Wild About Pink!

Glam. Nature. Patterns. Pop of color. There’s no limit to the combinations you can create with Smucci Too!, this innovative pet bed company that’s made it easy and cost-effective to design your dog’s bed just how you like it. Parts are created to be easily interchangeable, washable, and stand up to the elements. And, they’re beautiful! You won’t find two beds exactly the same. I like that! They were generous enough to send us a bed for Sophie to try. It’s great-looking and works well in our New York City apartment (meaning, there’s a lot of black :-)). Isabel, my orange tabby senior, laid claim to it before Sophie even had a chance. I didn’t have the heart to move her, so while the pup isn’t using it, it’s going to good use! Izzy loves it.

And, I love these products, the concept behind them and the people behind the company. They have a great story and I want to share it with you.

The beginning

The Smucci Too! story is a journey that began a long time ago. Founded in 2009 by Gary and Debi Kahn, a retired OB-GYN and a retired Registered Nurse, the germ of the idea started as an art project for Debi, “the creative one.” An avid animal lover and rescuer, Debi has had lots of pets as far back as she can remember. “My mother is still with us and lives nearby,” Debi shared. “We were looking at a bunch of old photos recently. I have four younger sisters. In the pictures, all of my sisters are sitting around with dolls on their laps. I always had an animal in mine.” She has a heart for it, she explains. Debi would find animals on the street and bring them home. Pretty soon, she had a number of dogs, cats and birds.

As an adult, that trend continued. But, Gary and Debi found a very creative way to do it graciously, without sacrificing their home. As a family project with their three children, they built a system of tubes and tracks, kind of like a hamster playground, where the animals could move from one space in the house to another. Pretty cool! Today, Gary and Debi have 18 rescues – six dogs, 10 cats and two birds! “The lessons we’ve learned about unconditional love and forgiveness, and how to live each day with renewed exhuberance and joy were taught to us by these ever-present creatures and served to alter our perceptions forever,” Debi revealed. I think those of us with pets can relate to her sentiments completely. This passion they shared served as the fuel for what was to come.

The early Manger Bed

The first bed

It started in the garage. Back in 2004, Debi had done a brief study on the great artists, including Henri Matisse, a master of bold color. On a visit to a museum, she saw his painting, Woman Sleeping on the Corner of a Table, and her first thought was, “that would make a great dog bed!” She filed it away.

When they started the company, they chose the name Smucci by combining the love they felt for animals – the big Smooch – with the artistic inspiration they wanted to bring into the home, in the Ucci. Their early dog and cat beds resembled art pieces and incorporated unusual materials, custom fabrics, and lot of imagination. They would search antique stores for wooden bowls, finials, and frames. Then Debi, who Gary refers to as “the creative one. I’m the bean counter,”  would disappear into the garage and assemble these parts into one-of-a-kind pet beds that combined comfort and an artistic edge.

Their love of bright colors informed where they went next, and the Matisse idea was dusted off. They gave themselves this challenge: the bed had to be so colorful that it was breathtakingly beautiful…and it had to be round. Making a round dog bed out of a firm material is anything but easy! The curved walls were made of wood, to which Debi applied layer upon layer of plaster. Although the project began in their garage, it gradually moved into the kitchen and, eventually, took over the entire first floor. “Heaping amounts of plaster dust and paint mixed with 6 dogs, 9 cats, and 2 birds at the time, was a recipe we fondly referred to as the ‘Big Mess!’,” Debi recollects. “We were forever picking bits of plaster out of paws and scraping paint off of everything!” Debi actually painted the bed herself, and it’s amazing! “I’m an RN. I’m not an artist,” Debi exclaimed. “But, I was so determined.” Wait until you see the gorgeous bed that emerged! They posted a picture of it, CBS’ The Early Show called and put the bed on its national morning show for the holidays.

The Journey

The Matisse Bed

Debi started making beds for their own animals and few friends, but it was a long and costly process. They wanted to be able to share it with more people, and with a product that was practical, washable and beautiful. “We thought creating a build-a-bed concept would make it  fun,” she explains. “We found we could do it. We could make it round. Gary and I looked at each other and started brainstorming.”

Gary got the idea that they could print the artwork on to a substrate material. “The track system idea came to us in an A-Ha! moment,” Debi described. “Graphic panels, or the walls of the bed, would slide in and out of the track system on the bed base, and could be printed with original artwork, photographed scenery, or digital designs. The feet, which would screw to the bed base, could be made available in lots of exciting colors.”  Every part became launch points for creative design. “We could put in a panel for the dog’s birthday or for the holidays. It was a no brainer for me, because it’s about celebrating their lives,” Kahn added. This new direction warranted a new name. So, Smucci became Smucci Too!

Find out what the Smucci Too! secret weapon became, how their beds were created and see beautiful beds for boys and girls in Part Two, here!

Where to buy: Bitch New York

Have you ever designed something for your dog? Tell me about it in the Comments below.

(Disclosure: Affiliate Links in this article)