and lead dyer Juan use color to a brand-new batch of handcrafted dog leashes. (Photos by Dion Ogust)
Are you a severe animal supporter, dedicated to offering safe houses for rescue animals instead of broadening markets for pure-blooded ones? Well, now you can stroll your talk while you stroll your dog – and support an in your area based business while you’re at it.
The business is called Found My Animal, and it began life in Brooklyn in 2007, co-founded by Bethany Obrecht and Anna Conway. The 2 good friends very first fulfilled on the street as they strolled rescue chihuahuas, both called Walter. Together they started developing high-end leashes made with marine-grade rope, brass and waxed canvas. Their nautical-style hand-spliced leads stood out of lots of fashion-conscious pet-owners, and eventually they were producing them on a growing scale. Obrecht ultimately obtained complete ownership of their business and moved it upstate in 2018.
At the time they fulfilled, Obrecht, a Baltimore native with a Photography degree from the Rhode Island School of Design, was operating in production and closet in the marketing market. In her extra time, she says, “I was fostering dogs in New York City, volunteering at a shelter, photographing dogs that needed adoption.” She gestures around the spacious 7,000-square-foot factory flooring at 86 Smith Avenue in Midtown Kingston that is now Found My Animal’s head office. “By doing this, I could amplify my voice by putting messaging on the products.”
Indeed, every Found My Animal leash bears a brass tag engraved with a number and the word “Found,” which Obrecht describes as “our mantra.” On the day Hudson Valley One paid a check out, the products made had actually counted up to more than 197,000 products – every one representing somebody’s furry friend who’d been removed the streets and provided a permanently home.
A portion of all sales is contributed to animal well-being and rescue companies, with specific line of product committed particularly to fundraising. An unique occasion on February 11, hosted by the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce, commemorated the Grand Opening of the factory’s shop, with 15 percent of all profits from purchases contributed to the Ulster County SPCA.
The little display room is open for business daily from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., showing a representative choice of Found My Animal items; however the genuine action opens when you travel through the back of the room into the factory itself. It’s rather like among those spy films where a modest shop is revealed to be the secret entrance to the dynamic head office of some massive espionage network.
Long, long tables extend from the front to the back of the previous D & J Plumbing Supply building, newly remodelled given that Obrecht purchased it in 2021. Sewing devices are lined up along one wall, commercial sinks functioning as color baths along the other. In the back, banks of fans are trained on colored lengths of rope held on high racks to dry.
The variety of staff members differs seasonally with need, according to Obrecht, however at present she has 18 staff members. They’ve been working gradually for almost a year on an order for countless pieces, predestined to wind up in the 700-or-so Petco shops for a May line of product launch. “Right now we’re in the final stages of production,” Obrecht says. “Everything is done by hand. We’ve been in full swing since we got the material deliveries in November.”
Some of the employees are intertwining cotton ropes utilizing conventional strategies utilized by sailors throughout the world. The ends are entwined and “whipped” utilizing “old-fashioned waxed twine,” Obrecht mentions, or hammered flat on an “old tree stump” for insertion into a leather sleeve. Some employees are sewing the leather, others pounding in rivets or connecting the brass hang tags, rings and hooks. Everything is low-tech. Obrecht is dedicated to sourcing her products locally, happily mentioning her providers who have actually been making things the old-fashioned method for years or perhaps centuries.
For all the pre-Industrial Revolution producing techniques, nevertheless, the ended up items are fashion-forward, and may even be relatively referred to as “bespoke.” They can be found in a large range of color schemes, from neutrals to neon strong colors to soft ombres and rainbow tie-dyes. A brass “jump-ring” is tactically entwined into each leash at a point where it can be connected to a hook and used hands-free throughout the body. It’s a stylish appearance embraced by stars consisting of starlet Amanda Seyfried, says Obrecht. “And in July, Justin Theroux came in and dyed leashes with us. He donated 600 leashes to the Humane Society.”
Retailers that bring Found My Animal items have actually consisted of Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Healthy Spot in California and Daylesford Organic in London, plus outlets in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. “We’ve done countless awareness campaigns. Awareness is especially needed in Asia. It’s all about turning a passion project into a business, teaching other people a craft and creating lots of jobs – mostly for women,” she says. “Found My Animal is supporting a super-positive message, while also supporting being handcrafted in the US.”
To see the business’s complete line of “accessories for adopted animals and their people” – which likewise consist of clothes for both dogs and people – see www.foundmyanimal.com or www.facebook.com/foundmyanimal.
