blog GAMIL: an insider look at design » animals

Raleigh’s most accomplished resident is Cordmaker Field of Dreams!

beth — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:48:08 +0000

Cordmaker Field of Dreams, or Conrad, is a Puli dog and won BEST OF BREED at the prestigious 2008 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Conrad is almost 4 years old (young for a Puli show dog) and is owned by Susan Huebner and Jackie Beaudoin.

Who knew such an exotic and talented superstar lived right here in my home town of Raleigh, NC?

According to the Westminster site, a Puli is a sheepherding dog from Hungary. His corded coat can reach down to the ground by the time the dog is 4-5 years old, and it starts forming naturally when the dog is a puppy of about 9-12 months of age. The Puli Club of America site goes further to say that it is impossible to stop the cording…there’s no such thing as a brushed Puli. But the owner does need to make sure each newly formed cord separates from the other cords or he will just be one giant matt.

One other thing…apparently it doesn’t take much longer to bathe a Puli than any other dog, but you have to dry the dog which can take a couple hours. Leaving the hair damp can lead to mildew. eeeew.

local spotlight: Casey Porn’s cute creatures

beth — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:56:25 +0000

Check out Casey’s latest work, featured in a show at The Morning Times in Raleigh this month. Opening night is tonight! She’s been a favorite artist of mine for the past few years, and Designbox has had a number of very successful shows with her. Casey started painting Chihuahuas but has since developed her creature collection, adding other dogs, does, dinosaurs and even squids!

She is also one of the artists in our Mila Art Jackets Collection
(Paul Friedrich did the cowboy. We’ll be bloggin ’bout him later) .

To see more of her work, go here.

“Pet Couture” is now a real (and thriving) product category

beth — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:56:48 +0000

We’ve all seen the pix of the crazy stars toting their animals around in fancy “doggie bags,” and heard about people who get air conditioned houses for their dogs, or feed them steak or get them $200 worth of gifts a week (yeah, saw that on the Dog Whisperer. Dogs names were Gucci and Prada, but Prada – or maybe it was Gucci – died so the other one got mega-gifts each week to make up for the heartbreak).

Anyway, it seems Pet Couture is not just for rich crazies anymore. I kinda knew this already, but I was in Target the other day and basically freaked out when I got to the pet section. There was a whole fashion display, with ruffley dresses , athletic shirts and hoodies, and even Woolrich button down shirts, all hanging on hangers…I’m surprised there wasn’t a dressing room.

Here is a sampling of nifty (or just weird) gifts you can get to glam out your pet.

Chickens are cool

ty — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 22:37:01 +0000

Backyard farming for the digital age. Which came first? The Omlet or the iMac. iMac of course, if your talking about the eglu. Some assembly required, in 5 brilliant colors and comes with chickens…plug and play. If you live near me in Raleigh you will be in good company and possibly the toast of the “Tour d’Coop” with one of these eggPODs. Now, more than ever, just keeping up with “the Jones’s” could end with egg on your face.

Zonkeys and other design inspirations from the NC State Fair

beth — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 22:03:26 +0000

Ahhh, the NC State Fair…a source of artistic wonder and inspiration. I go every year, more than once if I can help it, although this year, I was only able to go once. It’s comfortingly the same, but at the same time, always new. I look at the Fair every year and wonder why a lukewarm hotdog tastes great for $4, when anywhere else I would have paid $2 and sent it back if it wasn’t steaming. I wonder why I absolutely have to try (or at least see someone else try) the latest deep-fried concoction (this year it was deep fried oreos). I wonder why it’s so exciting to pay a dollar for the chance to win a 3foot wide stuffed basketball or giant Spongebob when (a) I know I won’t actually win it, (b) it’s not actually worth a dollar, and (c) I don’t really want it.

To me, the Fair is marketing and advertising at its best. Sure, the claims are ridiculous. Sure, there may be some bait and switch tactics going on, but it’s fun AND everyone knows it’s a rip-off before they pay to play. We’re NOT being taken advantage of because we KNOW we’re being taken advantage of. We’re in on the joke. We know deep down that the giant horse probably isn’t actually the biggest horse in the world…that the giant rat is probably not actually a rat…and that the piglet races are really funny AND free to see.

From a design perspective, the Fair is an overwhelming display of unpretention that has the amazing ability to speak to any age group, either gender, and many income brackets. It’s a carnival that feels like today and “yesteryear” all at the same time. The games, with the combination of signage, the wall of prizes, and the talented crier have that “C’mon, everybody’s doing it,” allure that makes you have to jump in for your chance. There are handpainted funhouse facades and handwritten signs, complete with misspellings. There are all sorts of different cakes on display by local cakes designers , and NC-citizen-designed quilts and cross stitching right beside them. There’s a 1,178lb pumpkin. AND one of the biggest memories for me this year…I saw a pig that paints “as seen on Oprah.” Yes.

Pardon the quality of this image, but if it wasn’t this bad, would you believe it?