Thursday 12 December 2013

Twiggypop?

Lady Poppy, Niamh McScruff, Captain Twiggy, and foster kid Big Bob

Twiggypop is my latest project - this blog is  place for me to brag about my dogs, share their antics, show you what I've been making for canine couture, and hopefully do a bit of promoting for Greyhound Rescue - a cause very dear to my heart. 

Some time ago my husband and myself thought about getting a dog. We already had four cats and some chickens, but a dog would somehow complete our little family. My parents instilled in me growing up that animals are an important commitment and we need to be responsible and accountable for and to them. We never had pets from a pet shop or bought from a breeder - they were always lost and strayed, or rescued from the pound. A few times cats just turned up and stayed - in fact, one of our dogs turned up and stayed!  Animals were a huge part of my childhood  (there was always a cat on the bed), and I always wanted lots when I had a home of my own.  I'm not sure my husband realised what he was getting into when we got married nearly 8 years ago! Nevertheless, we had no idea what kind of dog would be best for us, but we knew it would be a rescue dog.

A conversation with the sister in law of one of my close friends suggested a greyhound. Greyhounds? Are you serious, they would eat our cats...and don't they need a lot of exercise? We were about to be educated. It was almost another 12 months after this conversation, when our new fence had been built and we had done a bit of research that we finally adopted a greyhound, a red fawn boy we named Captain Twiggy Bandit. Greyhounds are a bit like chocolates...you can't have just one! A year later and we have adopted two greyhounds (Twiggy and Lady Poppy) one greyhound cross (Miss Niamh McScruff) and we have another two greyhounds we are fostering. It can be a bit chaotic at times, and they do drive me a bit nuts especially when they decide to take turns in waking us up every hour of the night, but we love them to bits! 

And this is how I started making collars...

Martingale collars are essential if you have a sighthound. They're heads are the same or smaller in width as their necks, which means regualr collars slip off very easily. Not so good if a grey hound spots a wascally wabbit and get loose. Just you try running after the second fastest land animal on the planet! When I looked for a really good wide martingale collar for Twiggy and Poppy, all I could find on Etsy were ones made in the US.  I wanted to support an Australian business and get quick postage but the only martingales I could find were too narrow and were made with rings not slides. A little frustrating. Being the crafty person that I am, I thought "well I could make that!" So I did. I found an Australian manufacturer of strong polypropylene webbing, as well as solid D rings and triglides and ordered some (so many hardware pieces are narrow and hollow and not as reliable in my opinion!) After a bit of trial and error I got the collar I wanted.  After I made a few, I thought, why not make some really cute collars to sell to my fellow Aussie greyhound lovers so they can buy close to home? So I did, and Twiggypop Martingales has been born!

When I was trying to think of a name, my sister Rachel told me I should name it after one of my furkids. I took the hint and joined Twiggy and Poppy together to get my shop name. As for the logo, I did a few sketches and came up with this one, based on Twiggy. 

There will be four sections for my shop.
The first one is Every Dog Has Its Day Collar - these collars are for everyday wear, and can be washed easily. I cover these in cute cotton fabrics or ribbon.
The second is Top Hat and Wagging Tails - these ones are for special occasions, not to be worn all The time and are made with more expensive fabrics like brocades or silks.
The third is Retro and Recycled Rex - these collars are made with vintage and/or recylced fabrics which will be a little bit different and definitely one of a kind!
The fourth is Seasonal - these collars are made with fabrics for Christmas and Easter.

I'll be popping up a guide on measuring your dog for a collar in the next post. 

See you next time,

Kate