Open to the Public

Well, for the first time ever we are having a "Holiday Warehouse Sale", Open to the Public this Wed. We will host this in our warehouse space. We have posted flyers in our Georgetown neighborhood and of course used mass emails and Facebook to get the word out.  We will have a sale on close-out items and offer wholesale prices to the regular public for one day only. I have no idea how many people will show up!

Perhaps this can be an annual event. It is a nice excuse to bring out the Christmas decorations for the office! I will let you know how it goes. Better yet, you should come!

Stay tuned.

Christmas Pet Accessories

Let's admit it. We love to spoil our pets. So why should the holidays be any different? There will be stockings and gifts with Fido or Kittie's name on it under the tree. Our pets will get treats, toys and accessories.

We also have some adorable Holiday/Christmas pet id tags that will liven up their collars. Santas, Snowmen and snowflakes. So cute! Personalize the back with address and phone number.

How about Christmas collars that have holiday colors of red and metallics?

As of this morning, (I barley had the patience to wait until after Thanksgiving) my Pal Kozmo is sporting his metallic, Christmas collar and holiday pet id tag.

New Dog Collar Designs

They are here! Our new exclusive designs in dog collars and harnesses. Took some time to have ribbons made and shipped here. Our sewers in Seattle are working hard to get collars, etc sewn to get out to the stores.

As you can see this pattern of skulls have matching pet id tags. The stores have loved our new designs. Let's hope this is a prosperous fall season!

Website Building

I am not sure how many of you out there run your own website but I do know that it is a lot of work! We now have 2 websites, one for retail sales www.petelegance.com and one for our wholesale customers, www.petelegancewholesale.com . Both have different hosts. The first I built on my own through www.store.yahoo.com. Yahoo has an easy template to follow that includes a shopping cart. My only complaint is that the cart can not do multiple items and prices at once. For instance, I have a dog collar in 3 sizes, each a different price. It won't let me have one listing for that. I have to list each size and price separately. Pain! And looks cluttered. The "wholesale" site is through Network Solutions.

Network Solutions is able to do these shopping cart features. A very sophisticated site and still pretty easy to fill in the blanks. My complaint of this host is that their templates are quite boring. I do not have skills to design and build my own so I have to stick with what they offer if I want to stay on budget. But I will say that I feel proud I was able to even build these! It takes many hours of data input and photos and some design. Now I just need more hours of the day to keep updating them!

Manufacturing

I am having a tough time convincing our sewing contractors to make our eco dog toys. See, the sewers want to sew. The toys have no sewing involved. There is fabric and cutting and tying. That is it. So I am trying to convince them in this slow market it is a great project! "Ha", they tell me. Too fine of detailed cutting so they can't use there bulk cutting tools. Have to do each one individually. Which of course for me means more expensive labor costs. So do I go out and search again for another contractor?

It is SOOOO difficult to find quality companies. The 2 contractors I use have great quality work. But they sew, not tie. "Sigh". I am giving each contractor some samples to make and I will find out if they want to pursue it or not. Gee, I hope so.

Business is booming. Really?

So this week seems to be my observation week of the economy. I was in my neighborhood pet boutique this morning where I buy Kozmo's food and they carry my product. I asked how business was in general. He said that this year is flat. Not up, not down. He felt that was good. I also spoke with another boutique owner not too far from him and she is struggling. So how is it that NPR had a story saying the pet industry is booming?

Well I took a closer look at these 2 store's situations. One is in a new development surrounded by condos and a fancy grocery store and hotel. But it is not an area that locals would come and walk around. It is a destination spot for groceries. If you are a hotel customer you will walk around and shop but that is it. The other store is also in a new neighborhood development. Has lots of great little shops around and new apartments. Both are considered in chic urban neighborhoods. Well where all of the customers? The boutiques are as they should be. High end, adorable products to spoil your pet any way you want. But maybe that is the problem right now? The market is different. People are still spoiling their pets but maybe not with items quite so expensive. So who is selling well?

I think the boutiques that are small chains with a broader range of product lines are doing well. I also feel you may need to cater to the "other pets"; birds, small animals, etc. Or perhaps you need to be in a higher income neighborhood? A touristy neighborhood? Someone is spending the money to get the statistics to where they are.

Well, I just bought my $65 bag of dog food this morning. Of course, Kozmo only gets the best. Perhaps those like me are keeping this thing alive!

NPR says Pet Industry is Booming!

Well, just after my tirade about the future of our economy, I heard a report on NPR how the pet industry is withstanding the recession. In fact sales have increased for the industry. I will say again that I felt lucky our sales have been strong this summer. I believe we still need to work hard for our customers. Now is the time we need to advertise, bring out new products and take care of our customers. We are working on all of these!

Future Economy Outlook

We hear tidbits in the media about the economy starting to turn around. Is it really? When we needed to hear that the most, was last year, but instead the media and candidates went on and on about the doom ahead. The public and world panicked. Rightly so. But I think we are still in deep trouble. Employment is still at an all-time low. The media is not being honest. I guess were they ever? Sorry for my pessimism, I don't have much faith in our media. Very ones sided and unforgiving to those who are not on the same slant.

ALthough the pet indsustry has avoided the economic downturn quite well, there is still this holiday retail season to come. The overall forecast is not good. The "stimulus" money still has not been handed out to create the so called shovel-ready jobs. So are people going to shop for Christmas? Last year was pretty bad. The retail shops that are still in business are going to need this year to keep them around. This may determine a lot.

So many friends and aquaintences have businesses that are really struggling or out of business. It may not sound like it but I am keeping my chin up! Hoping for the best. Everytime I need to reorder supplies for my products or hire the labor to make my products I feel good. Every bit counts. I really hope this year surprises us all and we see an increase in sales. The whole world needs a little boost in moral. Fingers are crossed and/or prayers are being said.

"Green" Dog toys

I am a tennis player and belong to a local tennis club. All of the used tennis balls usually are put in to a bin that gives the kids balls to practice with. But when those are too old, what happens to them? Our club pro gives them to anyone needing them. A big request comes from hospitals and nursing homes. They cut them and put them on feet of walkers! Well, I also know how much my dog loves tennis balls. There are many toys out there made with them but they are made with new ones.

I thought it would be fun to make toys with these used balls. I found a US company that makes felt from recycled plastic bottles. Great colors! So, our new adventure is a "green" dog toy. This is called "Ruff Candy". Our graphic designer made an adorable hang tag. The felt is wrapped around the balls and tied at ends with cut frays of fabric. They look a piece of wrapped candy! So cute. Should have first stock available in a couple of weeks. Need to take photos for brochure and of course we need to test with the public to see if they like them. They are considered a plushy toy so durability is not guaranteed. My dog loves to shred them. It's that ball he wants! FOr him, these toys are a "treat".

Check back to our website soon to see the bright Ruff Candy!

New Products for Fall

Normally when a company wants to introduce new products for the upcoming season it is done FAR in advance. Well, we are a little behind this year! I only recently came up with some fun and new patterns for dog collars. I had a bit of a blank for awhile. I came up with so many designs I had to pair them down. So I will split them into to two years.

I finally found a company who will custom print ribbons for us with small minimums. THe price is amazing too! I just sent the package with swatches of designs. We should get samples back in a couple of weeks. I am so excited! We will now have our exclusive line of designer dog collars that no one else can copy. Also today, I ordered the recycled felt for our new line of "green" dog toys. We have been collecting used tennis balls and using a felt that is made of recycled plastic. The colors are amazing. Our new line of toys is called "RUFF CANDY". We hope to have these finished in a couple of weeks. Stay Tuned!!!!!

Social Networks do work!

Just as I was writing about whether or not social networks work I received an email from a fellow Twitter business and she wants to carry our product in her store. We spoke about this issue and she said she checks every single person she follows on Twitter. She looks through their profile and web sites if any. She loved our product and the fact it is made in the US. Especially from the NW! She currently has a blog, www.dogchatter.com , They will soon be opening an online store as well.

Patience pays off!

Joining Social Networks

I finally joined Facebook. Not that I am techy challenged, I just thought why Should I subscribe to one more thing I have to maintain? I have several web sites, this blog, Twitter and now Facebook. I know there are many more I could join. AS much as I fight it, it is the present and future of our world.

My Twitter account is under the name Pet Elegance not me personally. Although Facebook I did join as Anette but I will start adding Pet Elegance info and links.

All of these networks add up. That is why they call it networking right? It is work but it is worth the effort. It may be small now but we do get responses and even some orders from these networks. You just never know who might be looking that one day. Perhaps Oprah? Ahh, I could retire.

Slow days of Summer

I can actually say that Seattle has started its summer! We have had record temperatures for the last two weeks. It is not only the temperature but just the fact it has been clear and sunny. Of course with nice weather comes the slower days of business but that gives us an excuse to have shorter days and weeks in the office. Leaving early on Fridays has a certain appeal to it!

This is the time we advertise more so that by the time the fall trade shows happen the stores will remember us for their fall and holiday purchasing. This is also a good time for us to design new patterns for accessories. Normally we order ribbons from companies that are not easy to find by others. But with the internet so strong now, we find other dog collar vendors are finding the same prints and using them. We are going to start designing our own again and have them manufactured so no one else can use them. We do have to order MANY more yards but it is better to keep our image as UNIQUE accessory designs.

The time spent on the computer with our blogs, Twitters, etc. can be done form home on the deck! Ah, I guess the internet is not all that bad. :)

One week in office space!

We made it! It only took us one day but it was a hard day! But we managed a very large truck with lift-gate and a handy pallet jack.

Can I tell you how excited we are to be in this new space???!!!!! It is so great. We have set up our offices and especially the warehouse. We have more room for more racking systems and things have their own spot now instead of squishing in to a tiny space. All of the dog collars and harnesses are in individual bins by size and color. The leashes have a designated wall rack that they hang on. It all sounds so silly but it is great. I can actually see what inventory we have now.

The best part is our little showroom at front of office. We set up nice displays for our reps to see. We don't have dig around warehouse for product. It is all right there for any to browse. We have a lot of curious new neighbors. This place is very pet friendly. We have quite a few sales just from them! I love the attention.

Sales seem to have gone up this week. I think it is good Feng Shui!

Moving today!

The thought of packing thousands on dog and cat collars, harnesses, leashes, office supplies, furniture, racking systems, etc.... Ugh. We got one small truck load moved yesterday. The odd stuff like computers, printers, lamps. SUe is picking up the truck this morning and the rest of us will meet her there at 9. I think we can do this fairly quickly.

The only part we have not figured out is how we are going to set the place up. We are sharing so we need to divide the warehouse space in half. That might be interesting. We have met some other business neighbors yesterday. A very pet friendly building. I think we will have lots of visitors. Perhaps we should set up a retail showroom!!!!!!????

Pet Business - Waiting for Landlord!

Our landlord originally told us we would have our new space move in ready 2 weeks ago! He told us when old tenants move out April 1 he would start work on it and we could even move in 2 weeks early and not pay rent for that part. Then 2 days later he says he is going on vacation for 2 weeks and he will start when he gets back! Weird?? We were hoping to at least move this coming Monday so we have time to clean our current space but he said not until Wed. That gives us one day to move and clean old space. Wow. Big difference.

But when has a renovation or move ever gone according to plan? Not very often. I just have to take a deep breath and it will work out just fine. I guess it gives us more time to pack?..........

But I am very excited to move there. Good energy about the place and good for the pet business!

Feng Shui for Success in Office

So I have been studying Feng Shui a bit to help organize our new space we are leasing. I went yesterday to stand outside front entrance and get compass direction. Faces pretty much West, slightly North. Perfect for me! I am a "West" person according to the charts. So now I can focus on strengthening areas in my office and entire warehouse that will encourage success and relationships.

It may sound hokey to many but the overall principle is commen sense. Clutter free and organized and support your strengths. It has made a comforatbel difference in my home also! My husband wasn't so sure at first but now admits he loves the changes and more homey feeling.

Of course we embelleshed the "wealth and fame" corners there also. :)
Let's hope it all works!

New Pet ID Tags are a hit!!

We are so happy with the success of our new pet tags. People like them for the fact that the designs are bright and fun yet still practical. Even better when they have the Swarovski rhinestone initial on the front.

With over 20 patterns to choose from everyone will find what they want.

I will say for the first couple of months we made these we had some technical problems but we designed a new metal base with bezel edges and all is great. The next hurdle was working with the resins in the cold damp climate of Seattle. So a few brands and climate controls later we are good to go. New products take a while to perfect.

When we first made cat collars about 10 years ago, I was not familiar with cats. I never had one! The collars we made were HUGE! Could have fit a medium dog. A few laughs and customer directions later we figured it out.

We got the Lease!

How exciting! We signed the new lease on space we mentioned. We were allowed to lease 1 year and cheap! It is perfect! Nice front office space divided in to two offices. (I share the warehouse with the company, Etta Says, dog treats.) In the back is our warehouse space with all of the product and packing tables, etc.

I am a follower of Feng Shui practices and will be studying the space this week to know where to place and organize everything. Colors, plants, pictures and water features. Have to make sure our wealth and fame corners are well dressed!

They are cleaning and painting the space this week so I am hoping to move this weekend or early week after. Packing up a warehouse is no easy feat. It is good for dumping things you have not used or touched in years. Helps with organizing also! We will have pallets to pile high on and then the racking systems might be a chore.

On a lighter note, we finally gave Kozmo a bath today! I have been so busy. Boy did he need it! Since I closed my retail store with self-serve wash it has been strange to go the competitors place. But we all know each other and they are happy to have my business now. Now Kozmo will smell nice in his new office space!

Looking for Office and Warehouse Space

We currently run our business out of a warehouse space in a funky part of Seattle called Georgetown. I am sharing it with another pet business that makes dog treats. Our lease is up next month and we have been looking for a new space. Our current one is just too dirty and has no heat and bathrooms are not clean! Long story but landlords have turned this in to their dumping ground. It is what you put up with on your first lease!! Even though they own many buildings, a lot of their tenants have to leave because of the economy. We have asked them to clean the place but not even a response. They must have so much money they don't care if their tenants leave!

Good news. Because economy is bad we have had some great opportunities open up for us for new places to lease. We found a great spot in a cute office park near by. Right across street from Post Office and the best coffee house in town. They are willing to work with us on price and terms. Yea! We think to move in at end of April. The space has great Feng Shui about it. I know we will be successful there. Now, about the moving part...........

Finding a Sewing Contractor

I needed to find a sewing company that could work with me in smaller quantities and someone who was close by in Seattle. I did search in yellow pages first and talked to several companies and went to their shops. Nothing. Either they were too big for me or I they did not work with nylon webbings. I needed a company that had industrial machines handling webbing in various thicknesses.

I did find one sewer and gave her several rolls of webbing and some ribbons, supplies, etc to try out. SHe tried to "help" me by sewing all 100 yards of one ribbon on to 100 yards of webbing, to cut up later. Problem was I need projects done as ordered so that we could conserve webbing for styles I needed made. All of that was wasted. She did not help. ALso the quality was not good. Crooked stitching and lots of stray threads. Back to the drawing board.

I am not sure I can remember how I found the one company I still use today. But "Sandy" was my savior. They were willing to work with my smaller quantities and grow with me. They were starting out as well. She did beautiful work and caught on quickly. This company is still with me today after 10 years! I did need one more sewer because we were growing past Sandy. I had some new items that she could not do. I put an ad on Craigslist and the first gal who called me worked out wonderfully. Lucky again! Works out of her home and has family that can help if extra busy. Both of these sewers are within 30 minutes of our warehouse. Yea!

One must have patience when looking for a manufacturer. THere is a lot of sending supplies and samples back and forth and tweaking. Be patient. It is worth it.

How it works with an outside sewing company is that I have all supplies (parts) of collars sent to them directly. I gave them a master sheet of all of our designs and sizes. Exactly how much ribbon and webbing to cut for each size, the hardware needed etc. I will email them an excel sheet of items needed. They sew, call me when done and we pick up and bring back to our warehouse, package and ship for orders.

It all Started in My Kitchen

I think most businesses start small or by accident. My parents had a chain of fabric stores growing up. By the time I started making dog collars though they had closed the stores down. But I still had access to all of their vendors. This was about 1999. I just adopted a great dog and wanted a fun dog collar for him. I started by buying the supplies at retail prices since I was buying a few bits at a time. But I was mainly doing it for my own dog. Well, friends wanted some for their dogs and people at my dog park were asking as well. LIGHT BULB! I think we have an idea.

I started sewing on my personal machine at my kitchen table. My roommate was not too happy to loose this space. I gradually bought rolls of webbing and 25 - 50 yard put-ups of ribbons. My style of collar was to sew a printed ribbon on to nylon webbing. I use the side-release clip buckle rather than a "belt" buckle style. I did not want to have to punch holes in webbing. You needed a heat punch to do this.

I would say the most fun was researching the supplies. Especially the ribbons. We had the internet obviously but not to the extent as now. It was hard to search for ribbons. Most companies did not have websites yet. I would go from fabric store to fabric store finding ribbons or fabrics I liked. I would take the vendor name down and contact them directly by phone asking for catalogs. My initial line was only about 10 different patterns. We have over 40 now.

Getting Started in the Pet Industry!

Hello everyone! Well, we finally did it. We are starting this adventure of blogging, Twittering, Facebooking, etc. So much work, so little time! But fun. ALthough I should have started this long ago I am hoping it is never too late.

My name is Anette Wachter, owner of Pet Elegance. The photo to the right is of KOZMO our top dog here at Pet Elegance. We have been in business now for just over 10 years. Owning my own business has been, shall we say, "interesting". Owning a business in the Pet Industry has been "wonderfully interesting". I am hoping to tell you my many adventures throughout the years and update you on events to come. Can you make money at this? Are there lessons to be learned from mistakes? YES and YES!

Like any business the basics are needed. A business plan and money. I had one of the 2. Business plan. Great, but hard to move on without capital. But plug away I did and somehow I made to 10 years!

It will be interesting to see where the next few months and years will take me. Our economy is going to be drained of a lot of money soon. Hopefully we can start filling it back up. I have taken great pride that we have always hired local manufacturers to make our product and bought all of our supplies from domestic suppliers. I feel it is so important. Yes, my business bottom line could be slimmer if I had our product made overseas. But there is more to business than that. It is important to give back to your community. My community happens to be the USA.

How I got started in this wacky wonderful business................check back soon!