Cool Pet Creations started as a way to blend two of my biggest passions together; crafting and animals. I have always loved being creative and turning ideas in my head into actual items. I would make things for my animals, and handmade gifts for loved ones. People would compliment the quality and often ask where I bought them. Many people would tell me I should sell my handmade items, but I never knew exactly what I could sell. Until I discovered sewing....

I was 22 when I tried using a sewing machine for the first time. I was planning on getting a dog in a couple years, and I really wanted to make my own bandanas and cute collar designs that you couldn't find in a pet store. So I dug out my mom's little sewing machine and tried my hand at sewing a bandana. How hard could it be, right? Well, for someone that didn't even know how to thread a machine, very hard. And I'm not going to lie, that first bandana turned out pretty horrible. But something made me keep trying, so every day I would practice sewing and keep making more bandanas. I would give them away to people I knew with dogs, and then keep making more. Gradually, my stitches got straighter, I stopped running off the edge of the fabric, and the bandanas started looking less crooked.

However, I really wanted to learn to make dog collars, and I hit a bit of a snag when the lightweight Singer I was using decided against sewing thicker materials like webbing. By that point, I was addicted to sewing and was seriously thinking about opening up my own Etsy shop. I took a leap of faith and decided to buy my own heavy duty sewing machine. My Janome HD3000 ended up being a big turning point for me. It is an absolute workhorse and goes through anything I throw at it. Sewing became even more fun for me at that point, because I had room to be creative and not place limits on the kinds of things I could sew. I experimented with all kinds of sewing projects and learned a lot about my new sewing machine along the way.

Initially, dog collars were an intimidating project for me, so I put them on the back burner for awhile. I was scared of screwing them up somehow, scared they wouldn't be strong enough, etc, etc. But eventually I decided to just start making them and see how it goes. I made my first collar and immediately thought to myself, "Hey, that wasn't so bad. I can't believe I waited so long to try this out." I made another one, and another one, and before I knew it, they became my favourite thing to sew.

Nowadays, I love finding more fabrics and ribbons for new collar designs, and I also love trying new things, and making my own designs for new products I can add to the shop. I'm always brainstorming and thinking of new ideas, and then trying them out on the sewing machine. My dog and other animals have been great models, and are a huge help when designing and sizing new items. My pup has way more collars and bandanas than she'll ever use, but hey, you can never have too many dog collars, right? 😂

I always strive to make my items look as professional and as high quality as possible. I love making things for my own pets, but I also really love seeing other people's pets enjoying the things that I make. My primary goal has always been to make products that exceed pet store quality and also have personality and style. I truly appreciate everyone that has purchased from my little shop, those that have left reviews or taken pictures of their critters with their new gear, and even those that just stop by and favorite some items. I really appreciate all of it, and truly love getting updates about your pets with their new stuff. 🙂