In The Beginning

Musings. Late Fall/Winter 1994. You've worked so hard on the design of this coat, Suzanne. And now there is no one to wear it. Could there be a way to honor Vroma and make her coat available to other dog lovers. Perhaps. There are many questions. What fabrics? What sizes? Patterns? Can Suzanne make enough of them if many people want them? If not, can we find someone local to handmake the coats for us?

When you think of winter scenes, the first thing you imagine is someone walking on a snow covered sidewalk in Manhattan or Paris or London with the collar of their wool coat turned up, leaning into the wind, with snow flakes swirling around them. We're making winter coats for dogs. They should be wool and let's line them with faux fur for that added touch.

February 1995. Creativity must, at some point, move towards reality otherwise the vision will never be realized. We needed to see many breeds to determine what sizes seemed logical. What better place than the Westminster Dog Show! After all, there is something about New York that makes you feel as though you can do anything; that the sky is the limit and that you are almost invincible. The day was spent determining what breeds would appreciate being bundled up against the elements and taking some general measurements. Then it was off to a café for a relaxing glass of wine before boarding the train back to Philadelphia.

Details. Always a necessity, if you're doing things right. Sometimes a curse, if you allow yourself to get bogged down. It's time to give our company a name. We will honor Vroma. Suzanne does a beautiful drawing of Vroma's head for our logo. Our company will be Canine Couture Collection.