teeth, tusks, claws, beaks and whole skeletons of humans, their early ancestors, current and extinct creatures and fossils. The company usually borrows the originals from museums to make molds, and then sells the detailed reproductions to universities, its biggest customer base, for anatomy, anthropology, medical and forensic science classes. One of its specialties is human skulls and skeletons. For 12 years, the company sold them to 20th Century Fox for its “Bones” television series, Kronen said. Wildlife and science centers, schools and even individuals looking for unique office or home decorations make up other buyers. One of the company’s most popular items is the full connected skeleton of a sabretooth cat unearthed from the La Brea Tar pits in Los Angeles. And in August 2015, Bergdorf Goodman showcased Bone Clones’ towering dinosaur skeleton and another of a rearing horse with rider as they arched over clothed mannequins in its famous Fifth Avenue windows. Once the company starred in an episode of “How It’s Made” that detailed fabrication of the sabretooth cat skull and its massive fangs. Finding a new home with air-conditioning and high ceilings added to the challenge in the West Valley’s tight industrial real estate market. Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura Principal Scott Caswell and Associates Erica Owens and Mike Ebbitt found the off-market site at 9200 Eton Ave. Kronen said the company will start moving this month. – Carol Lawrence
