I woke up this morning feeling a bit exhausted – I’ve been working very long hours lately and am starting to feel the results. So it was lovely to receive the news that I was featured in The Pet Anthology’s 30 Inspirational Pet Photographers. My focus is always 100% customer satisfaction, so it’s awesome when your industry peers appreciate your work as well. Go and check it out, there’s some stunning work on there!
I absolutely love my Facebook Business Page! I’ve made so many great friends and met so many awesome people through it. And last night it reached 200 “Likes”. A mere drop in the bucket when you consider Macaroni and Cheese has 1.5 million followers, but a milestone for me nonetheless. To say thank you I’m including a $100 print credit for any Pet Portrait session booked until the end of September. If you’ve been thinking about booking a session now’s a great time! Just send me an email and we’ll go from there – I can’t wait to hear from you!
Since starting my business last year, I’ve met so many wonderful people, and I’ve been introduced to some awesome pet related businesses here in Melbourne. Today I thought I’d share a few of them with you. Please note that none of these are paid endorsements – they are businesses that I genuinely love.
Run by the lovely Natalia, Paws and Co stock luxury and designer pet items. My cat Harry is sporting one of their gorgeous leather collars, and it’s the only he’s had that’s lasted more than a month, in fact it has lasted almost six! Harry is also a huge fan of their catnip mice, which have a textured surface that is great for their teeth. They are also incredibly durable, months later and they are yet to get a hole or rip in them.
Harry with his Paws and Co. catnip mouse
Paws and Co also have a great Facebook page, and their customer service is top notch. They also run a “VIPaws” competition each month with great prizes. I highly recommend a visit to their website, but be warned, there are so many pretty things there it’s hard to choose!
Got a cold pooch this winter? K9 Direct have you covered. They have a fantastic range of doggy jumpers, jackets, and heat pads, as well as a great range of doggy toys, beds and show accessories. My personal favourite is the Leopard Print Hoody – sadly no human sized ones! The owner of K9 Direct, Nadene, is also a very generous individual who gave a percentage of her profits to Saffron on the Hill dog rescue last month.
These beautiful handmade doggy car seats come in a beautiful range of fabrics and can be used as a bed too! They are also an incredibly generous business who donate seats to rescue groups on a regular basis. If you want your dog to travel in style check them out – they are custom made so you can be sure your pup will be the coolest on the block.
Gosh I love to shop at Pet Stock! The stores are all clean, well stocked, with friendly, helpful staff who actually know their products. They run regular pet adoption days and do not sell puppies or kittens at their stores. They also provide grooming and vet services as well as obedience school. If you ever need to visit a pet shop make it Pet Stock, it’s the responsible choice.
And here are a few other links to pet related things I love:
Gypsy Ju – Keeping her Eye on Melbourne
Follow Gypsy and Poppet, two of the most stylish dogs in town, as they explore Melbourne and review dog friendly cafes, parks, and more. Gypsy and Poppet also happen to rate 10/10 on the cuteness scale.
If you’re looking to adopt your next pet but don’t know where to start, Pet Rescue is the best. They have listings from hundreds of rescue groups across Australia and the most amazing part is that they are completely not-for-profit.
I’m cheating a bit on this one because it’s based in NZ, but photos of gorgeous pets are universal. Nick writes about responsible pet ownership and all the highs and lows it brings. He also does a great round up every Friday of reader’s photos and posts them – it’s the first thing I read on a Friday morning and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. Nick is also the owner of the gorgeous Phoebe, Connor and Merrick who I photographed earlier this year.
Thanks for reading everyone – if you like this post why not share it on Facebook and help spread the word about these great businesses.
After recently posting about how to photograph your black pet, it seems only fitting that I introduce you to the gorgeous Blake, a black lab/kelpie cross. Stay tuned for the full session soon.
It’s been a bit quiet around these parts. Although it’s meant to be the quiet season for photographers I’ve never been busier – in fact I’m already planning Pet Portrait sessions for spring – which really cannot come fast enough!
I’ve been working on a very special project these last couple of months – the Saffron on the Hill 2013 Calendar. If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll know that Saffron are a very dear organisation to me, and photographing their first fundraising calendar has been such a special experience. It’s been wonderful getting to know the dogs so well, and really rewarding to be able to capture their unique personalities.
I’m in the process of putting the final touches on it, and we are anticipating that it will be available for sale from the end of July. The calendar will sell for $20 plus postage, with 100% of profits going to Saffron on the Hill to help rehabilitate and rehome the rescue dogs. We will only be doing an initial print run of 100 calendars, so if you’d like to reserve one or be notified when they go on sale please email me.
The hardest part has been keeping the photos secret – I can’t reveal them all yet, but there are definitely some very special pictures, including a fantastic Easter surprise. But I thought I’d share this one today of my special man Pirate Pug Zach – the sweetest, gentlest boy you’ll ever meet.
Thanks for reading everyone, and don’t forget to follow me on Facebook!