Quarantine Creations

We've been "home" for a whopping two weeks. In that time I have found a project that I'm super inspired and passionate about.... drumroll please.....

Up-cycled dog accessories!

A few things collided strategically to make this project come to life and I'll explain a little bit of the process behind the new Giglet's Garments for dogs.

First, I hate waste. like HATE. I try to be as environmentally conscious as possible in my daily life, which can be really hard at times. That's particularly true when it comes to being a dog owner. Just about everything involved in the capitalist act of 'owning' a dog involves buying products and creating shit that will end up in the landfill in a matter of months or years. It can be a hard road to navigate because we love our dogs and want to give them everything we possibly can, and often times that overshadows the environmental impact of producing toys, beds, blankets, clothes, bags, leashes, and on and on. I think that this is a BIG area where there is room for creators to fill a need for dog owners to spoil their pups while at the same time being better about offsetting some of our environmental impact.

Second, I sell vintage clothing on the side. I love buying and selling pretty vintage pieces and, as I said before, helping to reduce waste by introducing these items back into the economy. I've always been intrigued by vintage fabrics, which has played a particularly important role. One of the problems is, not everybody wants vintage clothing and not everything sells. Previously, I had been donating back items that were clearly not going to be purchased or, worst-case, throwing them away. It always pained me to know that some things I brought home just could not be salvaged. The US alone creates 11 MILLION TONS of textile waste PER YEAR. That number is insane. It's one of the reasons I started selling secondhand clothing in the first place.

FINALLY, I learned how to sew when we built out the van and I spent three grueling days sewing the cushion covers. I quickly became very fond of sewing and thought about all the things I could do with the newly-acquired skill. Teenage me secretly dreamed that she could go on to make it on a very distant season of Project Runway. But now that I'm an adult I have more realistic dreams. Like Project Dog Runway....

Just kidding, but these three things are all very important to me and influence my life on a daily basis, combined, obviously, with my love for dogs and the act of creation.

So, long story short. I have started up-cycling unwanted vintage clothing into dog accessories! It's a blast. My dogs hate me.

You can check out the items I have up for grabs here. I hope to be able to perfect a few different styles and sizes so that there's a little something for everyone, and maybe even branch into customs eventually. We'll see.

I am learning and improving with every new piece I craft and it's super cool to see the progress from just a week ago to today.

Here are a few transformations:

I hope that this is the start of something special and I hope I can inspire my friends and followers to be more environmentally-conscious with your pet purchases!