Meet Daisy, our new family addition (and my new grand dog). She's a spunky, animated Boston Terrier and the perfect match for her "brother" Scooter, in temperment and energy. I finally have a model for the Tigger sweater, though Daisy is growing so fast it will be outgrown in about a day. Lollypups Petwear is still struggling at this point in time with both finances and finding the right vendor to make the sweaters. I contacted the people at Fairtrade Knitters, and was advised to contact them again in January since the holidays are obviously their busiest time. The garments are made in Equador and they may be a good resource both for the highland wool and baby alpaca qualities that are available. I also contacted a rep from Textiles of Peru and they will make a sample from one of the prototypes and advise the cost so I'll be sending them a sweater after the new year as well. Lead time for both vendors is long but would be doable since I probably won't launch the garments until the next Holiday shows in September. Lastly, I contacted someone from ProArtesana, another fair trade venue working with the women of Bolivia. After a couple of tries, I still haven't gotten a response so they may not want my business. I will try again only instead of directly e/mailing the contact name that was given me, I'll send a message to the actual association and go from there. Lastly, I'll meet with someone from Aid to Artisans at the Javits Center NY Gift Show , the end of January. They seemed to be the most helpful and I really feel more comfortable with a face to face meeting where I can show the prototypes and explain what I need. I'll be making up some new samples and am adding a "people" head warmer and scarf to be made using appliques and vintage fabric which, since it will be made in small quantities, I can embellish myself. Found out that The Limited is making dog sweaters to match their women's sweaters. Nice. I'll keep track of them and see how they're selling. Not ready to do the same, so small accessories will have to do for now. Here's hoping 2010 will be a banner year for Lollypups Designer Petwear!!
