It’s a Pet Paradise Here!

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 | Uncategorized

How wonderful it is in this business to meet many wonderful and interesting people both in real life and online. Through my own site and on Etsy, I’ve had the pleasure of exploring some truly unique and crafty shops not only for people, but for pets too! One artist I recently encountered creates and sells all kinds of goodies & supplies for dogs, cats, and small pets too! Allison of Inu Inspirations is the mastermind behind the wonderful pet products featured below. I asked Allison how she got started and her inspiration behind her products.

“For the past year I had been selling small pet supplies for chinchillas and birds, since I own 4 chinchillas. But I wanted to expand into dog and cat supplies since I also have a dog and knew that I wanted to share the awesome things I’ve made for her with others.

I’ve been creative ever since I can remember. I started sewing at the age of 8 making clothes for my dolls. It didn’t take off until about a year ago while I was still in college. I opened the etsy shop in October, so I’m still relatively new, but am enjoying expanding my business

The pets that I have had, and still have are my inspiration. For my chinchillas, I like to make them new toys that they enjoy playing with, and I like coming up with new creations that no one else has made yet. For my dog, I try to come up with cute things for her, and also toys that will last because she loves to destroy toys!

The names of my stores were inspired by my love for Japanese culture. My chinchilla store is called Camphor Chinchillas and is based off of the Camphor tree which is an icon in Japan. But I came up with the name from my favorite childhood video “My Neighbor Totoro”. These little creatures called totoros (which resemble chinchillas) live inside a huge Camphor tree. My dog and cat store is called Inu Inspirations because Inu (pronounced “ee-nu”) means dog in Japanese.

With the new year, I really wanted to make my business succeed. I had just taken the leap of doing online sales full-time and so I really wanted to be successful. For this year I have many new ideas coming up like cat collars, and more products for humans. But, I’ve also taken the leap into wholesale. So far I’ve had one, but hope to talk with local stores and see if I can market to them. I know it’s a tough road ahead doing this full time, but I love what I do and so I will work hard to make it a success.”

To find out more about Inu Inspirations and a complete listing of their product, please visit http://inuinspirations.etsy.com/