I begin almost everyday with a W A L K, and fellow dog parents know why I spelled that out. The hour-long start to the day with my golden retriever helps to center busy weeks, giving me time to reflect, to plan and get lost in my dog’s easy happiness.
This holiday season being a food obsessed dog owner is more fabulous than ever thanks to SHED brooklyn. The pet accessories brand’s line includes a pizza collar and 40 oz. beer leash that like the rest of their designs are made in New York City from sustainably sourced hemp and completed with sturdy brass hardware that even the trickiest of dogs can’t find a way to break.
“Put a pizza on it is the new ‘put a bird on it,’ I think, but we still love it,” co-founder Kristen Wilke said. The screen printed pizza collar was actually one of SHED’s first designs. The beer leash took Wilke who has a background in small businesses and art administration and her co-founder Kiah Vidyarthi who works in textiles and sculpture a bit longer. They knew they wanted to go with a beer design but tried several designs before landing on the 40 oz.
“It felt the most ‘us’ and went with our sort of low-brow aesthetic,” Wilke said.
Dog owners themselves, Wilke and Vidyarthi started SHED barely a year ago, as a result of their frustration with the lack of high quality, leather-free pet accessories.
The eco-friendly hemp—which is fully washable (important since dogs can be pretty dirty), resistant to mold and naturally anti-bacterial—comes from a Californian distributor that partners with fair trade growers around the world.
“Hemp is one of the strongest natural fibers so it is great for pet accessories for people who are looking for natural materials instead of synthetic ones,” Wilke said.
At first the two stamped the designs by hand but as their business grew they switched to screen printing, which goes a little faster especially on the leashes which at 5-feet in length, thin and textured are tricky to print. Wilke and Vidyarthi make samples in their studio before taking them to a team of screen printers in Greenpoint. After printing the two assemble and sew the products in their studio. Right now they’re only selling online but as they expand with artist collaborations, a collar and leash line from recycled denim and even some plush toys they hope to do some pop up events.
Want to pamper your pooch this season or the friend whose dog is very important them? Take 25% off at SHED through January 31 with the code Edible.
