“Traditional” dog costumes for New Year’s holiday

Written by: Rebecca Milner on November 12, 2008 at 12:05 am | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 1 Comment

Surely we’ve seen no shortage of doggy costumes to commemorate traditional western holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Now pet shop Dog Marine is going East Asia-trad with pet accessories to celebrate the New Year, Chinese astrology-style.

Above is one for this year, the year of the rat, and for next, the year of the ox. Dog Marine is calling these head-pieces inuzura, which means “dog wig.” We also like the “Daruma” (traditional Japanese doll) and “barcode” styles. Barcode is Japanese slang for comb-over!

In other dog news, thanks to the website from pet health insurance provider Anicom, we learned that “Choco” remains the number one dog name in Japan (fourth year running) and is followed by “Momo” (peach) and “Marron” (chestnut). Yes, they are all food names…

Tags: Back to Japan, pets
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Pet Trends: Water purification and graphic stamps

Written by: Rebecca Milner on September 2, 2008 at 11:01 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION | No Comments

It’s been awhile since we checked in on specialty products for pets, so here’s an update. While we aren’t seeing the same bombardment of items as we had in the recent past, a couple of interesting ones did catch our eye.

Kizna Co. has created a water purifying system especially for pets, called Peture (pet + nature). The high-grade system removes all chlorine and toxins from the water while maintaining traces of key minerals to create purportedly healthier, more balanced water for animals.

In addition to the drinking function, the Peture also has a shower attachment so pets can be clean and pure inside and out.

It only makes sense that the growing number of consumers demanding higher degrees of “pureness” and “wellness” from their food products and home appliances would apply these priorities to the products they buy for their pets. This level of purification doesn’t come cheap, however, including a two-year warranty the Peture comes to ¥155,400 (about $1,500).

Now on the gimmicky side (remember beer for dogs?), an Osaka-based hanko maker is offering a service to include an illustration of your pet onto your name stamp. Hanko are the personal stamps registered by individuals to serve as their signature and are used on official documents.

Interested customers are asked to send a photo of their pet, the image of which is simplified into a small illustration that accompanies their name. The process, which takes about two weeks, starts at ¥4,980 for a standard hanko and ¥3,900 for a smaller, self-inking type. A small price to pay for the ability to merge your identity with the likeness of your beloved companion.

Actually its not just for pets, you can have a person too. Some of the other designs, which aren’t created to resemble anyone in particular, are kind of neat.

In addition to demonstrating a little bit of personality, elaborate hanko are used to prevent fraud, though we’re not sure if the pet ones will pass at the bank.

Tags: Personalization, pets, Wellness
Category: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

OWND Cafe brings O2 to your K9

Written by: Michael Keferl on June 13, 2008 at 9:19 am | In DIGITAL LIFE | 1 Comment

While we’d heard about oxygen tanks for dogs in Japan (and seen them in doghouse form), but a cafe in Tokyo is taking the idea and running with it.

The OWND Cafe (Oxygen, Water, Nutrition, Detox + Dog) in Yoyogi Uehara was closed for the day when I stopped by, but, being dog-less, I probably avoided a potentially awkward situation anyway. The concept of OWND is to come along with your dog, have dual oxygen treatments together, and then share a snack. Who needs Frisbees anymore to spend quality time with man’s best friend?

Photo from the Airpress booth at a recent Pet Expo.

We’re not going to pretend that every Tokyoite with a dog is scrambling to oxygenate their dogs (or themselves for that matter), but this is another great example of Concept Retail in Tokyo that is original and working to create its own niche. After all, ten years ago it would have been hard to imagine maid cafes exploding like they did, but (though they’ve already peaked and are leveling out) the most successful concepts are still going strong.

Yes, perhaps it has a “wacky Japan” tinge to it, but this is Japan after all. If testing out offbeat ideas and innovations is impractical, you can count me in anyway.

Tags: Cafes, health, Oxygen, pets, Retail
Category: DIGITAL LIFE
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Pet fashion for the afterlife

Written by: Rebecca Milner on April 30, 2008 at 11:26 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 3 Comments

Considering the general obsession with pets these days, we weren’t surprised to learn that Pet Memorial Tokyo reported that each year the number of requests for pet memorial services has seen a dramatic increase. Now the latest is a wave of products designed to make a lasting memorial.

First up is this mini Buddhist altar, the Memoria Areca from Lidy, created to hold a beloved pet’s cremated remains.

The diminutive 40×15x18cm box has compartments for an urn as well as a glass case to display favored items like leashes and toys and a picture frame built into the lid. Unlike traditional alters, the Memoria Areca comes in two stylish modern designs (¥228,000 or ¥268,000) intended to adorn the living room mantel or dressing room table.

Truly on the cutting edge of pet memorial products, Lidy also offers a service to turn your pet’s remains into a diamond ring.

Using very high temperature and pressure, carbon is extracted from the remains and crystallized into a man-made diamond, available in sizes from 0.1c (¥298,000) to 1.0c (¥1,994,000) and ring or pendant settings.

Lidy’s other products include these urns that look like perfume containers and flower arrangements that incorporate the deceased’s fur and fit conveniently into the glass case of the memorial alter.

Tags: pets
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Puppine fashion magazine for dogs

Written by: Rebecca Milner on March 28, 2008 at 2:12 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION, MARKETING IDEAS | No Comments

We’re still going through all of the flyers we received at last week’s Tokyo Girls Collection, but this one caught our eye immediately: an ad for Puppine, a magazine launched earlier this year by Brangista Inc. under the banner “Dog meets fashion.”

Considering the less then stellar condition of the traditional publishing industry these days, it is always somewhat surprising when new magazines appear. The potential Puppine reader, however, has already proven to spend hundreds of dollars a month making sure that their little pocket monsters don’t feel the effects of global recession. So why not spend a few more on a magazine?

With popular model turned actress and TV talent Hinano Yoshikawa on the cover, the first issue features article on how to match your dog’s look with your own, celebrity dog inspired fashion tips, and doggie-mama lifestyle photo spreads.

We have been monitoring the pet boom for some time now (see previous posts here, here, and here)) and while it seems like it could reaching a saturation point (dog beer?) the new products still keep coming.

Tags: Fashion, magazines, pets
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION, MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS