An International Holiday For Dogs? Well, It's About Time.

My regular readers and personal friends all know how I feel about dogs: I'm crazy for them. I share my life with Indie, my second jack russell terrier, a rescue who likes eating paper and chasing her tail. My first dog, a jack russell terrier named Abbey, passed away at age 14 a year and a half ago, and I found that having dogs in my life truly enhances all aspects of it.



Pedigree feels the same way (their great ad campaign from the talented people at TBWA/Chiat Day is proof of that) and with their Dogs Rule Day is celebrating that very fact.



They have organized an actual International Holiday for Dogs to be celebrated on October 11th of this year- and hopefully each year in the future.

And why not? We have father's, mother's and grandparents day. Hell we even have arbor day (yep, a day for trees). Don't our furry friends deserve to have one day a year set aside to lay around and do nothing? Oh, wait.. that's what they do every day. Nevertheless, I love the concept of a Dogs Rule Day.



To celebrate, Dogs Rule Day has a site where people can upload images of their four legged companions complete with sweet (or not-so-sweet) stories about them.



The site also contains posters you can print out and post up, wallpaper for your computer and even an avatar you can download.



For those of you who have no idea how to revel in this canine celebration, never fear. Their list of 101 ways to celebrate the day is hilarious. For example, my personal favorite: Tip #13. If you have a Border Collie, pretend to be a sheep.



Of course, a holiday isn't official until you wear it emblazoned on a T-shirt:


Buy yours here.

Like Pedigree, I do believe that dogs make the world a better place. So join in the celebration, share your story, buy a t-shirt, download a poster, or rub a random dog's belly.



The Official Dogs Rule Day site.

Join the celebration on facebook here.
other related links:
http://www.shelterfinder.com
http://www.pedigree.com/dogadoption
http://www.dogsrulegear.com

Kathy Osborn Has Big Talent With Little Things And Little Ones.

Graphic artist, photographer, and children's book illustrator Kathy Osborn, is getting a lot of online attention for her miniature modernist construction of a 21st century house (shown in the photo above). And it is fabulous- as you will see later in this post.


Above: the multi-talented Kathy Osborn.

But she's done a lot more with miniature dolls and settings than you might think. In addition to this fabulous modern dollhouse, she's both photographed dolls in settings as well as completed a children's book based on a magical tour of a Dollhouse from a child's perspective.


Above: Kathy's illustration on the cover of the March, 1990 issue of the New Yorker

First off, her illustrations have graced the cover of New Yorker magazine as well as on and in several other publications. But personally, I am more impressed with her poignant photography and multimedia work than her illustrations.


Above: some of Kathy's illustrated children's books.

Kathy has illustrated five children's books to date. One of which has been chosen as one of the Best Children's books of 2008 by several reputable sources. She has also just completed a children's project called The Dollhouse, a magical tour of a dollhouse seen from a child's perspective.

The book has been described as "... a whimsical look into the world of miniatures, where there is a story within a story within a story; the little girl in the story discovers an even smaller girl who is playing with a smaller dollhouse, and so on, just like a Russian doll within another Russian doll."

But back to the actual Dollhouse model for now.

The article below ran in Wallpaper, and is making the rounds on blogs and ezines, but in doing a little research, I found more images of the project as well as discovered that she has has a series of photographic prints of the miniature dolls in miniature surroundings.

First the Bauhaus dolls' house and the article from Wallpaper (with some extra images):

Bauhaus dolls' house



Osborn embarked on her Bauhaus doll's house project due to a desire for better quality dolls and dolls' furniture. Originally, she aimed to create a replica of Philip Johnson's glass house, built in 1949, but was persuaded by friends to give her creativity a free run.



The creation of the doll's house started with 12 rough designs. The blueprints were given to Californian model architects J & G, who were also responsible for most of the furniture, apart from the mod-style chairs which were constructed by Japanese company REAC.



The kitchen as a whole is Osborn's own design, inspired by an 1948 advert for Youngstown kitchens, but the fridge and cabinets are original designs.




The result is a house that is artfully whimsical, which encapsulates its inhabitants in a fanciful suburbia. Osborn has no intention of the dolls' house being treated like your everyday plastic creation, but rather as a collector's item - a family heirloom.




She even made the dolls and their clothing:


---Wallpaper

Now, take a look at her photographic prints, captured moments and narratives that are infused with intimacy and loneliness seemingly simultaneously. They available for purchase on the beholder:







Each chromogenic print is a limited edition of 15 and can be purchased for $600.00 here.

In regards to whether or not the Bauhaus dolls' house will be available for purchase, I do not yet know, but I can assure you I'm looking into it and if it is, I will let you know. In the meantime, if you're a fan of miniatures, dolls' houses or architectural models, you might want to check out my growing list of modern dollhouses available for purchase here.

Related posts: Be sure to see the amazing miniature roomboxes of Peter Tucker and the architectural models of Mark Turpin.

Hand Gesture Candles from Atelier WM

L'atelier WM is a a group of young artists founded in Paris in 2008. They have a line of colorful candles, both in looks and attitude. Hands making gestures cast from real hands and whose burn time is approximately 3 hours each.

Cross your fingers:


Heavy Metal:




Live Long And Prosper:


Fuck You:


Above packaging created by Wakey of France.

They claim their candles shown above are for sale at colette , at the Black Block of the Palais de Tokyo , at the Printemps Design of the Centre Pompidou and at the Sam Concept store in France but they do not yet seem to be available.

Now available at A+R here.

Wearing The Hair Of The Dog. Portraits Of People In Clothes Made From Their Pets' Fur.

These aren't just lovely portraits of people posing with their pets, but look a little closely and you'll see that the owners are wearing sweaters and vests that resemble the fur of their dogs. And they should because they were literally made from them.

Below is a series of photographs (an ongoing project) by photographer Erwan Fichou of people posing with their beautiful dogs, sporting canine couture... actual sweaters and vests made from the hair (fur?) of their own pet dogs.










Here is the description of the series:
Dogwool series, 2005-2007. Eleven portraits (in progress)

The hair, especially hair known as the stuffing, once recovered after brushing, is carefully preserved until the amount necessary to achieve the knit structure.
The hair is spun into balls of 50 g by a specialist before returning via mail, to its owner.
C-prints, 40 * 50 cm, Marie-Louise, glass, wooden framework.

To see more of photographer Erwan Fichou's unusual work, go here.

Apparently there are a few people out there who actually make clothes from your pet's hair or fur.

Pet Yarn Chic makes hats, scarves and wraps from your pet's 'yarn'.


Above: Bettina Menkhoff, 50, from Stoetze in Germany makes scarves, gloves and other clothes and sells them over the internet at www.jolly-fellows.de


Above: Pam Gardner, of Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, has at least six jumpers and cardigans made from her pet Old English sheepdogs. She says they are warm and soft, similar to jumpers made from Angora goats' wool. Mrs Gardner, who charges £11 to turn 100g of dog or cat hair into wool, says the conversion is too labor-intensive to be anything more than a hobby. She has made wool from about 30 breeds of dog, including alsatians and chow chows, and had about 200 customers.


Above: Betsy Willis first used the fur of Kara, to knit her husband's sweater in 1990. Mrs Willis, 71, said she had the idea after seeing a picture of Princess Diana wearing a dog fur stole at Crufts.

She said: "Kara was a pedigree Samoyed. She was so posh, if she could have talked she'd not have spoken to the likes of us. "We found out from the breeders we got the pups from that it was possible to use their coat for clothes. "It is the most amazing stuff. It's like mohair but more lightweight and more soft, and the more you wash it, the more soft and fluffy it gets." Mrs Willis added: "People are surprised when they find out we're wearing dog wool clothes. Some think it's disgusting and ask how we can do it, but it seems very normal to us." Even now, Mrs Willis has enough hair left over to make a new jumper, and it has been sent to a friend in Derby to be spun.

Wanna try it yourself?

My apologies to the owners of such sweet dogs as Chinese Cresteds and American Hairless Terriers. Thanks to an anonymous reader who sent me this:



Now for you Cat lovers, be sure to check out the jewelry made from Cat hair!

Jewelry The Cat Coughed Up. Feline Furball Necklaces, Earrings and Rings.