Bark & Swagger

Transcript:

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Announcer: Let's Talk Pets.

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Jody Teiche: Welcome to Global Pet Expo 2024.

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Jody Teiche: This is Jody L.

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Jody Teiche: Teich of Bark And Swagger.

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Jody Teiche: Every year, for the past 10 years now, I've been coming, and it's always a fun show for me because I get to see the new products and turn you guys on to things I think are special, different, and helpful in the lives of your pets and you.

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Jody Teiche: And this year is no different, so I am going to take you inside to Global and introduce you to the brands that I thought were special that I wanted you to know about.

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Jody Teiche: Let's go check them out.

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Jody Teiche: What if your cat could live in the Chrysler building, a Chrysler building of their very own?

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Jody Teiche: That is what Mario Aborre, the Italian architect, who is behind SquarePaws, does.

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Jody Teiche: He designs intricate cat homes that are like nothing I've ever seen, so I'm very excited to introduce him to you.

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Jody Teiche: Mario, welcome to Bark And Swagger.

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Mario Aborre: Thank you, Jody.

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Mario Aborre: Very nice to meet you, and thank you for having me.

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Jody Teiche: Thank you.

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Jody Teiche: Tell us a little bit about, first, what you do.

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Mario Aborre: So I'm an architect by trade, and 10 years ago, I started building cat towers for my own cats.

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Mario Aborre: Started out with a lighthouse for my own home, and just kind of the ideas kept coming after that.

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Mario Aborre: I'm working out of my garage for the first two years, and then moved into some workshop space, and we've been building all kinds of custom cat towers since then.

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Mario Aborre: We've done things for animal shelter renovations, cat cafes, personal homes.

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Mario Aborre: We've done habitats, catio installations, anything related to cats we enjoy.

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Jody Teiche: That is amazing.

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Jody Teiche: So talk to me about, I see the Leaning Tower of Pisa on your stand.

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Jody Teiche: Yes, I see a Big Ben clock.

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Jody Teiche: Tell us about a couple of your more unusual creations.

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Mario Aborre: Well, in 2019, Beth and Howard Stern actually approached us when they were working on the North Shore Animal League renovation.

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Mario Aborre: They were building, having an extension built for their project, Bianca's Furry Friends, for cats.

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Mario Aborre: It was the cat wing, basically, of the shelter.

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Mario Aborre: And Beth had called us and said, we hadn't really known her before, and said, we're going to make a room honoring Billy Joel.

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Mario Aborre: We'd love for you to design it.

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Mario Aborre: So we were working on that, and while we were doing that, North Carolina League said, we're going to do two rooms for Billy Joel.

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Mario Aborre: Can you handle that?

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Mario Aborre: And it was a very short time frame, and we said absolutely yes.

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Mario Aborre: So we designed one room called the Piano Man Room, and it was great.

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Mario Aborre: We took the sort of like waterfall shape of the piano, mounted it on the wall, had an electronic piano that would be playable in the room, so like guests could come, play, and cats could listen to music.

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Mario Aborre: And of course, it has all kinds of cat shelves in it.

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Mario Aborre: And then we did a New York State of Mind Room, which had the Empire State Building, has the Empire State Building in it.

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Mario Aborre: Yankee Stadium, we built sort of a catwalk of the loja.

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Mario Aborre: If you're familiar with Yankee Stadium, both old and new, has that sort of, you know, multiple archway.

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Mario Aborre: So we used that as sort of motif for a cat shelf installation, and there's a subway car, a Brooklyn Bridge.

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Mario Aborre: So we got to do a lot of really creative, iconic items, which is why you see the Chrysler Building here.

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Mario Aborre: We wanted to show, you know, the breadth of things that we can do for cats.

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Jody Teiche: That is so cool.

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Jody Teiche: I love that.

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Jody Teiche: Where are you based?

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Mario Aborre: We're here in Melbourne, Florida.

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Mario Aborre: I'm from New York originally.

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Mario Aborre: I've been down here, yeah, down here like 13 years almost.

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Mario Aborre: But yeah, we have a workshop in Melbourne.

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Jody Teiche: And I know it depends on how intricate it is, but generally, how long does it take for you to design and build or is the best way for people to go on your site and pick one of an existing design that you have?

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Mario Aborre: Really both, but most of what we do is really bespoke.

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Mario Aborre: So for example, we've done multiple lighthouses, we've done Ferris wheels for cats.

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Mario Aborre: But for example, like...

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Mario Aborre: Well, that actually is a concession stand.

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Mario Aborre: Like we had someone in the Panhandle of Florida that raises Maine Coons, because she says she's not a breeder, she's more about maintaining the integrity of the Maine Coon breed.

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Mario Aborre: But she basically breeds Maine Coons and had a circus theme in mind.

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Mario Aborre: So she came to us and said, I love the lighthouse, I'm going to get a lighthouse.

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Mario Aborre: So we made one specifically for the dimensions of the room.

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Mario Aborre: So things like that need to be altered.

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Mario Aborre: Maine Coons are big cats, so obviously there's a concern and consideration of scale and dimensions for them.

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Mario Aborre: But the circus theme, we did a ferris wheel for her, a sort of like now showing, kind of like lit pinboard box for the wall.

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Mario Aborre: We did this sort of concession stand, nightstand as well.

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Mario Aborre: So yeah, I mean, it really, it sort of comes out of an interplay of like, okay, what is it you're looking for?

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Mario Aborre: What room is it going in?

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Mario Aborre: What's the motif, the decor of your home?

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Mario Aborre: And what can we sort of tailor for you, right?

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Mario Aborre: So another example, like a lighthouse, last year we had a client who wanted a lighthouse.

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Mario Aborre: She has a very tall ceiling in Chicago and has three Savannah cats, which are, you know, semi wild kind of breeds of cats, right?

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Mario Aborre: And they get big and they love to climb.

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Mario Aborre: And so we had to kind of tailor the lighthouse design to work for the size of her cats in a tall space but a very narrow space, but with ample room for them.

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Mario Aborre: And then, you know, we get into things like color, what fits the room, you know, is it this is sort of your style?

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Mario Aborre: Do you like blue?

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Mario Aborre: Do you like brighter colors?

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Mario Aborre: Do you like, you know, more muted tones?

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Mario Aborre: So as an architect, I can sort of speak to not just like scale and dimension, but decor and design as well.

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Jody Teiche: And I love that as an architect, precision and attention to detail is part of your training.

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Jody Teiche: So where can people find you?

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Mario Aborre: squarepaws.com We're also on Instagram, we're on TikTok, we're on Facebook.

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Mario Aborre: They can just Google square paws and they'll find us.

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Jody Teiche: Perfect.

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Jody Teiche: Thank you so much, Mario.

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Mario Aborre: Thank you, Jody.

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Mario Aborre: Pleasure meeting you.

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Mario Aborre: Thank you for having me on your podcast.

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Jody Teiche: You as well, thanks.

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Jody Teiche: This is for all of you Kitty Cat lovers and Kitty Cat moms and dads.

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Jody Teiche: I came across a booth that jumped out at me because the cat toys are really, really cute and different than what I've been seeing around the show.

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Jody Teiche: And so I introduced myself to Anna Maria Weir, who is the designer behind this brand called Princess Dreams.

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Jody Teiche: And the cat line is called Dream Cat.

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Jody Teiche: And I thought this was super cool when I was talking with Anna.

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Jody Teiche: She told me that her students, she teaches design, or she used to teach design at the college level.

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Jody Teiche: And her students would tell her that she was the lost child of Martha Stewart and Bob Villa because she is so creative.

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Jody Teiche: So let's talk to Anna and find out more about Dream Cat.

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Jody Teiche: Hi, Anna.

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Anna Maria Weir: Hi, Jody.

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Anna Maria Weir: How are you doing?

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Jody Teiche: I'm doing great.

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Jody Teiche: Tell us about how you got inspired to create Princess Dreams and then Dream Cat.

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Anna Maria Weir: Well, Princess Dreams started about 19 years ago, designing small items, Halloween costumes for all things, for my daughter, which is a true princess.

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Anna Maria Weir: Everything was princess, dragon, princess, spaceship princess and all everything.

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Anna Maria Weir: And then the neighbors started asking for can you do a party around this thing and soft goods?

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Anna Maria Weir: And then I started decorating bedrooms and then construction with my background.

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Anna Maria Weir: I do a lot of engineering work.

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Anna Maria Weir: I do design furniture.

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Anna Maria Weir: I retail stores.

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Anna Maria Weir: For 10 years, I was doing remodeling construction in Chicago, outside of Chicago.

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Anna Maria Weir: And after that, you know, as people ask me, so set up the house.

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Anna Maria Weir: And so essentially, I can knock the house down, build it up again and have dinner ready on the table.

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Anna Maria Weir: So all of these toys, the Dream Cat, part of it came out of rescue cats.

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Anna Maria Weir: I have a friend that I designed their retail store in Geneva, in Illinois, for them.

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Anna Maria Weir: And she has this rescue business on the side.

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Anna Maria Weir: And very heavy on it.

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Anna Maria Weir: And we were trying to make something different for a fundraiser for Chicago and a non-kill shelter.

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Anna Maria Weir: So we came up with an idea, well, crazy story, connecting very fast.

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Anna Maria Weir: My daughter rescued this little cat and she brought it for Thanksgiving, and the little things start chasing the corn and things that fell on the ground.

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Anna Maria Weir: And then we said, oh, maybe, oh my god, we have a vegan cat.

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Anna Maria Weir: So everybody just kind of stopped and said, oh my god, this is the line that we are going to do.

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Anna Maria Weir: We are going to go all vegetables, all fruit, and everything like that.

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Anna Maria Weir: So that was nine years ago, a subscription box, like three days after we put it in, no, 24 hours after we put it in Etsy.

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Anna Maria Weir: We had the first large order and the rest is history.

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Anna Maria Weir: So we're doing this and I designed it.

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Anna Maria Weir: We have made the patterns and we make it.

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Anna Maria Weir: I hire ladies that are already retired that they love quilting.

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Anna Maria Weir: They cannot work anymore.

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Anna Maria Weir: They cannot find jobs.

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Anna Maria Weir: So we have a really nice sewing circle to do all this stuff.

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Anna Maria Weir: I just kind of keep it fun and just kind of make people happy.

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Anna Maria Weir: The comments of people, they just love to see a broccoli on the floor and a banana on somewhere in there instead of a mouse.

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Anna Maria Weir: So it's a lot of fun.

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Jody Teiche: First of all, I love all the stories.

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Jody Teiche: I love that you talked about rescue because Bark And Swagger is yes, it's about living stylishly with your pet, but it's also very much about rescue.

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Jody Teiche: So that this collection was inspired by that is important.

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Jody Teiche: And they're so adorable.

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Jody Teiche: As you said, there are different fruits, adorable pears and apples and strawberries.

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Jody Teiche: And then you've got really cute things like cinnamon rolls and ice cream cones and beautiful little cakes, sweets in your sweets section.

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Jody Teiche: And you've got some Halloween-y kind of things as well.

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Anna Maria Weir: Christmas also that I didn't bring over, but just something that is very important for us is that at least twice a year, the first donation that we have is in June, and the other one is in November, December.

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Anna Maria Weir: When I develop products that they say that are, they give it, they're like, they're rejects, I recall, because they're not to up my standards, so we sell for these large subscription boxes, and we have extras because they don't pass the mustard, like when you say that.

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Anna Maria Weir: We donate everything to, so we don't have stale products or anything.

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Anna Maria Weir: The catnip is sourced in Canada.

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Jody Teiche: Yeah, you should know all of the toys are filled with premium.

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Anna Maria Weir: So the fiber fill is, you know, of course, whatever, is here.

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Anna Maria Weir: And the Canadian catnip, and we mix it up to certain toys when they ask for this organic catnip that is actually grown in Washington state.

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Anna Maria Weir: So we mix it up like that, and it's like in the minty branch of the catnip.

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Anna Maria Weir: Because all the ones that are more peppery, more spicy, and my cats actually sneeze with that.

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Anna Maria Weir: So we just kind of keep it like that.

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Jody Teiche: So you found what works since the catnip.

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Jody Teiche: But you, the ones that don't pass muster for you, are donated to shelters?

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Anna Maria Weir: Everything is donated to shelters.

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Anna Maria Weir: I don't have, people ask me, do you have anything to give away?

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Anna Maria Weir: No.

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Anna Maria Weir: We have local shelters, people, what do you call this, sanctuaries, that they have all type of animals, and they started this, a lot of feral cats that are there, they receive some stuff.

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Anna Maria Weir: So, once that I donate these, these toys, I get asked several times to let see, do you have any more?

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Anna Maria Weir: I said, well, you know, I am about to finish a product, call me in about a month, and then we'll see what we have, we have leftover.

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Anna Maria Weir: So, honestly, it's like scraps, whatever is filled with catnip, everybody receives it, or stuff.

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Jody Teiche: I love it.

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Jody Teiche: So tell people where they can find you, Anna.

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Anna Maria Weir: They can find me in Etsy.

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Anna Maria Weir: The store is called Princess Dreams, Inc.

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Anna Maria Weir: all together.

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Anna Maria Weir: And you can see all the lists that is right now.

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Anna Maria Weir: For this year, we have three new toys that are not on Etsy yet, but they will be next Tuesday, which are the bell pepper, the corn, and the apples.

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Anna Maria Weir: So, that you can find it there.

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Anna Maria Weir: The toys are really affordable.

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Anna Maria Weir: The most expensive thing that we have is $13, which are the most complex, but these things are special ones.

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Anna Maria Weir: And then they range between $7 and $12.

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Anna Maria Weir: That's it.

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Jody Teiche: Wonderful.

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Jody Teiche: Thank you so much.

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Jody Teiche: I appreciate it.

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Jody Teiche: So, on Etsy, Princess Dreams Inc.

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Jody Teiche: is where we can find you.

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Jody Teiche: Alright, Anna, thank you.

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Jody Teiche: Continued success.

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Anna Maria Weir: Thank you so much for coming.

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Jody Teiche: I love Play, Pet Lifestyle & You.

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Jody Teiche: They are a beautiful brand that makes beds, and toys, and mats, and all sorts of wonderful, really cool-looking products for our pets who we love.

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Jody Teiche: So, I'm here yet again with Ms.

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Jody Teiche: Natalie Hennessey, who is the Director of PR and Marketing for the brand.

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Jody Teiche: This is what our eighth year, Natalie.

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Natalie Hennessey: I think tenth.

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Natalie Hennessey: I've been here ten years.

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Jody Teiche: I've been here ten years too.

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Jody Teiche: Was it the very first time that I interviewed you?

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Natalie Hennessey: I think so, yes.

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Jody Teiche: And we won't talk about how much older we are, but let's talk about the products.

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Jody Teiche: New products.

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Jody Teiche: And you have some really cool things that one of them, in particular, I mean, the first thing I said is it's like the activity mats that we bought for our kids when they were young.

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Jody Teiche: And this is what is happening with our pets.

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Jody Teiche: Talk about these activity mats for dogs.

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Natalie Hennessey: We have new stuff all mapped out.

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Natalie Hennessey: So for us, like you mentioned, we're always looking to really mentally engage and stimulate our pets.

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Natalie Hennessey: And we've really been seeing that the pet space has been kind of booming with these mats, and we want to kind of add our own flair.

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Natalie Hennessey: So we have different styles.

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Natalie Hennessey: We started out with holiday last year.

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Natalie Hennessey: We launched a Christmas, a Thanksgiving, and a Halloween mat.

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Natalie Hennessey: And now everyone was like, where's the everyday mats?

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Natalie Hennessey: So we hurried up and kind of like picked our range, like what can we do to make these different?

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Natalie Hennessey: So we have a coral cove, and we actually added some detachable plush toys.

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Natalie Hennessey: So you can put them in the holes and like the dogs can pull out the toy, have the squeaker aspect, but they can also have all these cool slits and like little pieces where they can like tuck in their treats.

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Natalie Hennessey: And we've just seen them do so well.

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Natalie Hennessey: I feel like they're really well received.

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Natalie Hennessey: We love to have fun.

00:15:58.277 --> 00:15:58.877
Natalie Hennessey: You know, we love color.

00:15:59.537 --> 00:16:01.217
Natalie Hennessey: So we also have a nice birthday mat.

00:16:01.237 --> 00:16:02.997
Natalie Hennessey: We're looking, I know people are always looking for birthday gifts.

00:16:03.137 --> 00:16:04.597
Natalie Hennessey: There's a candle that comes out.

00:16:04.737 --> 00:16:07.337
Natalie Hennessey: There's a really cute cake in the middle, and there's a card that opens up.

00:16:07.597 --> 00:16:09.337
Natalie Hennessey: So adding little crinkle elements.

00:16:09.677 --> 00:16:12.257
Natalie Hennessey: And they're all washable, which is always so important to us.

00:16:12.437 --> 00:16:14.357
Natalie Hennessey: We also have a savory sunrise breakfast one.

00:16:14.557 --> 00:16:18.997
Natalie Hennessey: You can start your day off with enrichment and fun and just have that time with your pet while you're watching the sunrise.

00:16:19.377 --> 00:16:26.477
Natalie Hennessey: So we're just always trying to find a way to bring just joy to pets and just try to really keep that going with that mental simulation.

00:16:26.517 --> 00:16:28.737
Natalie Hennessey: So I love the fact they have non-slip bottoms.

00:16:28.757 --> 00:16:30.837
Natalie Hennessey: It's just always just it's always fun.

00:16:30.857 --> 00:16:32.477
Natalie Hennessey: We have a great time trying to dye in all these things.

00:16:32.797 --> 00:16:36.697
Natalie Hennessey: We also, in enrichment and expanding more, we launched our Alien Buddies collection.

00:16:36.717 --> 00:16:38.837
Natalie Hennessey: So, you know, we don't really have any super chewer toys.

00:16:38.857 --> 00:16:39.977
Natalie Hennessey: That's been something we've been hearing about.

00:16:40.197 --> 00:16:42.257
Natalie Hennessey: This Alien Buddies toy has a plush outer shell.

00:16:42.537 --> 00:16:47.277
Natalie Hennessey: And if it does get ripped off, inside is a dishwasher safe, hard rubber like toy.

00:16:47.537 --> 00:16:48.557
Natalie Hennessey: It has a bottom opening.

00:16:48.577 --> 00:16:49.637
Natalie Hennessey: You can slip treats in it.

00:16:49.657 --> 00:16:51.117
Natalie Hennessey: So you can also have that as well.

00:16:51.137 --> 00:16:53.957
Natalie Hennessey: You know, it's always so cute seeing the dogs there, like trying to lick out the peanut butter.

00:16:54.437 --> 00:16:58.477
Natalie Hennessey: They're a little bit heavier, but again, they're really designed for bigger dogs, more medium to big dogs.

00:16:58.757 --> 00:17:00.417
Natalie Hennessey: Three different types of shapes right now.

00:17:00.597 --> 00:17:04.057
Natalie Hennessey: We have a robot rover, a little star blaster guy, and a rocket ship.

00:17:04.077 --> 00:17:04.677
Natalie Hennessey: So that's great.

00:17:04.917 --> 00:17:05.697
Natalie Hennessey: And then the kitties.

00:17:05.977 --> 00:17:06.997
Natalie Hennessey: We have not forgotten about kitties.

00:17:07.017 --> 00:17:08.537
Jody Teiche: Yes, let's not forget the kitties.

00:17:08.677 --> 00:17:10.597
Natalie Hennessey: And every year they're like, what do you have for cats?

00:17:10.617 --> 00:17:12.157
Natalie Hennessey: And I feel like we've always used some plush toys.

00:17:12.177 --> 00:17:16.277
Natalie Hennessey: So we're really repurposing a lot of our dog bedding fabric and trying to bring them back in cool shapes.

00:17:16.297 --> 00:17:20.897
Natalie Hennessey: So we have this Lafollette fabric that we sourced with a designer out of France forever ago.

00:17:20.917 --> 00:17:21.897
Natalie Hennessey: Probably the first time we chatted.

00:17:22.277 --> 00:17:25.757
Natalie Hennessey: And we repurposed it into a perfect playtime mat, so it has a crinkle element.

00:17:26.017 --> 00:17:29.737
Natalie Hennessey: We introduced that catnip that we always use that's sourced out of the Pacific Northwest.

00:17:29.937 --> 00:17:30.797
Natalie Hennessey: So it has that element.

00:17:30.817 --> 00:17:32.497
Natalie Hennessey: It has little dangle-y things that are really fun.

00:17:32.777 --> 00:17:34.657
Natalie Hennessey: Kitties can lay on it, play with it, scratch it.

00:17:34.677 --> 00:17:37.337
Natalie Hennessey: There's a non-slip bottom, so again, safety is always really important to us.

00:17:37.677 --> 00:17:40.577
Natalie Hennessey: We have some new donut beds, so there's that cuddly soft aspect.

00:17:41.137 --> 00:17:44.797
Natalie Hennessey: A new chill pad as well for them that has the catnip again also in it.

00:17:45.017 --> 00:17:46.317
Natalie Hennessey: And there is a cat crinkle sack as well.

00:17:46.337 --> 00:17:47.177
Natalie Hennessey: It's coming out in July.

00:17:47.197 --> 00:17:49.977
Natalie Hennessey: We sold out pretty fast with the retailers, but it has a crinkly element.

00:17:49.997 --> 00:17:50.857
Natalie Hennessey: You can go in and burrow.

00:17:50.877 --> 00:17:54.697
Natalie Hennessey: It has a little feathery dangle element as well for like play, sleep, fun.

00:17:54.977 --> 00:17:56.437
Natalie Hennessey: So just really trying to bring things out.

00:17:56.457 --> 00:18:02.117
Natalie Hennessey: I know the cats, like we tend to have a lot of dog toys that work for kitties, but really trying to create more of a market in the cat space as well.

00:18:02.297 --> 00:18:02.737
Jody Teiche: You know what?

00:18:02.957 --> 00:18:05.537
Jody Teiche: It is a market that is growing rapidly.

00:18:05.577 --> 00:18:07.317
Jody Teiche: I noticed it at Global this year.

00:18:07.937 --> 00:18:13.337
Jody Teiche: First of all, cats are getting far more attention now than they ever have before, and that's growing.

00:18:13.857 --> 00:18:20.837
Jody Teiche: More and more people have cats, and you know cat parents are fierce cat fans with a capital F.

00:18:21.577 --> 00:18:27.137
Jody Teiche: So I'm seeing like people telling me brands that their cat things are flying out the door.

00:18:27.617 --> 00:18:31.277
Jody Teiche: So yeah, I think it's a really smart idea, and I love how everything is very thoughtful.

00:18:31.557 --> 00:18:39.517
Jody Teiche: And guys, these Snuffle slash Activity Mats are super, super cute.

00:18:39.877 --> 00:18:48.397
Jody Teiche: I'm talking about really think modern like Activity Mats, colorful Activity Mats for kids, for our furry kids.

00:18:48.777 --> 00:18:55.937
Jody Teiche: And there's so much for them to do, and I know that I want my Suki to try that crinkly like Activity Mats.

00:18:55.977 --> 00:19:05.257
Jody Teiche: I think cats are going to love that between playing with the dangly little tassels and then the crinkly sounds and, you know, bunching it up like cats love to do, right?

00:19:05.637 --> 00:19:10.457
Jody Teiche: And I'm interested in sort of the tough big dog toys.

00:19:10.857 --> 00:19:13.817
Jody Teiche: How do you test those?

00:19:14.457 --> 00:19:16.937
Natalie Hennessey: So we have a wide range of brand ambassadors.

00:19:16.957 --> 00:19:17.657
Natalie Hennessey: We have a little program.

00:19:17.677 --> 00:19:18.437
Natalie Hennessey: It's our community.

00:19:18.457 --> 00:19:19.057
Natalie Hennessey: They've been with us.

00:19:19.077 --> 00:19:20.197
Natalie Hennessey: Some of them have been with us since the start.

00:19:20.417 --> 00:19:26.557
Natalie Hennessey: I started it back in 2015, and we've kind of grown it through customers, a lot of our products, and people we've met at these great shows.

00:19:26.917 --> 00:19:28.037
Natalie Hennessey: And we have them tested.

00:19:28.057 --> 00:19:30.017
Natalie Hennessey: We look for dogs that meet the criteria.

00:19:30.037 --> 00:19:31.477
Natalie Hennessey: Is it large, super chewer?

00:19:31.817 --> 00:19:33.657
Natalie Hennessey: And we have, you know, we also have smaller dogs.

00:19:33.677 --> 00:19:36.457
Natalie Hennessey: We go to this community and say, hey, can you try this out for us?

00:19:36.717 --> 00:19:37.657
Natalie Hennessey: What do you like about it?

00:19:37.677 --> 00:19:38.577
Natalie Hennessey: What don't you like about it?

00:19:38.737 --> 00:19:39.917
Natalie Hennessey: How was it in the dishwasher?

00:19:39.977 --> 00:19:40.777
Natalie Hennessey: Did it hold up?

00:19:41.097 --> 00:19:42.937
Natalie Hennessey: If it's washable, put it in your washer.

00:19:43.037 --> 00:19:44.057
Natalie Hennessey: Do you see any problems?

00:19:44.077 --> 00:19:45.157
Natalie Hennessey: So we go through a lot of testing.

00:19:45.337 --> 00:19:52.397
Natalie Hennessey: For us, it was really important because I know especially with enrichment toys where you put treats in, you need to have an extra hole for the air so that there's no suction.

00:19:53.017 --> 00:19:56.637
Natalie Hennessey: So we did a lot of tests with that, making sure that it was safety, because safety is so important to us.

00:19:56.917 --> 00:20:07.037
Natalie Hennessey: Honestly, we spend, I wish I could tell you how many hours and days we spend on these things, back and forth trying to make sure as a team, and then also utilizing our brand ambassadors, our community to really give us the feedback.

00:20:07.257 --> 00:20:09.437
Natalie Hennessey: And we listen and we adapt and try to make it better.

00:20:09.437 --> 00:20:11.557
Natalie Hennessey: So it took a couple months to get these off the ground.

00:20:11.577 --> 00:20:13.457
Natalie Hennessey: We have another set that we're going to be launching next global.

00:20:13.957 --> 00:20:15.737
Natalie Hennessey: Hopefully, you know, it used to do really well.

00:20:15.757 --> 00:20:19.717
Natalie Hennessey: And we're just really excited about just adding some new twists and really being able to offer the bigger dog something.

00:20:19.737 --> 00:20:22.177
Natalie Hennessey: Because we know plush is not, it's not indestructible.

00:20:22.637 --> 00:20:26.557
Natalie Hennessey: And some of our other toys that are USA made are great, but they're just not for super chewers.

00:20:26.577 --> 00:20:28.237
Natalie Hennessey: We just really wanted to offer more variety.

00:20:28.417 --> 00:20:30.377
Natalie Hennessey: Just like with the mini toys, we launched them for dogs.

00:20:30.397 --> 00:20:35.237
Natalie Hennessey: I mean, we were hearing cat parent, or little dog parents were buying cat toys, taking out the catnip.

00:20:35.257 --> 00:20:36.137
Natalie Hennessey: And we're like, what are we doing?

00:20:36.157 --> 00:20:41.317
Natalie Hennessey: Let's just shrink down some of our popular collections and really offer something, because small dogs are underserved.

00:20:41.337 --> 00:20:49.617
Natalie Hennessey: They don't have that same variety, that interactiveness, where you can pull it apart and put it back together with Velcro or the bungee aspects.

00:20:49.637 --> 00:20:52.757
Natalie Hennessey: And a lot of them, our dog toys are too big for a little seven pound dog.

00:20:52.777 --> 00:20:59.657
Natalie Hennessey: So trying to really cater to everyone, that's really what we do, which is why we have so many great things, and we launch so many things every year, which is always hard to market.

00:20:59.677 --> 00:21:01.137
Natalie Hennessey: But it's just so much fun.

00:21:01.157 --> 00:21:03.017
Natalie Hennessey: We're always out there trying to figure out how do we fill that gap?

00:21:03.037 --> 00:21:03.817
Natalie Hennessey: What do people want?

00:21:04.077 --> 00:21:06.117
Natalie Hennessey: And listening to our retailers, listening to our customers.

00:21:06.417 --> 00:21:07.277
Natalie Hennessey: What can we do better?

00:21:07.297 --> 00:21:08.637
Natalie Hennessey: Yeah.

00:21:08.657 --> 00:21:10.137
Jody Teiche: I mean, that's the thing, really.

00:21:10.957 --> 00:21:11.697
Jody Teiche: Market driven.

00:21:11.717 --> 00:21:12.717
Jody Teiche: What do people want?

00:21:12.717 --> 00:21:13.677
Jody Teiche: What are the holes?

00:21:13.857 --> 00:21:20.717
Jody Teiche: And hearing, you know, it's fun to hear from you a little bit of the behind the scenes, how you figure it out.

00:21:21.177 --> 00:21:22.857
Jody Teiche: And you do what you do really well.

00:21:23.237 --> 00:21:24.877
Jody Teiche: Remind people where they can find you.

00:21:25.077 --> 00:21:28.977
Natalie Hennessey: They can find us on petplay.com or on Instagram at Pet Play SF.

00:21:29.357 --> 00:21:34.177
Natalie Hennessey: And we do have retailers as well if for some reason you want to come and carry our products, come on over.

00:21:34.197 --> 00:21:39.757
Natalie Hennessey: You can fill out the form, but we are always offering specials and there's always great things if you sign up and follow us.

00:21:39.977 --> 00:21:42.077
Natalie Hennessey: You could be an expert investor for us as well.

00:21:42.097 --> 00:21:44.217
Natalie Hennessey: So feel free to reach out and ask any questions.

00:21:44.237 --> 00:21:45.637
Natalie Hennessey: We have a great forum and a help center as well.

00:21:46.037 --> 00:21:47.317
Jody Teiche: Thank you so much, Natalie.

00:21:47.417 --> 00:21:48.717
Jody Teiche: Always great to see you.

00:21:49.037 --> 00:21:49.577
Natalie Hennessey: Thank you.

00:21:49.597 --> 00:21:50.577
Natalie Hennessey: Always great to see you as well.

00:21:51.277 --> 00:22:06.877
Jody Teiche: So if you go on the pictures associated with these interviews, you're going to see beautiful, feathery, furry, fabulous sweaters for dogs in beautiful colors.

00:22:07.217 --> 00:22:09.617
Jody Teiche: And that's what stopped me in my tracks.

00:22:10.257 --> 00:22:11.917
Jody Teiche: And I walked over to MaxBone.

00:22:12.697 --> 00:22:23.897
Jody Teiche: So I'm here with Mariana, the Director of Marketing, and she's going to tell us all about the really fun and also functional fashion that we have here.

00:22:24.057 --> 00:22:24.817
Jody Teiche: Hi, Mariana.

00:22:24.837 --> 00:22:26.237
Mariana: Hey, how are you, Jody?

00:22:26.557 --> 00:22:31.677
Mariana: Yeah, so MaxBone was founded to be a one-stop shop for all modern pet needs.

00:22:32.057 --> 00:22:37.137
Mariana: So you see here our Christian Cohen jumper, which we did in collaboration with the British designer Christian Cohen.

00:22:37.457 --> 00:22:46.757
Mariana: He's responsible for designing costumes for like Lady Gaga, J.Lo, Mariah Carey, and we brought, you know, his iconic designs to the pet industry.

00:22:47.017 --> 00:22:58.617
Mariana: So this has been a bestseller, but also you can find, for example, raincoats or lightweight jackets that are equally nice, aesthetically, and also very functional.

00:22:59.197 --> 00:23:02.177
Mariana: We also have these link area bags that you see here.

00:23:02.197 --> 00:23:05.217
Mariana: They're eco-friendly because they're made of water bottles.

00:23:05.777 --> 00:23:09.357
Mariana: So, yeah, we think about, of course, like the iconic designs.

00:23:09.377 --> 00:23:13.857
Mariana: We want to be very Instagrammable, but also we never forget about the functional aspect.

00:23:14.257 --> 00:23:20.337
Mariana: And you see here with our leashes, our Go With These leash is our bestseller because it's three-in-one.

00:23:20.557 --> 00:23:23.777
Mariana: You can wear it across body, around your waist, or as a regular leash.

00:23:24.277 --> 00:23:33.617
Mariana: So you see here, you know, from treats to freeze-dried food, to grooming, carrier bags, we have everything for all the modern pattern needs.

00:23:34.517 --> 00:23:36.217
Jody Teiche: I love that.

00:23:36.497 --> 00:23:38.717
Jody Teiche: First of all, I love that you got Christian to do these.

00:23:38.737 --> 00:23:46.057
Jody Teiche: And actually a dear friend of mine in New York, Nina, has, I think, this hot pink one for her dog, Holly.

00:23:46.417 --> 00:23:47.757
Jody Teiche: Where is the brand based?

00:23:48.037 --> 00:23:49.337
Mariana: So we're based in Los Angeles.

00:23:49.657 --> 00:23:52.497
Mariana: We have our channel, our e-commerce channel, maxbone.com.

00:23:53.097 --> 00:23:57.037
Mariana: And we also sell internationally and nationally to independent pet boutiques.

00:23:57.277 --> 00:23:59.697
Mariana: We also own Bloomingdale's, Harrods, Selfridges.

00:24:00.097 --> 00:24:02.037
Mariana: And we recently have been acquired by WEG.

00:24:02.257 --> 00:24:05.817
Mariana: Yeah, and we are bringing our amazing pet supplies to the group.

00:24:06.077 --> 00:24:07.557
Mariana: And it has been amazing so far.

00:24:07.857 --> 00:24:09.377
Jody Teiche: That's fantastic, Mariana.

00:24:09.377 --> 00:24:10.557
Jody Teiche: Thank you so much.

00:24:10.697 --> 00:24:13.817
Jody Teiche: And where can people find you at maxbone.com?

00:24:14.057 --> 00:24:17.437
Mariana: maxbone.com and follow us on Instagram at TheMaxBone.

00:24:18.257 --> 00:24:18.657
Jody Teiche: Perfect.

00:24:18.677 --> 00:24:19.437
Jody Teiche: Thank you so much.

00:24:19.937 --> 00:24:20.717
Mariana: Thank you so much.

00:24:21.197 --> 00:24:23.337
Jody Teiche: Let's hang on to all of this goodness.

00:24:23.357 --> 00:24:25.597
Jody Teiche: We're going to take a short break from our sponsor.

00:24:25.957 --> 00:24:33.037
Jody Teiche: And when we come back, more new products and ideas for you to take in for your pets.

00:24:33.517 --> 00:24:34.977
Jody Teiche: So grab that favorite beverage.

00:24:35.477 --> 00:24:36.237
Jody Teiche: Get comfortable.

00:24:36.317 --> 00:24:37.237
Jody Teiche: We'll be right back.

00:24:43.241 --> 00:24:45.121
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00:24:50.501 --> 00:24:57.421
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00:25:27.421 --> 00:25:28.201
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets. Pet Life Radio

00:25:30.641 --> 00:25:47.704
Jody Teiche: You might have heard me talk about the Hunter brand in past episodes of Bark And Swagger.

00:25:48.124 --> 00:25:50.484
Jody Teiche: It is a beautiful, high-quality brand.

00:25:51.144 --> 00:26:00.244
Jody Teiche: And I am so pleased that at Global this year, I had the pleasure of meeting the CEO of the entire global brand.

00:26:00.624 --> 00:26:02.604
Jody Teiche: Her name is Nadine Troutwine.

00:26:03.344 --> 00:26:15.364
Jody Teiche: And just to give you a little bit of insight, Hunter has stores all over the world, a huge e-commerce business, and a huge B2B business all throughout Europe.

00:26:15.804 --> 00:26:25.344
Jody Teiche: So I'm very excited to be able to be with the source here, Nadine, who's going to tell us what's new at Hunter that you can get for your animal.

00:26:25.364 --> 00:26:26.164
Jody Teiche: Welcome, Nadine.

00:26:26.544 --> 00:26:27.264
Nadine Troutwine: Thank you very much.

00:26:27.364 --> 00:26:28.164
Nadine Troutwine: Great to be here.

00:26:28.184 --> 00:26:29.124
Nadine Troutwine: It's a pleasure to meet you.

00:26:29.444 --> 00:26:30.264
Jody Teiche: Thank you.

00:26:30.604 --> 00:26:37.064
Jody Teiche: So talk to us a little bit about what was the inspiration for Hunter?

00:26:37.544 --> 00:26:40.984
Jody Teiche: And then so we can sort of set the stage and then talk about what's new.

00:26:41.324 --> 00:26:43.904
Nadine Troutwine: Well, first of all, I have to say it's a family business.

00:26:44.484 --> 00:26:50.204
Nadine Troutwine: I took over the business nearly 20 years ago from my father, who established the company in 1980.

00:26:50.664 --> 00:26:53.364
Nadine Troutwine: So it's really lots of emotion included.

00:26:53.384 --> 00:26:55.204
Nadine Troutwine: It's like our baby, really.

00:26:55.524 --> 00:26:58.944
Nadine Troutwine: So this is what we are standing up for every morning.

00:26:59.444 --> 00:27:01.804
Nadine Troutwine: We believe in high quality products.

00:27:01.804 --> 00:27:14.024
Nadine Troutwine: We believe in premium, and we believe in serving our customers as best as possible, as we believe that when our customer is happy, then in the end, we are happy as well.

00:27:14.104 --> 00:27:19.424
Nadine Troutwine: So this is what is really one of our motivations every day.

00:27:19.444 --> 00:27:25.544
Jody Teiche: So that's beautiful that it's a family business, and it's been in the family for decades.

00:27:25.864 --> 00:27:30.064
Jody Teiche: Did it start with only sort of specific things?

00:27:30.484 --> 00:27:38.604
Jody Teiche: Was it for dogs and cats, or was it for horses, or was it for like, how did it start with what kind of key product or product?

00:27:38.904 --> 00:27:48.164
Nadine Troutwine: My father started with leather articles for dogs, like collars and leashes, and all types of leather types and designs.

00:27:49.144 --> 00:28:00.164
Nadine Troutwine: And over the year, the categories get bigger and bigger, and by now we have 3,500 different SKUs in our assortment, and the assortment is growing.

00:28:00.184 --> 00:28:17.404
Nadine Troutwine: And we're very innovative, so there's every year 300, 400, 500 new article numbers entering in our assortment, and just because we are listening to what the customer really needs and what the customer really wants, and then we're developing this under the Hunter brand.

00:28:17.924 --> 00:28:19.384
Jody Teiche: Yeah, and you can get everything.

00:28:19.444 --> 00:28:29.564
Jody Teiche: I mean, yes, collars and leashes, beautiful of every type, whether you want vegan, whether you want leather, beds, bowls, toys, so much.

00:28:30.104 --> 00:28:32.304
Jody Teiche: Tell us what's new for Hunter.

00:28:32.904 --> 00:28:36.464
Nadine Troutwine: Something is always something new, I have to say.

00:28:36.724 --> 00:28:38.124
Nadine Troutwine: We are never standing still.

00:28:38.144 --> 00:28:51.664
Nadine Troutwine: There's always changes in the company, whereas it's about products, but also about leadership and how we work with our talents, with our employees, with our people.

00:28:52.804 --> 00:29:02.464
Nadine Troutwine: But maybe one trend is looking very much on sustainability, sustainability, which I think is our duty as responsible people.

00:29:03.724 --> 00:29:05.944
Nadine Troutwine: I mean, the main part of our product is leather products.

00:29:05.964 --> 00:29:17.104
Nadine Troutwine: We manufacture in Germany, in Bielefeld, in our property, and we changed everything to the vegetable tannery processes.

00:29:17.124 --> 00:29:22.464
Nadine Troutwine: So this is one very, very big part, and just looking that we're using more recycling materials.

00:29:23.084 --> 00:29:32.104
Nadine Troutwine: We are in a program that we want to be CO2 emission-free in our part in Germany in 2030.

00:29:32.124 --> 00:29:35.024
Nadine Troutwine: So this is what we are aiming for at the moment and working hard on.

00:29:35.644 --> 00:29:41.724
Nadine Troutwine: And yeah, this is something that we are focusing on at the moment next to many, many other projects that we are working on.

00:29:43.064 --> 00:29:45.564
Jody Teiche: Yeah, that is beautiful.

00:29:45.604 --> 00:29:49.884
Jody Teiche: So you can be socially conscious and wear beautiful things at the same time.

00:29:50.304 --> 00:29:51.284
Jody Teiche: So that's wonderful.

00:29:51.704 --> 00:30:03.264
Jody Teiche: Is there a particular new like collar line or bed line or anything like that that you are debuting or just more of what you have been doing?

00:30:03.704 --> 00:30:08.024
Nadine Troutwine: Which is brand new is that we are really focusing on dog accessories in the past.

00:30:08.204 --> 00:30:12.664
Nadine Troutwine: And we just recently bought a cat brand last year.

00:30:12.704 --> 00:30:19.484
Nadine Troutwine: So we will actually now shift also the focus to more cat articles because it's a huge potential for us.

00:30:20.084 --> 00:30:25.984
Nadine Troutwine: And from my point of view, there are not so many nice premium cat articles in the market so far.

00:30:25.984 --> 00:30:29.024
Nadine Troutwine: So we think that we can do it in a very nice, nicely way.

00:30:29.104 --> 00:30:34.124
Nadine Troutwine: And this is what we actually present as well on the Interzoom in May, very shortly.

00:30:34.444 --> 00:30:39.904
Jody Teiche: So can you spill the beans on anything coming out cat for my cat parents listening?

00:30:40.464 --> 00:30:43.404
Nadine Troutwine: Lovely furniture, really nice products.

00:30:43.424 --> 00:30:49.744
Nadine Troutwine: You really want to put into your flat and not to hide when somebody is coming to visit you.

00:30:50.124 --> 00:30:54.944
Nadine Troutwine: So yeah, this is probably one of the nice things that will come.

00:30:55.804 --> 00:30:56.904
Jody Teiche: That's really exciting.

00:30:56.924 --> 00:30:58.504
Jody Teiche: So stay tuned for that, everyone.

00:30:58.524 --> 00:31:00.164
Jody Teiche: Nadine, thank you so much.

00:31:00.164 --> 00:31:01.464
Jody Teiche: We really appreciate you.

00:31:01.904 --> 00:31:03.384
Jody Teiche: And the brand is so beautiful.

00:31:03.524 --> 00:31:03.964
Jody Teiche: Thank you.

00:31:04.244 --> 00:31:04.964
Nadine Troutwine: Thank you very much.

00:31:04.984 --> 00:31:05.724
Nadine Troutwine: It was my pleasure.

00:31:05.804 --> 00:31:06.224
Nadine Troutwine: Thank you.

00:31:06.884 --> 00:31:15.324
Jody Teiche: One of my dear friends that I come to visit every year at Global is Gila Kurtz, and she and her husband John Kurtz created a brand.

00:31:15.364 --> 00:31:16.364
Jody Teiche: How many years ago now?

00:31:16.764 --> 00:31:18.244
Gila Kurtz: I think it's about 16 years.

00:31:18.524 --> 00:31:19.524
Jody Teiche: Oh, Lord have mercy.

00:31:19.524 --> 00:31:25.544
Jody Teiche: 16 years ago, that is everything if you love your dog, and it's called Dog Is Good.

00:31:25.984 --> 00:31:42.404
Jody Teiche: So whether it's clothing, whether it's certain products, gifts, and they have debuted something new that is so beautiful because of the world we live in and how we're trying to be more conscious about the environment that I want us to talk about here.

00:31:42.424 --> 00:31:43.904
Jody Teiche: And John, you are the guy to do it.

00:31:43.924 --> 00:31:46.024
Jody Teiche: So this is Gila and John Kurtz, everybody.

00:31:46.044 --> 00:31:46.584
John Kurtz: Hello.

00:31:47.344 --> 00:31:51.724
Jody Teiche: John, tell us about zero plastic waste bags.

00:31:51.924 --> 00:31:54.204
John Kurtz: Right, yeah, zero plastic waste bags.

00:31:54.404 --> 00:31:58.384
John Kurtz: There's a new technology in what's called polyvinyl alcohol.

00:31:58.604 --> 00:32:02.504
John Kurtz: You're probably familiar with polyvinyl alcohol because it's what breath strips are made of.

00:32:02.844 --> 00:32:09.264
John Kurtz: It's also what the Tide Pods and other soluble products like that are made of.

00:32:09.564 --> 00:32:20.924
John Kurtz: Well, our product goes a step further than polyvinyl alcohol, and to clarify, it's not our product per se, but we're the licensed brand for the manufacturer who's actually doing the product.

00:32:20.944 --> 00:32:26.584
John Kurtz: So he loved the Dog Is Good brand and wanted to do this application of the product for the pet space.

00:32:27.084 --> 00:32:31.984
John Kurtz: So this goes a step further, as I said, and it's constructive sugar cane.

00:32:32.244 --> 00:32:49.304
John Kurtz: So now not only is it water soluble, but it's entirely plant-based, and it is the, unequivocally, the best solution to single-use plastics for any application of its type, for any film use, per se.

00:32:49.324 --> 00:32:51.064
John Kurtz: But there's also some solid uses, too.

00:32:51.084 --> 00:33:01.584
John Kurtz: The same application for the same product, sugar cane base, is being used for replacing certain styrofoam applications like packing peanuts, meat trays, food service trays.

00:33:01.924 --> 00:33:11.104
John Kurtz: So now an organization like FEMA, for example, can have food trays that can be dissolved in a commercial, at large scale, in a commercial dishwasher.

00:33:11.624 --> 00:33:14.684
John Kurtz: So these are, as I said, these are water-soluble.

00:33:14.704 --> 00:33:27.924
John Kurtz: So water-soluble and poop bag, you might think that doesn't go together, but one of the secrets in this is how it's constructed, and it can be formulated to dissolve at different temperatures, depending on the application.

00:33:28.284 --> 00:33:48.884
John Kurtz: So a demonstration I do here at the show is I pour hot water on it, just to accelerate the process, and it immediately breaks, just totally breaks apart, and you can actually replicate that with, you might get your sink up to 150 degrees, and it's not that hot, I mean, it's not really that close to boil, I mean, it's hot to touch, but it'll dissolve right away in there too.

00:33:49.204 --> 00:33:52.884
John Kurtz: So if you're going to throw it into a toilet bowl, I tell people, don't expect it to break apart.

00:33:54.364 --> 00:33:57.764
John Kurtz: If you put a teaspoon of sugar into a glass of water, it's going to go to the bottom, right?

00:33:57.784 --> 00:34:05.024
John Kurtz: You need some mechanical action, and that's what sending it down through the wastewater disposal system will do.

00:34:05.304 --> 00:34:10.444
John Kurtz: It'll break apart on the way, it'll break apart there, the microbes, microbial action and wastewater treatment will eat it.

00:34:11.444 --> 00:34:14.984
John Kurtz: But it'll dissolve in both an aerobic or anaerobic environment.

00:34:15.324 --> 00:34:18.024
John Kurtz: So if you have a septic system, it'll dissolve.

00:34:18.084 --> 00:34:30.164
John Kurtz: It can go to landfill, and it will dissolve by microbes, and because it will dissolve anaerobically, it can get compressed under other waste, and it'll still break apart.

00:34:30.464 --> 00:34:36.264
John Kurtz: Unlike plastic, which could last 500 years, and it would off-gas methane, this will not off-gas methane.

00:34:36.684 --> 00:34:47.904
John Kurtz: So it's going through a lot of testing right now, and literally, there's no better solution out there than the zero plastic waste bag.

00:34:48.464 --> 00:34:49.584
Jody Teiche: I love this.

00:34:50.064 --> 00:34:57.544
Jody Teiche: So a warm poop is not going to start breaking down, at least not while you still are holding the bag, correct?

00:34:57.864 --> 00:34:59.084
John Kurtz: Yeah, that's correct.

00:34:59.104 --> 00:35:04.264
John Kurtz: So the bag could deform depending how long or how hot is it outside.

00:35:04.524 --> 00:35:11.424
John Kurtz: And I will say, it's not plastic, so you have to get away from well, I can use it like I would any normal plastic, you can't.

00:35:11.444 --> 00:35:12.364
John Kurtz: You got to keep it dry.

00:35:12.664 --> 00:35:14.924
John Kurtz: You got to keep it out of humidity.

00:35:15.084 --> 00:35:23.944
John Kurtz: Just the regular keeping a cool, dry place really this time, keeping a cool, dry place, or it will start sticking together, it will be difficult to use.

00:35:24.064 --> 00:35:25.204
John Kurtz: But it's not plastic.

00:35:25.904 --> 00:35:31.984
Jody Teiche: That's a small price to pay to really have not a single molecule left when it decomposes.

00:35:32.284 --> 00:35:34.404
John Kurtz: Yeah, basically that's correct.

00:35:35.124 --> 00:35:54.144
John Kurtz: And we're seeing it now, municipalities are saying states, entire states, and around the world, it's not just the US and Canada that oh, no plastic use, no plastic, blah, blah, the UAE, United, you know, yeah, they're cracking down on it too.

00:35:54.384 --> 00:35:55.304
John Kurtz: We don't think about that.

00:35:55.324 --> 00:36:02.624
John Kurtz: One other word though, because we see all these compostables and biodegradables out there, you have to be careful about compost.

00:36:02.904 --> 00:36:06.784
John Kurtz: People sell compostable bags, and buyers think, well, it will work in a landfill.

00:36:06.804 --> 00:36:09.464
John Kurtz: No, it's going to last forever in a landfill.

00:36:09.724 --> 00:36:11.624
John Kurtz: Or I'm a home compost or I can do it.

00:36:11.644 --> 00:36:13.564
John Kurtz: Well, do you want dog poop in your compost?

00:36:13.784 --> 00:36:17.164
John Kurtz: It's not really safe because the bacteria can carry all the way through.

00:36:17.504 --> 00:36:25.744
John Kurtz: Now, if you're really careful and you're an expert composter and you've got a pre-season thing to, you know, to get your soil up to speed, yeah, okay.

00:36:25.964 --> 00:36:35.144
John Kurtz: But once you've got plants with vegetables, let's say, flowers, okay, you don't want dog poop in your compost.

00:36:36.024 --> 00:36:48.704
John Kurtz: As far as putting it in your green waste with the compostable bags, the people at the green waste facility will say, those knuckleheads are throwing plastic bags away still, and they're just going to take it out and throw it in the landfill.

00:36:48.884 --> 00:36:54.144
John Kurtz: But most municipalities, they just don't want dog poop in their green waste anyway, and for good reason.

00:36:54.704 --> 00:36:58.344
Jody Teiche: Okay, so this is all great information for pet parents.

00:36:58.364 --> 00:37:01.504
Jody Teiche: We go through so many poop bags.

00:37:01.784 --> 00:37:08.524
Jody Teiche: And for my cat too, sometimes I'll just use a poop bag to put all the stuff from the litter box in that we don't want, right?

00:37:08.944 --> 00:37:13.304
Jody Teiche: So this is something small that we can do, right?

00:37:14.824 --> 00:37:21.264
John Kurtz: Another thing I learned was that you don't want cat poop at all to go in your compost.

00:37:25.104 --> 00:37:26.984
John Kurtz: Yeah, apparently that's really, I didn't know.

00:37:27.184 --> 00:37:29.284
John Kurtz: I learned a lot of interesting things.

00:37:29.724 --> 00:37:30.804
Jody Teiche: I bet you did.

00:37:30.824 --> 00:37:32.644
Jody Teiche: I bet you did, but this is a beautiful product.

00:37:32.664 --> 00:37:33.704
Jody Teiche: Where can people get this?

00:37:34.064 --> 00:37:35.244
John Kurtz: Yeah, so we should have it out.

00:37:35.264 --> 00:37:37.024
John Kurtz: We're looking at June now.

00:37:37.044 --> 00:37:41.724
John Kurtz: We're finalizing packaging, and it will be a U.S.-made product.

00:37:42.044 --> 00:37:43.544
Jody Teiche: And this is on dogisgood.com.

00:37:43.704 --> 00:37:50.644
John Kurtz: It will be dogisgood.com, and yeah, soon it will be, we'll get it into distribution at a store near you.

00:37:51.424 --> 00:37:52.504
Jody Teiche: Thank you so much, John.

00:37:52.524 --> 00:38:00.644
Jody Teiche: Gila, tell us about a couple of new fashion-oriented things in the Dog Is Good repertoire catalog.

00:38:00.664 --> 00:38:11.524
Gila Kurtz: Yes, so every year we're always coming out with something new, of course, because the essence of the brand is celebrating who the dog lover is as a person and how they live their life with their dog.

00:38:11.544 --> 00:38:20.344
Gila Kurtz: And so this year, we are really focusing quite a bit on, as we do every year, getting people prepped for National Dog Mom Day.

00:38:20.904 --> 00:38:30.744
Gila Kurtz: And I'm always amazed at the number of retailers who actually are not aware that this is a real holiday that many millennials and Gen Xers definitely celebrate.

00:38:30.764 --> 00:38:32.244
Gila Kurtz: And it's the day before Mother's Day.

00:38:32.264 --> 00:38:43.684
Gila Kurtz: So we have a full feature of our dog mom best relationship ever product line on tunics, t-shirts, new colors, hats, tote bags, car magnets.

00:38:43.704 --> 00:38:44.884
Gila Kurtz: So it's just a great set.

00:38:45.164 --> 00:39:04.144
Gila Kurtz: And one of the things that we do as a brand specific when we're working with retailers, of course, is giving them marketing assets and ideas on how they can truly create experiences for their customers in their store and engage their customers through social and expand their reach in a much more profound way.

00:39:04.164 --> 00:39:10.244
Gila Kurtz: Additionally, new products are this has been, I can't even believe how popular this has been.

00:39:10.544 --> 00:39:11.824
Gila Kurtz: Whiskey and my dog.

00:39:11.844 --> 00:39:14.824
Gila Kurtz: We literally just came out with it like 10 days ago, I believe.

00:39:14.944 --> 00:39:18.584
Gila Kurtz: And it's already, it already almost sold out just as soon as we released it.

00:39:19.484 --> 00:39:22.184
Gila Kurtz: So of course we have it all in production again and back on the shelves.

00:39:22.644 --> 00:39:24.564
Gila Kurtz: Conversation not required.

00:39:24.584 --> 00:39:30.784
Gila Kurtz: Very typical for the guy who literally just wants to hang out with his dog and not get into a conversation.

00:39:30.804 --> 00:39:43.564
Gila Kurtz: But for the ladies who love to have a good conversation, we have our new Wine and My Dog both in a beautiful, yummy crew neck sweatshirt and a t-shirt, soon to be a hat as well.

00:39:43.584 --> 00:39:49.064
Gila Kurtz: We've been just so delighted at the response to this particular design.

00:39:49.084 --> 00:39:57.364
Gila Kurtz: Very simple but very apropos because this is really, truly, as I said earlier, how people are living their lives each and every day with their dogs.

00:39:58.184 --> 00:40:05.944
Gila Kurtz: And at the end of the day, it is all about just enjoying life the best that we can with the things that we love most.

00:40:05.964 --> 00:40:07.664
Gila Kurtz: And these days, it is our dogs.

00:40:08.144 --> 00:40:10.624
Jody Teiche: They make life so much better.

00:40:11.064 --> 00:40:11.844
Gila Kurtz: I love it.

00:40:11.944 --> 00:40:17.964
Jody Teiche: You'll be able to see photos of these things on the Bark And Swagger page of Pet Life Radio.

00:40:17.984 --> 00:40:19.084
Jody Teiche: Thank you so much, Gila.

00:40:19.244 --> 00:40:20.444
Gila Kurtz: Thanks so much, Jody.

00:40:20.944 --> 00:40:31.044
Jody Teiche: Three million cats are surrendered to shelters every year and one million of them, a third, are due to litter box issues.

00:40:31.904 --> 00:40:39.364
Jody Teiche: And so I'm here with Ken Wilkes, who is the VP of Sales and Marketing for Boxy Cat, a litter that I love and use.

00:40:39.424 --> 00:40:41.384
Jody Teiche: I use their Eco for my cat.

00:40:41.824 --> 00:40:56.944
Jody Teiche: And they have an innovation that is geared to everyone, but especially geared to shelter cats and cats that are in that system to help make sure that these things don't happen.

00:40:56.944 --> 00:40:59.024
Jody Teiche: Ken, thank you so much for doing the show.

00:40:59.504 --> 00:41:00.384
Ken Wilkes: It's a pleasure to be here.

00:41:01.184 --> 00:41:07.204
Jody Teiche: So tell us about this new formulation of the litter and what and why.

00:41:08.184 --> 00:41:17.824
Ken Wilkes: Well, when we learned that a million cats a year were literally losing their lives because they couldn't use the cat box, we started researching this about four years ago.

00:41:18.504 --> 00:41:22.204
Ken Wilkes: And we learned that cats can see in the ultraviolet spectrum.

00:41:23.104 --> 00:41:33.144
Ken Wilkes: And what that means is that cats can see what we can see with a black light when you shine a black light around your home to find where a cat's urinated or a dog's urinated.

00:41:33.464 --> 00:41:35.744
Ken Wilkes: They see that naturally without the black light.

00:41:36.484 --> 00:41:42.124
Ken Wilkes: So several years of testing later we learned that that's actually a visual cue for cats to urinate.

00:41:42.924 --> 00:41:55.144
Ken Wilkes: And so the irony is that everybody in America is scooping the clumps out of the litter box and they're taking that cue out of the litter box that cats need to say, oh, that's the place to go.

00:41:55.784 --> 00:41:58.904
Ken Wilkes: So we found a way to put that cue back in the litter box.

00:41:59.084 --> 00:42:05.484
Ken Wilkes: Our litter naturally fluoresces in ultraviolet so that cats can see it and say, that's the place to go.

00:42:06.104 --> 00:42:07.004
Jody Teiche: Amazing.

00:42:07.324 --> 00:42:09.344
Jody Teiche: Tell us how you do that.

00:42:09.724 --> 00:42:13.804
Jody Teiche: And so that we know, obviously you've done tests, but we know it's safe.

00:42:14.144 --> 00:42:20.104
Ken Wilkes: Yeah, we use a human grade ultraviolet ink that's applied directly to the litter.

00:42:20.844 --> 00:42:22.824
Ken Wilkes: So it's completely safe for cats.

00:42:23.324 --> 00:42:27.224
Ken Wilkes: And again, our motivation was just to save some cats' lives.

00:42:27.884 --> 00:42:38.164
Ken Wilkes: So we're introducing this litter as much as we possibly can into shelters, into places where cats are surrendered so they get a second chance at life.

00:42:39.284 --> 00:42:43.084
Jody Teiche: And where can people find you if they want this for their own home?

00:42:43.904 --> 00:42:47.604
Ken Wilkes: Well, boxycat.com does have litter available for sale.

00:42:47.624 --> 00:42:51.384
Ken Wilkes: We're also available for sale in brick and mortar stores like PetSmart.

00:42:52.204 --> 00:42:53.784
Ken Wilkes: And of course, amazon.com.

00:42:53.804 --> 00:42:55.624
Ken Wilkes: They carry everything that we have as well.

00:42:56.064 --> 00:42:58.104
Jody Teiche: And is this new line available now?

00:42:58.744 --> 00:42:59.264
Ken Wilkes: It is.

00:42:59.284 --> 00:43:02.664
Ken Wilkes: In fact, chewy.com just put it up for sale recently.

00:43:02.684 --> 00:43:07.264
Ken Wilkes: We're launching it at the show, but Chewy has it already up for sale if somebody's interested.

00:43:07.544 --> 00:43:08.024
Jody Teiche: Wonderful.

00:43:08.044 --> 00:43:09.124
Jody Teiche: Thank you so much, Ken.

00:43:09.344 --> 00:43:10.104
Ken Wilkes: Thank you very much.

00:43:10.784 --> 00:43:17.604
Jody Teiche: We're here at the Worthy Dog, and you know I cover this all the time because I love this brand.

00:43:17.944 --> 00:43:21.304
Jody Teiche: It is very affordable and very adorable.

00:43:21.924 --> 00:43:25.364
Jody Teiche: And you can find it so many places.

00:43:25.544 --> 00:43:26.584
Jody Teiche: So I do love them.

00:43:27.124 --> 00:43:33.364
Jody Teiche: And my friend now, because I come here every year to say hi to Debbie, Debbie Carroll.

00:43:33.384 --> 00:43:37.864
Jody Teiche: She is the Director of Design and Product Development for the Worthy Dog.

00:43:38.084 --> 00:43:41.864
Jody Teiche: They now, as of January, came out with the Worthy Cat.

00:43:42.364 --> 00:43:50.404
Jody Teiche: So for all you cat lovers and cat parents, there are really wonderful collars, toys that they're offering.

00:43:50.424 --> 00:43:54.144
Jody Teiche: And Debbie is going to tell us a little bit about what the Worthy Cat has to offer.

00:43:54.444 --> 00:43:54.884
Jody Teiche: Deb.

00:43:55.324 --> 00:43:59.904
Debbie Carroll: Okay, actually we have been shipping the cat collars for a couple of years.

00:44:00.224 --> 00:44:02.344
Debbie Carroll: And they're just the same as what we do for dog.

00:44:03.064 --> 00:44:05.744
Debbie Carroll: The cat toys started in January.

00:44:06.064 --> 00:44:06.904
Debbie Carroll: We have two kinds.

00:44:06.924 --> 00:44:10.684
Debbie Carroll: We have the plush that are made of a plush soft fabric.

00:44:10.984 --> 00:44:16.604
Debbie Carroll: And then we have the kicker toys, which are for the lay on the back, kick with your back feet type toys.

00:44:16.804 --> 00:44:22.864
Debbie Carroll: And those are made of a stronger Oxford nylon fabric, since they scratch them quite a lot.

00:44:23.204 --> 00:44:27.724
Debbie Carroll: So the plush toys, all the toys have organic catnip and crinkle in them.

00:44:28.324 --> 00:44:32.904
Debbie Carroll: And the plush toys, they're all very similar to the dog toys that we already have success with.

00:44:32.924 --> 00:44:36.604
Debbie Carroll: We picked our best dog toys and did the cat toys for them.

00:44:37.244 --> 00:44:40.444
Debbie Carroll: They are $2.95 for the small plush toys.

00:44:40.844 --> 00:44:45.824
Debbie Carroll: And with a few exceptions, the kicker toys are $4.95.

00:44:45.844 --> 00:44:47.344
Debbie Carroll: And then we have the sets.

00:44:47.684 --> 00:44:55.544
Debbie Carroll: We have a lot of birthday sets and just the mouse and cheese, wasabi, just cat, favorite cat things.

00:44:56.004 --> 00:44:57.384
Debbie Carroll: So that's pretty much it.

00:44:57.544 --> 00:45:03.764
Jody Teiche: Okay, so with the cat collars, they can get out of them, if God forbid they need to, which dogs?

00:45:03.984 --> 00:45:05.744
Debbie Carroll: Yeah, they're all breakaway buckles.

00:45:05.884 --> 00:45:06.844
Debbie Carroll: Yes, breakaway buckles.

00:45:06.864 --> 00:45:07.644
Jody Teiche: So that's different.

00:45:07.964 --> 00:45:10.224
Debbie Carroll: So you can find them when they're hiding.

00:45:11.864 --> 00:45:16.804
Debbie Carroll: But we've had a lot of success with the collars, which is why we expanded the line into the toys.

00:45:17.084 --> 00:45:20.604
Jody Teiche: And the thing I love about the Worthy Dog is they love to match.

00:45:20.624 --> 00:45:25.344
Jody Teiche: And all of us who love fashion, we love things that match or off match.

00:45:25.344 --> 00:45:26.904
Jody Teiche: You know, it's not quite exact.

00:45:27.424 --> 00:45:33.364
Jody Teiche: And I saw over there, you now have these really cute beach clothes with beach hats and everything for our dogs.

00:45:33.544 --> 00:45:34.924
Jody Teiche: Tell us a little bit about that.

00:45:34.944 --> 00:45:35.764
Debbie Carroll: The bucket hats, yes.

00:45:35.784 --> 00:45:40.664
Debbie Carroll: Well, we design our own prints, so we take and use those prints in every category.

00:45:40.684 --> 00:45:46.024
Debbie Carroll: So the collars will have a matching bow tie and matching flower, which also work for cats, the size small.

00:45:46.564 --> 00:45:50.324
Debbie Carroll: We have shirts and dresses with the same prints as the collars and leads.

00:45:50.344 --> 00:45:53.204
Debbie Carroll: The bucket hats have the same prints and the toys have the same prints.

00:45:53.404 --> 00:45:56.704
Debbie Carroll: So you can make a really cute end cap for dog and cat with those.

00:45:56.964 --> 00:45:57.724
Jody Teiche: And gifts.

00:45:58.284 --> 00:45:59.744
Jody Teiche: A gift basket.

00:45:59.864 --> 00:46:04.784
Debbie Carroll: Well, yes, and we also started with some party hats that are hats.

00:46:04.924 --> 00:46:10.024
Debbie Carroll: But if you cut the elastic cord off, they're all crinkle and they become toys.

00:46:11.124 --> 00:46:13.704
Jody Teiche: I saw that last time, and that's really adorable.

00:46:13.724 --> 00:46:16.644
Jody Teiche: And you do them also holiday specific.

00:46:16.664 --> 00:46:17.864
Debbie Carroll: Yeah, holiday specific.

00:46:17.864 --> 00:46:22.144
Debbie Carroll: The best ones are the birthday, the Christmas and the cowboy hat.

00:46:22.164 --> 00:46:26.444
Debbie Carroll: So people take the pictures, make a great Christmas gift or birthday gift.

00:46:26.464 --> 00:46:31.244
Debbie Carroll: They take the pictures, they cut the elastics draw cord off, and then they play with it.

00:46:31.564 --> 00:46:32.044
Jody Teiche: I love it.

00:46:32.064 --> 00:46:33.104
Jody Teiche: Where can people find you?

00:46:33.124 --> 00:46:35.524
Jody Teiche: I know everywhere, but where can they find you easiest?

00:46:36.444 --> 00:46:39.024
Debbie Carroll: Online, on our website, theworthydog.com.

00:46:39.524 --> 00:46:40.044
Jody Teiche: Perfect.

00:46:40.064 --> 00:46:41.244
Jody Teiche: Thank you, Deb.

00:46:41.824 --> 00:46:42.424
Debbie Carroll: You're welcome.

00:46:42.704 --> 00:46:43.684
Debbie Carroll: Thank you for stopping.

00:46:44.084 --> 00:46:47.384
Jody Teiche: I can't believe that it's already done.

00:46:47.384 --> 00:46:54.344
Jody Teiche: We've come to the end of another global, and I'm excited about sharing Super Zoo with you.

00:46:54.644 --> 00:47:00.184
Jody Teiche: Global and Super Zoo are the two big pet trade shows of the year in the US.

00:47:00.684 --> 00:47:03.964
Jody Teiche: Super Zoo is coming up in August, so stay tuned for that.

00:47:04.484 --> 00:47:11.544
Jody Teiche: And it has been wonderful sharing these brands and ideas and creativity with you.

00:47:11.964 --> 00:47:15.724
Jody Teiche: And as pet parents, I hope that they make a difference in the lives of your pets.

00:47:16.304 --> 00:47:19.544
Jody Teiche: So until next time, this is Jody L.

00:47:19.544 --> 00:47:24.044
Jody Teiche: Teiche when fierce fashion calls Bark And Swagger!

00:47:24.764 --> 00:47:27.644
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00:47:28.204 --> 00:47:30.784
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