Red Lobsters For Red

I have now had my rescue pup Red for a year and a half (time really flies)! I remember that on the way to go and get him we wanted to stop off and pick up all of his supplies, like excited new parents we picked matching bowls and leads and collars... plus a whole bunch of toys and chews to spoil our new dog with and help him settle in at home. So for the last year and a half he has been wearing a simple red collar from Pets At Home and the matching red lead and harness. They are all made out of nylon webbing, which has proven to be extremely durable. The price range for these product is also really affordable ranging between £5 and £16 each. Whilst they are completely usable and strong still, they are starting to look a little worse for wear. There are some silver eyelets coming of the collar and the padding from the collar and the harness have become brittle and completely fallen off.

So I thought I would treat Red to some new fresh threads. Immediately I went to Etsy and (no lie) I spent hours looking for the perfect set. Of course everything he wears has to be Red and I was looking for something a little bit quirky and fun whilst being hardwearing and durable.

I ended up falling in love with this red collar and lead with a white lobster print running along it from the store Shelly Creations.

Everything on her store is hand made with cuteness and comfort in mind for your pup.

I ordered both on the 23rd and they were coming from Boston USA to Falmouth in Cornwall via USPS. They arrived on the 30th!! Very very impressed with how fast Shelly had the items dispatched to me and how fast they arrived at my door. I think I payed roughly £7 for both items to be shipped to me and considering how affordable the items are I was very happy with the overall amount that I paid for them.

The material is lovely. It is cotton that has been supported and strengthened by having a couple of layers of medium weight interfacing sandwiched on the inside before being sewn together. Sturdy box seams have been used to make sure all of the hardware will stay intact.

The D ring (used for attaching the lead) and the clip on the lead feel like very decent quality metal (steal that has been nickel plated I think). The buckle and adjuster on the collar are made of a lightweight black plastic that seem to be quite sturdy (however my pup is a rough player so I'm hoping they won't become brittle over time and start to crack.)

Another thing that I really like about the lead is that it is a really decent length... 5 1/2 ft. Again because of the cotton material and interfacing core it is very light, strong and very comfortable to hold and wrap around your hand/ wrist.

Overall I am so excited about Red's new accessories and I am over the moon with how cute the lobster print is on him. The shopping experience at Shelly Creations has been wonderful, she was very quick to answer any questions I had and got the products dispatched to me very quickly... And to top everything of your pup gets to wear some fancy new threads that have been handmade with a lot of love.

The Next Chapter

So as I'm sure you all realise the last two months have been crazy hectic for both myself and Abigail. We both have been pushing really hard and buckling down in the race to finishing our degrees and we have finally finished! So here is what I have been up to since.

First things first lets start with the fun stuff, we both got to go to our graduation ball! It was such a fun night. We got to get all dressed up and enjoyed a evening at Pendennis Castle in Falmouth. The student union booked three fantastic bands that played live music for us all evening and it was just a really great way to see everyone and have some fun before everyone headed of to enjoy their summer and start the graduate job hunt.

Falmouth Graduation Ball 2015

Falmouth Graduation Ball 2015

University wise I am still waiting to hear what grade I will be graduating with but I hope to find out in the next couple of weeks.

The next stage is working our what to do now I am a graduate. First things first I had to find a job so I can continue paying my rent until myself and boyfriend Jacob can move to a bigger city and start looking for career jobs in our field of animation. Whilst it's not impossible to find creative work in Cornwall the opportunities are limited and to be honest we are looking to have a new adventure somewhere new. Fortunately I have managed to find myself a new job as a hospital cleaner here in Cornwall, I'm starting in August, which will allow me to cover the bills and start saving toward the eventual move that we want to make. The job is well paid and won't take up my whole week meaning I can continue towards developing my portfolio and myself as a creative in my free time with the aim of applying for animation and illustration positions in the future.

So for now we are in Cornwall, working our butts of and saving as much as we can and in the future we would like to be working in a bigger city closer to my home near Basingstoke.

Being a new graduate is hard! There is a lot of adjusting to do as well as the stress of having to be making enough when you finish to cover your expenses and to find the motivation and determination to continue working towards finding work in your studied field. I am already learning that if you become stagnant you will be less likely to succeed. I am challenging myself to draw everyday so that I continue to grow as an artist, involve myself in creative projects and to build myself a better online presence via social media to start to get my name out there as a illustrator and animator.

If your wondering you can find my professional site at pariswashington.com  and I am on Twitter and Instagram @parisanimation. Here you will be able to follow my work more closely and see the little daily challenges I am setting myself.

To all the new graduates out there... Firstly CONGRATULATIONS you deserve it!! And secondly, good luck in the new chapter of your life, maybe one day I will cross paths with some of you other creatives out there. And please if you to are looking to work in the creative industries do drop me a line on my social medias because I would love to connect with you and share work and job hunting experiences!

Sorry!

Hey there!

Sorry for the massive absence from the blog over the past month or so, we have both been super busy finishing our third and final year at University which as you can imagine has been very busy and stressful. As we were so busy the blog had to take a back seat for a little while but we have finally finished everything but we can now get back on track. This week we had our Graduation Ball and saw our last days as students, so we actually have some down time now.

The blog will be back to normal as of next week but I just wanted to let you guys know that we hadn't forgotten about this space and we can't wait to get back into the swing of things.

Much Love!