An islander who picked up sewing during lockdown to make bandanas for her pooch has launched her own pet accessory business, with some of her proceeds going to local doggy charities.
Megan Clifford is now selling harnesses, collars, leads and poop bag holder under the name ‘The Pampered Pet Club’.
Megan initially started her professional career in finance but soon realised she wanted to do something more creative and turned to marketing.
Last year, however, she went one step further.
Like many others, she turned to crafts during lockdown and borrowed a machine from her sewing-bee mum to make bandanas for her toy Schnoodle, Alan.
Pictured: Megan designed the patterns for the accessories herself.
“When I got my puppy Alan, I started buying him accessories and they were really expensive,” she explained. “I started making bandanas myself and sold them on Etsy or what I felt was a better price. It did quite well.”
“I do love sewing,” she added “It’s one of those hobbies that are not associated with young people, but I really like it.
“My mum is a really good sewer. She said the main thing was to not get annoyed with it when it doesn’t work. Being patient is key! I was really bad when I started, but once you’ve made something you think ‘wow I made that’.”
For her birthday, Megan got her own sewing machine from her boyfriend, and she now has a dedicated room to do her sewing at home.
In addition to her mum’s advice, Megan turned to Youtube to learn more about sewing. The platform was also a mine of information when it came to setting up her business, or learning how to do barcodes. She also found support with Jersey Business, which she described as “really helpful”.
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Pictured: The accessories are available in various sizes for dogs, and cats, of all shapes.
Having found so much on Youtube and loving the community spirit on the platform, Megan recently started sharing videos about her journey to help others.
Earlier this year, as she was trying to think of ways to expand her business and make it more professional, Megan started designing her own patterns on Canva, a graphic design platform, and sourced a supplier to make pet accessories featuring them.
“It’s quite fun to design different patterns and put different shapes together,” she said. “When I got the samples, I could not believe it, I thought ‘this actually looks good’.”
‘The Pampered Pet Club’ – a name inspired by Megan’s nickname for Alan, whom she calls her ‘pampered pet’ – sells harnesses and collars in “all sizes for all dog shapes”.
Available on her website, Megan’s products will also be sold at the Pet Cabin and Pet's Paradise.
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Pictured: Alan modelling the harness in the 'foxy' pattern.
They currently feature three of Megan’s patterns, ‘Bee Happy!’, ‘Foxy’ and ‘Rainbow’. For each item sold, Megan gives 10% back to a different charity, Jersey Rescue Dogs, the Company of Dogs or the JSPCA.
“It’s a nice thing to do when you are able to,” Megan said. “I love dogs and having this business gives me the opportunity to support the wonderful work that charities do to help dogs in need.”
In future, Megan wants to branch out in human accessories like walking belts, to dispense treats, and design “cute logos for t-shirts”.
“I work full-time and do this in my spare time and at weekends. It’s a hobby but I want it to be full-time which is why I am trying to invest in the business," she said.
“I did not think you could make money from being creative but this is showing me that you can, which is really cool!”
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