In The Spotlight With The Crafty Cavapoo



Hi Kat, welcome to BST's In The Spotlight, can you introduce yourself to our customers? Hi, my name is Katrina Croucher and I live in Hertfordshire with my husband and our two dogs. I run a small, home-based hobby business called 'The Crafty Cavapoo' which sells handcrafted enrichment products for pets and themed pet collar/harness embellishments.
 
What was your inspiration for setting up The Crafty Cavapoo, what made you want to startup? I'm an Accountant by career but unfortunately, due to long term ill health, I had to stop work a couple of years ago and was looking for something I could do at home, as and when my health allowed, to help relieve the boredom of being ill and housebound. I found crafting very therapeutic and was soon looking to my then-new puppy for inspiration of what I could make for him!  I had some old fleece fabric so cut it up and made him various tug ropes and a mat and ball for hiding treats in as enrichment activities. He absolutely loved them (and still keeps a 'quality control' eye over what I make today!), so I made more as gifts for pets of friends. 
 
What kind of things do you make/sell? The pet enrichment products I handcraft include treat mats and treat balls - which provide mental stimulation and help relieve boredom as your pet sniffs and searches for the treats you've hidden in them, and I also make tug ropes and training aids - which help keep pets entertained and active!
I also have a range of themed collar/harness embellishments which are great fun for any well- dressed pet - these include flowers, bows and bones as well as special Valentines, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas items.
 
What has the response been like for your products? Word spread and soon friends of friends and people who attended our puppy training class were asking me to make things for them and so 'The Crafty Cavapoo' began! I'm very lucky that I can manage my hobby around my health and have a wonderful network of local dog training schools that recommend my products, a local independent pet supplies store who stock my treat mats and lots of fantastic Facebook groups I'm a member of who let me share what I make with their members.
 
How can people follow you and order from you? I have a Facebook page 'The Crafty Cavapoo' where I showcase what I make and I use that as my primary communication route with my Customers. I love the personal interaction that allows me and have built up relationships with many of my Customers who return to order from me again and again. I'm also very fortunate that many of my Customers take the time to send me photos and videos of their pets using the products I've made - which is wonderful to see them being used! Chatting on messenger directly with my Customers also allows me to offer advice and suggestions on the vast choice of colour combinations they can pick! You can find us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheCraftyCavapoo/ or you can email us at Thecraftycavapoo@gmail.com
 
You buy some of your items from BST, but why use BST rather than somewhere closer? I buy most of the polar fleece I use for the pet enrichment products and the fleece, buttons, ribbons and elastic I use for my collar/harness embellishments from BST Fabrics. The quality of the fabric is fantastic, and I find the online ordering process really easy. My order is always dispatched quickly, which is really important for me as I don't have a vast amount of storage space at home! The team at BST are very helpful if I message with questions and are always on hand to provide advice; recently suggesting a fabric I could add to my standard treat mat for a blind dog so that I could create different sounds and textures for him to experience. 
 
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Is there anything you would like to add? Thank you for having The Crafty Cavapoo featured on your website, hopefully, others will follow as I think it is great that you are featuring people like this, plus if anyone wants some of our products now they know how to get them.



IF YOU HAVE A BUSINESS THAT USES BST FABRICS AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE FEATURED THEN DROP US AN EMAIL TO 

bstfabricsuk@gmail.com