Upcoming Vendor Booths

This year I'm hoping to set up at more dog events, now that I have a little cargo trailer to haul all of my gear.  Here are two upcoming events that I'll be at:

AKC 2012 Winter Show:

This will be held at the Stampede grounds from February 3-5, 2012.  I hope to have a whole bunch of cotton dog collars completed in time.

More info about the ACK Winter Show is available here:  http://albertakennelclub.org/showtrials.html

Calgary Pet Expo:

This is the first year I'll be trying a booth at the Pet Expo on May 5 & 6.  I've wandered through briefly a couple of years ago and it seemed quite busy.  I'm hoping that it's just as busy at the new location at Canada Olympic Park.  And the best part?  FREE PARKING!!!

More information about the Pet Expo is available here:  http://www.canwestproductions.com/Pet---Calgary

I'll update with additional events as I sign up for them.

Festival of Crafts!

For the past couple of years I have hummed and hawed about getting a booth at the Festival of Crafts here in Calgary, but this year I'm going to give it a shot.  It is certainly a large expense, but I am really looking forward to attending and meeting loads of fellow dog lovers and collar addicts.

The festival runs December 1-4 at the BMO Centre on the Stampede grounds.  More information can be found here:  http://www.festivalofcrafts.ca/about.html

There will be collars, leashes, harnesses, agility slip leads, lure coursing slip leads, hopefully a few cool coats and some cat collars and harnesses.  Other items will include stethoscope covers, pacifier clips and camera neck and wrist straps. 

Tell all of your friends and family and hope to see you there!

Cool Coats Coming Soon-ish

As I sat in my booth at the AKC dog show last week I came to the decision that I would like to try my hand at making cool coats for dogs.  Every dog show and agility event that I go to, I find myself looking at them thinking I would like some for my guys but can't rationalize paying as much as they charge for them.

They can't be that hard to make, can they?  I have the ribbon, thread, webbing, buckles, sewing and embroidery machines.  All I'm missing is the shammy material, which I found wholesale at a fairly reasonable price.  Thanks to two very generous English Mastiff folks, I will be able to ship them from the warehouse to a US address and then they will be carted across the border right to Calgary, reducing the cost of cross-border shipping and making it a feasible venture.

There will be five flavors:  yellow, orange, pink, blue and teal.  Sizing and pricing will come once I have a chance to play with the material and come up with a Nearly Naked Neckwear design.  My brother assisted in coming up with just the coolest name for them which will be unveiled when they are ready for sale.

Summer Plans & News

I finally booked some booths at three dog events for this year here in Calgary:

June 10-12 - I'll be at the 2011 Alberta/NWT Regional Agility Championships which is being held at the Calgary Rugby Union's grounds.

• If anyone has any special requests for custom made / embroidered agility related items I will be taking custom orders.  If anyone has an item they would like duplicated, bring it by the booth and I'll take some measurements / photographs and let you know if I can make it.

July 15-17 - I'll be at the Evelyn Kenny Kennel & Obedience Club's dog show which is being held at the Springbank Park for All Seasons again this year.

• This event is not too far out of Calgary and worth a day trip.  Drop by and say hello if you are attending.  Custom orders welcomed.  Bring cash!  I am no longer accepting cheques or PayPal at events.  If you wish to pay via these methods, your items will be shipped out once playment has cleared and a shipping charge will apply.  Due to the excessive costs for such a small business, I am not currently set up to take debit or credit card direct.

July 29-Aug 1 - I'll be at the Alberta Kennel Club's Summer Classic which is being held at Spruce Meadows for the second year. 

• I'm super excited to be attending this event, especially since Spruce Meadows is a hop, skip & jump from my house in Evergreen.  I believe they have a banking machine somewhere on the grounds, but it was very difficult for customers to find last year.  I made a recommendation to the AKC that they put additional signage up so people can find the portable ATM's.

So what's new? 

Well, for starters I finally purchased that embroidery software I was planning on buying for a long time.  Now I'm trying to figure out how it all works and will be offering embroidery on leashes and fixed agility-type & lure-coursing slipleads only.

Next comes the arrival of something I'm eagerly anticipating, which is a fully enclosed 5x8 ft. Continental Cargo trailer.  It's on order and will hopefully arrive from Colorado within 6-8 weeks.  This will enable me to pack everything (including all 4 of my dogs) and head out to more dog shows and event venues.  Once I get a hitch put on the back of my SUV and figure out how to drive with a trailer, there will be no stopping me!  :)


Find Nearly Naked Neckwear products in two Calgary locations!  Tail Blazers MacLeod (just off of 86th Ave. SE & MacLeod Trail) and Muttley Crue (in Bridgeland) are now carrying Nearly Naked collars, leashes and harnesses!  I'm so excited.

New items I'm working on include:  pacifier clips (embroidery add-on) and camera straps & wristlets.

Long Overdue

We're currently revamping our main website.  Hopefully it will be up and running in a few weeks.  In the meantime you can still place orders or visit our ETSY site to see what is available and ready to ship.  :o)

Industrial Sewing Machines

It took a lot of research and online shopping to come to a decision as to what to purchase for a new industrial sewing machine.  A powerful (and quiet!) motor that will sew through multiple layers of thick materials without bunching the stitches and capable of sewing light to medium weight leather, a walking foot, and large bobbins were some of the things I felt were important.  After much deliberation, it is going to be a JUKI DNU 1541 with a Servo motor.  Soon I hope to have a bunch of new items available, including: belts for humans, camera straps and wristlets, and pacifier clips.  The new 'beast' arrives next week, and I am looking forward to running it almost non-stop.  ;)

Nearly Naked on Etsy

There's not too much to report aside from our new Etsy store:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/NearlyNakedNeckwear?ref=pr_profile

Harnesses are Here!

After several requests for harnesses I have decided to add them to what NNN offers.  The harnesses will be the standard, adjustable step-in style, with a buckle closure and two d-rings that meet by the shoulders for the leash to attach to.

Sizing is as follows:

Extra Small (made from 3/8" webbing)
          Fits girth range from 8-12 inches

Small (made from 1/2" webbing)
          Fits girth range from 12-18 inches

Medium (made from 3/4" webbing)
          Fits girth range from 16-24 inches

Large (made from 1" webbing)
          Fits girth range from 26-38 inches

If you needed different sizing or have a different style of harness that you are interested in having replicated, I can use your current harness as a template.  Please e-mail for details.

Convertible 3 Ft. to 6 Ft. Leash

These are super cool.

Someone had one at the Spruce Meadows AKC Summer Classic dog show, and they let me take some measurements and photo's on my iPhone, and I was able to reproduce this nifty leash.

Let's start with the handle.  When the leash is at its 6 foot length, this is what the handle looks like.  It is a fixed (stitched) handle with an mobile o-ring.  Not too fancy yet, but just wait, it gets better!

Here is the trigger snap end with the leash at it's 6 foot length.  Again there is another o-ring, but this one is fixed into place.

Okay, here's where it gets interesting...  To convert from a 6 foot to a 3 foot, you feed the webbing through the o-ring on the trigger snap end.

You keep feeding this loop of webbing through until the two o-rings connect.  This keeps the leash at a 3 foot length, and the handle becomes the large loop of webbing.

To convert it back, you simply pull the non-fixed o-ring outward and the leash extends back to it's 6 foot length.

How seriously super cool is that?!  Let me know if you'd like to order one.  Right now this only comes in a 1" width.

Limited Slip Collars

I'm just figuring out sizing and pricing, but here is a sample of the limited slip collar.

Limited slip in loose position:

Limited slip in taut position:

Puppy or Micro-Dog Collars

These are the smallest collars I have made to date.  This one pictured fits 5-7" necks and is 1/2" wide. 

These would work nicely for younger puppies or micro-dogs like Chihuahua's or Yorkies.

At the moment, the only trims available on these are the grosgrain ribbons.  Most of the jacquards are too thick and once sewn onto the webbing they will not fit through the hardware.  Don't worry, there are more polk-a-dot grosgrain ribbons on order and I'm scoping a few sources for some nice striped and printed grosgrain.

Once the new ribbon arrives I will be making breeder puppy packs to make identification of those cute little bundles of fur easier.

Save 20% Deals!

Want to save a little extra or recycle something you already have?  Here are two options:

1.       Recycle your hardware:

Cut out the hardware from your old collars and mail them to me, and I will reuse your old hardware to make you a brand new collar.  Hardware must be one of the following sizes:  3/8", 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1 1/2" or 2" as I don't have webbing in any other sizes.

2.       Supply your own cotton prints or ribbons:

Do you have your own ribbon or cotton print that you would love to have made into a collar?  No problem, simply mail it to me and I will try to create your desired collar out of it.  Let me know what size and type of collar you would like to have made, and I will let you know approximately how much material will be required.

  

If you have ANY questions or would like to place an order, please e-mail me at:

info@nearlynakedneckwear.com

Items that are in the Works

• Agility slip-leads with faux-fur mid leash or optional braided fleece tug
• Hands-free leashes
• Limited Slip Collars
• Martingale style harnesses
• Safety Play Collars (these have Velcro for quick release)
• Belts for people

Additional Collar Options

-          Swarovski rhinestones may be applied to pretty much any collar (prices vary depending upon number of rhinestones applied)

-          Dupioni Silk trim

-          Layered trims – have a thinner trim layered over a wider grosgrain ribbon

-          Double D-rings for buckle collars

Cat Collars (Updated)

 Until I can get the website updated, here are sizing and pricing for cat collars:

Sizes:	Fits Necks (inches):
S	7-10
M	9-14

Any size $8

* Cat collars are NOT intended for use with a leash

* Safety buckle will open with twisting motion

* 3/8” width only

Lure Coursing Slip Leads (Updated)

 Until I can get the website updated, here are sizing and pricing for lure coursing slip leads:

Webbing Width:	Price:
1 ½”	$20
2”	$25

*Satin Wrapping Optional – Add $2 to Price Listed

*Fleece Lined Optional (black only) – Add $1 to Price Listed

*2 metal D-rings, one on either end

*1” wide, 4 ft. long attached webbing strap
*Sizing is based on neck measurement (in inches) provided at time of order

*If you need something different, please inquire

Key Loops (Updated)

 Until I can get the website updated, here are sizing and pricing for key loops:

Webbing Width:	Price:
¾”	$6
1”	$8
1 ½”	$10

*Satin Wrapping Optional – Add $1 to Price Listed

Key Fobs (Updated)

Until I can get the website updated, here are sizing and pricing for key fobs:

Webbing Width:	Price:
¾”	$4
1”	$6
1 ½”	$8

*Satin Wrapping Optional – Add $1 to Price Listed

Standard 6 Foot Leashes (Updated)

 Until I can get the website updated, here is pricing for this style of leash:

Webbing Width:	Price:
½”	$10
¾”	$15
1”	$20
1 ½”	$30

* Custom Leash Lengths Available – Please Inquire

* These all come with adjustable handles, if you would like a fixed (stitched) handle; please let me know when you order

* These all come with trigger snap-hooks

Tag Collars (Updated)

 Until I can get the website updated, here are sizing and pricing for this style of collar:

Sizes:	Fits Necks (inches):
Standard	10-18

Webbing Width:	Price:
½”	$8
¾”	$10
1”	$15

*Custom sizing available – please e-mail