Rango Designer Debuts Super Bizarre Super Doggies First Music Video With Obama.

This is so odd, I simply had to share it with my readers. Super Doggies are a musical and 3D visual project created in 2012. The project depicts a "virtual band" of cartoon characters. This band has three animated dog members: Buffy, Abby and Bo and their universe is explored through the band's website and music videos, the first of which debuted today -and includes an appearance by President Obama. Other media will follow, such as short cartoons and an upcoming ‘live’ 3D tour.



Super Doggies are pursuing the dream to perform around the world, with the involvement of local communities, focusing on children. Concerned about their future, Super Doggies has focused its attention on the global issue of youth poverty. The Super Doggies are ‘good citizens’ who want to bring attention to the issue of poverty and work with local communities to highlight their plight. Super Doggies’s citizenship principles are founded on the conviction that the arts, business and social initiatives can, together, contribute to making a better world.



The press release:
The guy behind Rango – which just won an Oscar for best animated feature film – will help introduce a new cast of animated characters with a political bent for this election season – the Super-Doggies.

The trio of singing Super-Doggies includes Barack Obama’s dog, “Bo,” Vladmir Putin’s dog, “Buffy,” and “Abby,” the dog of a South African girl, Imani, who lives in the slums of Johannesburg.

In the 3:45 music video, Imani watches from her house how both Obama and Putin care for their dogs. All Imani has is a raggedy stuffed animal. At one point she writes to both men asking them for a real pet – and in a fantastic scene that climaxes into a dance party featuring both dancing world leaders and their dogs – she gets her wish (Obama joins the action at 2:47)



The story is timely on multiple levels. Both Russia and the US have national elections coming up (March 4th for Russia and November 6th for the US). In fact, there have been several stories in Obama’s campaign promoting how well he treats Bo considering his competitor, Mitt Romney, once placed his dog in a kennel and strapped it on top of his car for a cross-country trip.

The work of Rango’s character designer, Eugeniy Yelchin is familiar to many of us. He designed Coca-Cola’s iconic polar bears, worked on the Film, “The Brothers Grimm” and also designed the opening for HBO’s “Rome.”

For this project, Yelchin teamed up with Grammy Award winning producer Neal Pogue who works with musicians like Nicky Minaj, Lil Wayne, Outkast and Pink. The effort is also getting guidance from marketing veteran Bruce Kirkland who directed The Beatles Anthology project, and has produced albums for the Beastie Boys, the Spice Girls, Radiohead, and Everclear. The overall project is the brainchild of producer Eugeniy Kuritsyn of Global Media Line, a Moscow-based creative producing house with an impressive line of talent to realize this vision. Eugeniy wanted to create a new entertainment product that would ensure collaboration between the best representatives of international entertainment industry.

Later in the year, the Super-Doggies will go on a world tour, featuring holographic dancing and singing dogs combined with the world’s best dance talent and circus performers. A portion of the proceeds will go to animal welfare organizations to encourage people to adopt dogs.

Tour dates and other information will be announced later in the year on the Super-Doggies website: http://www.super-doggies.com/ where you can sign up for the newsletter for updates.

A Holiday Video for Dog Lovers From Bergdorf Goodman and the Humane Society.

Bergdorf Goodman goes to the dogs this year for its annual holiday video. Inspired by this year’s theme of the department store's holiday windows, “Carnival of the Animals,” (all of which are shown later in this post) BG Films presents “Unleashed,” a story about some of New York's most charismatic canines as they invade the store in search of a perfect gift for their owner.




Guest star, Salty, (shown below) steals the show with a special performance that will warm hearts of all animal lovers.



The four minute, 19 second video in its entirety, Unleashed:


The video was directed by Theo Stanley of HARBOR Film Company, with Creative Direction and Concept by Aidan Kemp, Vice President and Creative Director, Bergdorf Goodman.

A look at their beautiful Christmas windows, The Carnival Of Animals, At Bergdorf Goodman's on Fifth Avenue in New York (Photographs by Ricky Zehavi):






Bergdorf Goodman is a dog friendly store and offers holiday treats for visiting pups in the second floor Shoe Salon.


To adopt a dog and learn more about the responsibilities of living with an animal, please contact the Humane Society of New York - an institution that has been helping animals since 1904.

Bergdorf Goodman
Humane Society of New York

Modern Custom Handcrafted Wood Dog Feeders and Food Storage By Eastvold.

Eastvold Furniture is a small company based in Minnesota that uses ethically harvested lumber in the construction of their furniture. In addition to their beautifully designed and constructed credenzas, tables, coffee tables, dressers, end tables, consoles and beds, they have three modern dog feeders that incorporate storage for the food.

The Buster Pet Feeder:


Named after designer Matt Eastvold's first Yellow Lab, who was a tough but gentle farm dog, the Buster pet feeder stores the food in the center column so it is right where you need it for your dog's mealtime. Two stainless steel bowls are great for water and food. The tops of the bowl holders are gray laminate for extra durability and sloppiness.


dimensions: 18.0 H x 10.0 W x 10.0 D. Side bowl holders 10"x10" 2 qt. bowls. Bowl height 8 1/2" from floor
woods available: maple, walnut or white oak
price: $260

The Jesse Pet Feeder:


Named after Ben's Border Collie, a warm-hearted old dog, the Jesse pet feeder stores the food in the center column, so it is right where you need it for your dog or cat's mealtime. Two stainless steel bowls are great for water and food. The top of the bowl holder is gray laminate for extra durability and sloppiness. The Jesse is excellent for small dogs or cats.


dimensions: 18.0 H x 10.0 W x 10.0 D. Side bowl holders 10"x13", 1 qt. bowls.
woods available: maple, walnut or white oak
price: $260

The Willie Pet Feeder:



Named after Ben's younger, very energetic Boarder Collie, the sleek and modern Willie dog station has a built in storage drawer for food. There are 2 quart stainless bowls with ring seals so water doesn't get into the food drawer.




dimensions: 11.5 H x 24.5 W x 12.0 D
woods available: maple, walnut or white oak
price: $340.

You won't find these beautifully made wood dog feeders on their site because they are designed exclusively for Design Public.

Eastvold Furniture
12980 Dennison Blvd.,
Dennison, MN 55018. (651) 210-2294
info@eastvoldfurniture.com

How About A Green House For Your Dog or Cat? Modern Indoor Kennels / Planters.

The Kokon Kennel and the K-Bannette Kennel are indoor homes for small pets that are modern, ecologically friendly and double as decorative planters for flowers and greens. Created by Sebastian Haquet and Thomas Lanthier of Pousse Creative, the small pet homes can function as stylish modern hideways for dogs and cats or as litter boxes hidden from view. They come with flower pots or planters in the top and a comfy pillow. A plastic tub can easily be inserted to hold kitty litter.

The Kokon Kennel



This modern home for your small dog or cat can serve as a hideaway with comfy pillow, which comes with the product, or as a litterbox (simply fill a plastic tub with gravel). The back has a door which opens easily to clean the litterbox or interior of the space. A planter is integrated into the top of the kennel so you can cultivate plants and flowers for natural decoration.





Made of roto molded plastic and environmentally friendly (recycled and recyclable), it's available in white or brown. Made in France. Buy it here.

The K-banette Kennel


Sold in an easy to build kits, the K-banette is made of wood, is ecological and respectful of the environment. It comes with four flower pots that fit into the top of the kennel. If you decide to use K-banette as a litter box, simply fill a plastic tub with litter gravel. To easily change and clean the tub of litter, you just have to open the trapdoor in the back for access.





Available in natural wood or white laminate with a taupe front panel. Made in France. Buy it here.


above: Sebastian and Thomas of Pousse Creative

Founded in 2010 by Sebastian Haquet and Thomas Lanthier, Pousse creative is a company based near Lille in northern France. Thier brand has a desire to create simple and innovative products that enhance the connection between Man and Nature.

Pousse Creative

How To Turn Your Dog Into a Live Chia Pet This Halloween.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of dressing up dogs. However, The Flirty Guide (Stacie Tamaki) shares with us a way to make this terrific "Howl"ween costume, turning your dog into a live Chia Pet. All you need are some plastic aquarium plants, muslin, fabric, elastic straps, felt and a willing participant. (Note: a "green" version of this costume is possible by using organic materials and eco-friendly felt as shown in the photo at the beginning of this post, courtesy of Inhabitat).



Needed elements for the Terracotta legs:
•An inner liner made of muslin
• An outer layer using terra cotta colored fabric
• Two straps and a cross strap connecting the first two together. The first straps are attached at the top of each leg, suspender style, to hold them up once you slip all four legs onto your dog.



The Steps:
1. Sew an inner leg liner using muslin or another fabric that is thin enough to bend if your dog wants to sit or lie down.
2. Sew and outer terra cotta leg with appropriately colored fabric that is also thin enough to fold and bend for your dog's comfort.
3. Make sure they are both the same width at the bottom. Drop the liner inside the terra cotta layer and fold the terra cotta layer under allowing you to sew them together with a single pass of your sewing machine.
4. Now stitch the two layers together at the top in only two places where the strap will fasten along the outer side of your dog's leg and directly across from it on the other side. This holds the two layers together without binding them completely and eliminates the need to make the pant legs fit your dog's leg perfectly. This way the pant legs can loosely fit, be comfortable and look great!
5. Once you've stitched the top of the legs together sew the felt strap along the outer side of the pant leg.
6. Do one leg first, then slip the other pant leg on your dog's other leg and pin it into place along the strap you're attaching them to. Make sure you can slip it off, bending your dog's leg to do so, and you've got the perfect length to trim the strap to.
7. Attach the other pant leg same as the first.

Elements for the covering and foliage:
• Felt to make a blanket or body cover and fabric for lining so the plastic plants do not irritate your dog.
• Plastic aquarium plants that come attached to grids (available at Petco) or organic plants for the green version:


To attach the plastic foliage, pull all of the foliage off the mats. Then make a horse blanket out of green felt and strategically cut holes in the felt using an x-acto knife. Push the prongs of the grid through the holes and reattach the foliage alternating the two different types of leaves. Then line the entire costume on the underside so that none of the plastic will poke through and make your pet uncomfortable.

And Voila! Ch Ch Ch Chia.... Chia Dog!


Images and instructions courtesy of the Flirty Guide Blog.