Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Beth McGrath. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Beth, thanks for joining us today. Along with taking care of clients, taking care of our team is one of the most important things we can do as leaders. Looking back on your journey, did you have a boss that was really great? Maybe you can tell us about that boss and what made them a wonderful person to work for?
I’ve worked with a few great mentors that have taught me a lot about design, business, and sales. However, I think out of all my bosses, I’m my favorite one. Part of starting Dirt & Dog Hair was wanting to be my own boss and have full creative freedom with my work. Since taking the leap to being self-employed I’ve achieved a work-life balance and have gotten to spend every day with my dog Bella!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Dirt & Dog Hair started from my frustration with the commercial pet industry. Before becoming a pet product designer, I designed costume jewelry for a large design house soon after graduating college. I’d always been a creative person and was excited to be getting paid for my ideas. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to realize I wasn’t there to do much designing but to knock off other designers. We’d use jewelry pieces from runway designers to even small indie designers as “inspiration.” This of course didn’t sit well with me so I’d try my best to truly use pieces as inspiration rather than knocking them off and only changing enough of the design to keep the company I was working for from being sued for copyright. Not feeling like I was able to be creative at my job, I started illustrating cartoons and random objects in my free time. I’d often come home from work, walk my dog Bella, and then draw out my frustrations until it was time for bed. I eventually left my jewelry design job after being asked to design using leather. I’d been vegetarian since I was nine and vegan since I was fifteen. I’ve never seen animals as ours to use and being asked to go against my lifelong morals was what I needed to finally get myself out of a job that seemed to clash with me at every turn. It was then that I saw a job ad for a pet product designer. I had no experience with designing outside of jewelry but being a well-known obsessive dog mom I had to apply. In my interview, I showed I could adjust my design skills but was ultimately hired due to my enthusiasm and how much I knew about and loved dogs. I was ecstatic to be designing dog toys and never imagined I’d be working in what I then realized was a dream job for me. I often brought toy samples that we were getting rid of home to Bella and imagined her feeling like the kid in a Christmas movie that just found out their dad is Santa. Soon, the excitement started to wear off as I began to realize the similarities between my new job and my old jewelry design job. Both categories were very sample heavy and resulted in wasted products, both would knock off other designers, both mindlessly produced to the point I couldn’t even remember what I’d designed, and both very evidently cared more about profit over their product or customer. In jewelry, I was often able to ignore the snarky comments made at the expense of our target customer but in the pet industry, I couldn’t get over the fact that I seemed to be the only animal person in the whole company. No one seemed to care about the quality of our product and how a dog would interact with it, just if it would sell. I had a few instances when reviewing samples where this was made clear. I’d point out comments I wanted to make to the factory to improve quality, durability, or use but was told those things didn’t matter, as long as it looked good enough in stores that someone would buy it.
I started questioning just about everything I’d ever bought for my dog. Was her experience or safety ever in mind when the items I’d gotten for her were being designed? Was I falling for a company’s advertising when searching for quality products to be used in her daily life? I’ve always believed that our purchases reflect our support of a company and its practices and from what I was seeing, many companies in the pet industry directly went against my beliefs. For one, most companies use the same production methods and materials as those used in the fast fashion industry, an industry well known for its detrimental environmental impact. I believe that products should be designed and created with our environment in mind. Second, people should always come before profit. At the price point, many products in the pet industry are made, there is not much money left to pay those making the product. I believe in fair treatment of workers and like supporting people that love what they do. Last, and maybe most important to me, not everyone in the pet industry is a pet person and call me crazy, but I don’t trust someone that doesn’t like dogs.
In 2020 I returned to illustration as a creative release from my job and got the idea to turn my illustrations into dog toys. I decided to start a brand that’d follow each and every one of my beliefs so I could provide other pet parents with an eco-friendly toy option made by a business that cared about the environment, their product, and – most importantly – dogs. To do this, I considered many aspects of designing a toy. The beginning and end of a product are often the least environmentally friendly parts. Many materials used in dog toys release toxins when produced and once our dog is finished with the product it’s likely destined for a landfill, resulting in an estimated 97 million lbs of dog toys being thrown out each year in the US alone. To avoid this, I decided to use durable materials that have a minimal environmental impact in production and are naturally biodegradable. I found a variety of businesses to buy my materials from ranging from larger eco-conscious companies to non-profits raising money for shelter dogs. For me, materials didn’t only have to be more environmentally friendly but they also had to be vegan friendly. Animal by-products such as gelatine, bone chard, or even crushed beetles can be found in inks, dyes, and fabric finishes. Profiting off of products containing any part of an animal or insect was not an option and I’m proud to say that even my packaging uses vegan-friendly inks and adhesives! Last, I wanted my business to not only make dogs happy but to help them as well. Every month I search for new shelters, rescues, and sanctuaries to donate a portion of Dirt & Dog Hair profits to.
Each year, Dirt & Dog Hair has grown a little bit bigger and I’m constantly finding encouragement through people’s support and genuine care of the brand and what it stands for. I hope it not only provides an eco-friendly option for pet parents but also gets people thinking more about how not only their products are being made but also how their dogs’ products are being made.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I met my cofounder when I adopted her nearly ten years ago! My dog Bella helps me with just about every aspect of the business by testing products, modeling for photography, and being my emotional rock that keeps me motivated. She’s even where the name for the brand came from because it represents what my life is like with her, covered in Dirt & Dog Hair.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
Before starting Dirt & Dog Hair I didn’t know how to sew and ended up teaching myself in order to start the brand. I wanted the production to be as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible and decided making myself was the best route. I’ve gotten to learn more about the materials, time, and thought that goes into each product. I’ve better learned to time manage and work in a more production style to make up to 700 toys a month!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dirtanddoghair.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirtanddoghair.bk/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/dirtanddoghair/
- Other: TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@dirtanddoghair
Image Credits
Dirt & Dog Hair, Tracy Velloso