The Dog Behind the Design

I’m pretty selective about what I put in my home. I’ve spent my career in and around design and can’t unsee what I've learned. But when I adopted anxious, reactive Rolly—he's the handsome beast on the left; Arlo is the Pokemon on the right—I found myself surrounded by a slew of dog tools better suited to a kindergarten than my space.

The tools aren't going anywhere. Rolly's separation anxiety requires that I use a lick mat whenever I leave the house (suggested by his trainer when Rolly proved too stressed to engage with other toys). It's the only way to keep him from howling and my neighbors happy. Rolly entered the scene during peak Covid—which meant a whole lot of me, my dogs and tacky tools time.

I knew that if I was going to have to live with them, I needed to find a way to love the tools as much as I do my bookshelves, my dishes—all of the things I’ve chosen to make my space work for me.

I'm proud of the result—a modular dish that lets me feed and engage Rolly all in one tidy (and fetching) spot. I’m nothing if not a minimal animal.

My hope is that it will make your home a little happier too.

The photo of my dogs was taken during a session at Unleashed Studio in Charleston, SC. My thanks to Vincent Musi for permission to use it on the site.