Crafty, Custom and Creative – The UltiMUTT Pet Gifts for the Holidays

The holidays are BUSY and with the way 2020 has gone, we know you have tons on your mind. If one of them is worrying about a great gift – look no further for your pet loving friends! We have scoped out two artists who create special, unique gifts that capture the individual personalities of your pets and their likeness perfectly. Read on to learn more about them and their work, and don’t forget to check out their Instagram pages for more!

First up, we have Rabbit, who you can find at @themoonburrow on Instagram. A Texas native, she left her job in customer support to move to L.A. to pursue something more creative – and now she works in set design and prop management in Hollywood! When asked what the main motivation was for moving to Los Angeles, she explains, “The city is full of artists and creators, which is amazing. There are also dogs EVERYWHERE. You can easily see fifty new dogs a day, which is reason enough to live here, if you ask me!” Raise your hand if you can relate to this logic. 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️ In her spare time you can catch her at the skate park, roller skating her heart out in a way that reminds me just how old and frail I am… 😬

Rabbit started needle felting about six months ago, and creates incredibly realistic and adorable dolls of people’s pets for them! See the pic featured of the two she did for me of my dogs, Butters & Tulip – the resemblance is uncanny, right down to Butters’ freckles! She is also a sculptor and is working on sculpting more parts of the figures, like their faces, “because I’m able to get even more detail.” Rabbit went on to say, “I’ve always been a huge animal lover. I grew up always drawing animals and spending time with them in any way I could. I loved the idea of creating worlds of my own, and it turns out that drawing humans is really hard!” She finds creating the dolls for people one of the most fulfilling avenues for her creativity and here at LDC we think it is one of the coolest keepsakes of your fur baby you could own! So, how do you get one?

Most importantly – be quick! Contacting Rabbit by email is the best option at themoonburrow@gmail.com. Keep in mind that making these dolls can take some time, so if you’re hoping for a gift for the holidays, don’t wait! She can only take on so many commissions at once and we don’t want you to miss out! As a cool bonus, she will even incorporate a bit of your own pet’s fur into the doll for you as a special token, if you’d like!

Pricing varies based on specifics, but a rough estimate is as follows:
– Portrait (a realistic mini of your pet, in your chosen pose): $80
– Doll (more like a traditional teddy bear, simplified markings, button eyes, rotating arms/legs): $50
– Custom dress up magnet set: $40

Next up, we have Jenna! She is a talented artist who I was personally introduced to during our first quarantine, thanks to her doodles series. But doodles isn’t all she do!….er, does*. She’s a versatile artist whose talents include character design, concept art for podcasts and events, and she even has a background in Musical Theatre. As far as I know, however, she is not currently offering singing telegrams at this time… (sad trombone noise)

Jenna lives in Philly and is a Philadelphia native – or, more specifically, “Okay, Havertown. But Delco almost counts, right?” Jenna loves a place with neighborhoods to explore and says that is why she chose to spend her college years in Boston and it’s also what brought her back to Philly. “Back in pre-quarantine times, I’d walk from one part of the city to another, bar- or restaurant-hopping with friends. I’ve been in Fishtown for almost three years now and I adore it. I really enjoy having the bustle of Frankford close by but the ability to step away from the action. Plus we live around the corner from Loco Pez—something I’ll sorely miss if we ever leave. Future residences will be decided based on proximity to tacos.” ⬅⬅ This last part really speaks to my soul… 🌮🤤

Jenna has been drawing her whole life and says, “throughout all my creative endeavors I’ve always drawn and kept sketchbooks. I also keep a visual journal as a way to hold onto mental snapshots and little gratitudes throughout my day.” And outside of art? You guessed it – she loves DOGS! 🐶 Her own dog is named Penny Lane, and Jenna says, “Penny Lane the pup keeps me busy. She’s super smart (sometimes too smart) and my fiancée and I do a lot of training with her. She can put her toys away and cover her face in shame, give high fives and jump through our arms. Beyond that, I read a lot, play video games, and bake!”

One of the things that drew me to Jenna (get it? because she draws?) was that she has a huge heart and uses her powers for good. When I asked her about why she chose to draw pets and whether or not it was her favorite, she reminded me that the doodle project was created with a few specific things in mind… “The pet doodles started as a project to give back: I wanted to contribute to the Black Lives Matter movements both locally and across the country and thought doing quick doodles of friends, families, and pets would be a great way to incentivize folx to contribute! I’m proud to say that, since March, I’ve donated over $1,200 to BLM, bail funds, Planned Parenthood, The Okra Project—many incredible and admirable organizations—from doodle income alone. I still contribute 20% of all doodle proceeds to these organizations. I lost count somewhere along the line, but I’ve done something like 350 doodles. Plus, getting photos of everyone’s pets is such a good perk 🙂 ” Check out her page specifically for the doodle project HERE and scroll past the jump for more pricing info if you want to buy one of your own!

If you want a more detailed commission, you should email her at jennarogalski.illustrations@gmail.com where you can discuss complexity, timeline, and a pricing quote. If a doodle is what you’re after, it is easiest to contact her via Instagram at @jenna.rogalski, and here are the details you should know:

-People doodles or people & pet doodles are $5 per figure (so a couple and their cat would be $15). They are monochromatic.
-Pet doodles are $10 per figure. They are full-color.
-Pick one or a few reference pics to send & leave it up to me to reimagine them!
-No backgrounds
-No revisions
-Final file will be emailed to you
-If you plan on printing them, they’re sized to be about 5”x5” but it depends on your printer
-Venmo is preferred!
-20% of the proceeds will go to BLM organizations. If you want to donate more than the asking price, just specify what amount you’d like set aside for donating in your Venmo request.
– She tries to get them done within a week of your request so the VERY latest to get it before December 25th would be to request no later than December 17th. The sooner, the better!

As always, Loyal Dog Club is excited to support small, women-run businesses and creativity! We are so impressed with these two artists and all the other folx out there who have found a way to hustle in these wild and trying times – especially when they find a way to do it with their passions! Please consider supporting them the same way you can support us – follow on IG, like and share posts, and purchase items directly from us! If you have questions for either Rabbit or Jenna, DM or email us directly and we’ll be happy to make sure you can connect and get your answers quickly! Feel free to share this Blog to spread the good word – maybe one of your friends will take the hint and buy YOU a rendering from one of these talented ladies!