I was so excited yesterday when Roxy’s birthday present finally arrived in the mail – two custom, hand-carved leather collars from our friends at Paco Collars! Aren’t they gorgeous? I don’t want to brag or anything, but the design was my idea, inspired by one of my fave tattoos and come to fruition with a LOT of help from Josie, one of the resident artisans. I told her I wanted the collar to feature swallows and roses, and she took my idea and ran with it!

The process began with an idea and a sketch…

Once we decided upon the final colours and I gave them Roxy’s neck measurement, they traced the design onto the leather and began cutting!

After tinkering a bit with our original colour selections, the team decided to do two versions so Roxy can change up her collar to suit her mood each day. I approved the new colour combos and they applied the final "antiqueing" coat to finish them up and…

Voila! Both collars turned out absolutely perfectly, and Roxy and I couldn’t be more happy with the results! Doesn’t Roxy look like a beautiful, old-school honey?

Which one do you like better?

Getting your own custom, hand-carved collar made will cost you around $250-300, but let me tell you first hand it’s worth it! The team at Paco is an absolute pleasure to deal with and they take your happiness very seriously. Together they’ll help you come up with a meaningful design that perfectly represents your best friend, like they did for my Roxy.

Next on the roster for Roxy’s 10th birthday extravaganza is my great big Roxy tattoo (eek!) and then, of course, Roxy’s actual birthday party, so stay tuned for more of the excitement and celebration!