Modern Dog Furniture
Interview with Wowo designer Glenn Rossby Nicole Feliciano
Wowo Dog Pod
Designers have finally caught on: Pet owners want the same high quality products for their dogs that they themselves enjoy. How else can you explain a $550 Hermes leather dog collar or a $95 cashmere dog sweater from Ralph Lauren?
It didn't take long for Vancouver designer, Glenn Ross, to pick up on this phenomenon. Of course, there was a dog that spurred Ross's epiphany. 38-year-old Ross received his Masters in Architecture from the University of British Columbia in 2001. After school, Ross settled in Vancouver, Canada with his family--wife Cindy and daughters Weijin and Jian--and launched a small design company called Vurv (Vurv is a play on the word verve, which means playful enthusiasm).
About the same time he started his company, Oliver, a German sheppard and bleu healer mix, came into Ross's life. Oliver's pedigree may be from the SPCA, but Ross felt the handsome dog deserved the best. Ross didn't want to sacrifice and ounce of style when adding dog accoutrements to his home.
Ross started looking around at the products available for dogs. The designer wanted to outfit Oliver with stylish pet accessories. The aesthetically minded Ross was sorely disappointed in the selection. His predilections run towards modern furniture and minimalist designs. To start, he saw a void in the selection of basic items, such as dog bowls. "I wanted something nice, something I wanted to look at in the kitchen," said Ross. The industrious designer decided to make Oliver an appealing feeding station.
Ellipse Pet Bed
Before Oliver, Ross's business focused solely on designing for bipeds. As the sole proprietor of Vurv, Ross's says he set out to create warm, comfortable spaces within the context of the modern home. Human customers came to Ross for clean and elegant furniture, such as the Portland platform bed. But after crafting his dog feeder, Ross decided to quietly market the product.
Ross dubbed his new design offshoot business "Wowo" (the term is derived from the sound his daughters made when calling Oliver). On Ross's website he states Wowo products are for "pets and their people." Savvy dog parents have enthusiastically responded to Ross's offerings. The elegant and functional Wowo feeder remains one of his most popular items. Though the design has been tweaked over the years, the essence of the feeder remains the same. Each Wowo feeding station is made and finished by hand. Ross uses high quality materials like stainless steel dishes, and fine wood; these feeding stations are made to last.
Veneers, such as maple, bamboo and cherry, are applied to a plywood mold, resulting in a gorgeous finished product. Function is always important to Ross, and Oliver can attest that the visually appealing feeders are also capable of enduring many meals. Wowo feeding stations come in six finish options (my personal favorite is the aluminum with mandarin red), and four standard sizes. The feeding stations start at $99 and go up to $215 (CAN).
Wowo Pet Feeder
After the feeding station was completed and successfully selling, Ross took on a bigger design challenge—dreaming up a dog bed that is both sleek and inviting for a canine nap. Trying to fill an under-served niche "good clean modern pet accessories" in the furniture market, Ross set about shaking up his own preconceptions. Ross says that when it comes to designing for dogs, "I want to put the dog's needs first, and then I try to make it appealing to humans."
Ross observed his dog and noticed that Oliver liked to sleep under things, craving a den-like space for rest. Ross's first design took the shape of an ellipse-shaped bed made from bent plywood. The bed is now finished in a choice of veneers and according to Ross is a perfect fit for small- to medium-sized dogs. The Ellipse Bed ($799 CAD) includes a machine-washable microfibre cushion to make napping even more relaxing.
His second piece of furniture was inspired by a local design contest. The "Doghouse Vancouver" portion of the 2006 Design Vancouver Interior Design & Urban Living Expo was an open call to designers to bring their talents to the world of canine design. The expo organizers asked for reinterpretations on the classic doghouse. Ross, one of ten artists who entered the contest, came up with a concept called the "Dog Pod." As he describes it, the bed is, "More of a recliner than a pet bed. It's like an Eames chair for your best friend."
Designer Glenn Ross
According to Ross, the Wowo Dog Pod provides dogs with a sense of shelter. When he was satisfied with the bed's shape, Ross added a washable and removable synthetic fur liner to make the pod cozy. Ross attests to the bed's enticing design, his young daughter often crawled into the prototype trying to find a snug spot to rest. Made of bent plywood shaped into an elliptical curve, the Dog Pod is offered in a choice of veneers ($599 CAD). The pod is also available as an attachment for Ross's popular Platform bed, so owner and dog can sleep side by side.
The Dog Pod and the other canine abodes were a huge hit with the press and the visitors to dv. After being showcased at the expo, each of the ten doghouses was auctioned off for charity, raising more than $5,000 for the British Columbia SPCA. Jason Heard, dog lover and Show Director, wasn't surprised by the response to the dog habitats. As Heard tells it, "Vancouver is the dog capital of North America. Per capita, we have more dogs than any other city. There is lots of space here and a real enthusiasm for dogs." Heard is the proud owner of Labrador and pit bull mixed breed, Gunner, and can relate to Ross's motivations. "Dog owners want their dogs to represent the lifestyle they live," says Heard.
As for Ross, he sees the Wowo line as a fabulous way to expand his business and have a good romp. Right now Wowo sales are responsible for more than 50% of Ross's income. Ross admits designing product for humans can get a bit tedious and serious, but comparatively Wowo designs are a lot of fun.
Wowo products can be ordered from the website (www.vurv.ca/) or found in Vancouver pet boutiques. In the States, Modern Tails in Laguna Beach, CA offers the Wowo line of furniture and accessories. For a business that started on a whim, Wowo has shown there's a lot of potential in keeping dogs outfitted in style and comfort.
