[ad_1]
You know Shelby Eastman as the creator behind the quarantine baking trend #shelbcake or one of the fashion girls you follow on Instagram. Despite her inscrutable aura, she’s donned many top titles, from creative director, consultant and hospitality expert to now, puppy couture designer.
Daisy, named in memory of her family dog, launched her first collection of super-cool dog collars on July 15. Eastman’s new gig was out of necessity when she couldn’t find any adorable dog accessories for her new four-legged friend, Ruby. (Also a Cairn Terrier, like Daisy). Since its conception, the brand Daisy has been a heart-of-heart operation built on family sentiment – each collar is named after a dog in Eastman’s life.
After the pandemic forced Eastman to temporarily move in with her family in Houston, Texas, she used the time to bond with her childhood dog Daisy — enough to bring Eastman, a 12-year-old pup, on a trip from New York City to Los Angeles. Daisy spent the last two years of her life exploring the local sights of her home, such as Malibu and Laguna Beach, before Angeles was diagnosed with cancer during an unexpected vet visit. A few months after Daisy passed in December 2020, Eastman met Ruby. The entrepreneur scoured pet stores looking for something cute but couldn’t find collars that fit Eastman’s fashion-forward aesthetic, and thus the brand Daisy was born.
The launch is a passion project for Eastman and will donate five percent of the proceeds from the Daisy Memory pet accessories brand to the Love Leo Foundation, a Los Angeles-based shelter close to the founder’s heart. Thoughtfully and in-house designed, Daisy’s fun and quirky collars retail for between $50 and $55 and are made with chew-proof materials to last your doggo and beyond.
Ahead, Shelby Eastman talks to NYLON about where she got her new brand started, plans to build a dog empire, and a statement neck that’s guaranteed to take your pup around the dog park.
What made you want to create Daisy?
When I found Ruby, I went to Petco and shopped online but basically couldn’t find anything that represented me and my personal style. I think that nowadays pets are kind of our children, especially for the younger generations. The younger generations are having babies later in life and getting dogs instead, that’s just a statistic. Seeing these special pets as true friends and for some who don’t have children, these are their children. There’s a lot going on. [options] But when I shop for humans, I don’t like anything. [my dog]So Daisy fills that void.
We’ve seen children’s clothing really improve, but I personally don’t think dog accessories or fashion have changed in 2010. I felt stuck in 2006 and not moving forward. Everything I got was blah or tribal print or sports logos, not in a good or cool Y2K way, like they did in 2001 and haven’t touched since. And as for direct to consumer brands, I find them to be very underwhelming for me. I got to thinking, there are really nice people who have dogs and don’t care. I wanted to create something that would fill that void for the cool kid pet owner. So I thought I’d do it myself and see what happens.
If you had to choose three words to describe the Daisy brand, what would they be?
Bold, playful and luxurious. When I was in the process of making Daisy, when some designer brand came out with their own pet lines, I was like, ‘Oh shot,’ but our price point is extremely accessible. Not everyone can afford Miu Miu, but there are other brands, and I’m not talking about fast fashion knocking it off, but other more accessible brands. So that’s where we try to rest.
What was your inspiration behind the first collection?
We researched human trends and went a little more upscale with it. We wanted everything to be very editorial and we got creative, a little weird and funny. We looked at prints and runways to determine the color palette. I put together slides, moodboards, pantones and wrote down exactly what I wanted everything to look like. I had a ginger collar inspo image for this photo. Lizzie McGuire From the 2005 youth magazine pink and red standing on a lollipop. So to start I made a deck because I named all the collars after current or former dogs in my life. Each design process was thinking about what the dog means to me and how can I combine this with the current fashion? For example, my brother’s dog, Molly, loves zooms. [so] She inspired the retro wave print.
What was the creative process behind initially launching Daisy?
I have a business degree with a focus on fashion; I don’t have the skills to make a tech pack or how to use CAD or Photoshop to make patterns. So I pitched the idea to some people who connected me to a friend from SCAD for an internship at their swimwear brand, but they weren’t interns at the time. Her name is Alexis Barnett and her portfolio was amazing. It was great because I want to support someone who is still in school and we can be together – no one judges anyone here. We are learning how to do this together.
So I reached out and we created a live design together, it was very collaborative. She was just game with trial and error. It was very special because we were both studying and she is really very talented. I told her that once she blew up, she better not be for Daisy. I would say I creatively directed the collection, but she created every issue from scratch and made everything in-house.
What about collars with fur lining? They are very special.
It is of course faux fur and made of polyester that has been lightly dyed. That thought was definitely just in my head because many jackets have fur on the inside. When my grandmother passed, she gave me the most amazing blue leather coat with a fur trim. It came from my personal style and I thought it would be fun for the dogs. His hair is very thin and light; It’s not hot. My Ruby wears it in 100 degree Houston weather and I never feel like she is too hot.
Why did you decide to donate a portion of Daisy’s proceeds?
We are donating five percent of all sales to our partner rescue shelter in LA, the Love Leo Foundation. We donate defective collars – not necessarily defective ones, I just don’t like the stitching and don’t want to sell them – so we donate them to Love Leo and other shelters in America.
The reason I chose them is not only because they do an amazing job of fostering, fostering and finding adoptive homes. [because of a personal connection]. When Daisy got sick, it happened very quickly. I went to the vet and they said 24 hours was too much for her and it was crazy because we went for a walk yesterday. They gave me the name of the woman who came to my house and it was done very peacefully. I held Daisy the whole time, we let her eat peanut butter until the last second in my bed and they wrapped her in a blanket. after that, [the doctor] She sent me the ashes and Daisy’s palm stamp and wrote me a very nice letter saying she was very touched by my relationship with Daisy and made a very generous donation to Love Leo in Daisy’s name. So this five percent donation is to keep that going. Her legend lives on, baby!
Do you have future plans for Daisy?
Clearly riding on the success of this debut collection. It’s 100 percent self-sustained, I’m proud of it. The factory is making straps and straps to match these styles. We are working on great designs for those. I want to make another Texas-inspired collection soon, not like cowboy hats or boots, but to tell more about my journey living here. I don’t want to give too much away.
For what it’s worth, a doggy cowboy hat would be pretty cool.
No, absolutely! I think we can play with this theme. I’d also love to get into knits and knits because the patterns and prints are so cool and it’s something I’d totally wear, which is the point. I like to include something for the person, something too matchy-matchy is cheesy, but if you really like the print you can include it yourself. All that will surely come.
This interview has been edited and expanded for clarity.
[ad_2]
Source link
