CREATURE COMFORTS — Four&Sons

Four&Sons

Accessories, Community, Design

CREATURE COMFORTS

VolDog designs for canines and the environment, too.

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CREATURE COMFORTS

WORDS BY Imogen Dewey

Barcelona-based creative studio VolDos typically applies their talents to restaurants, hotels and retail spaces. But when founders Marta Budó and Pepe Bustamante found themselves frustrated with a lack of pet products they could seamlessly integrate into their own homes, they decided to expand their services. “Our main idea was to provide our dog Scoot with comfortable quality products” explain Budó. VolDog was born to satisfy discerning humans while keeping pups happy, too, with a design-led collection made from sustainable materials.

Bowls, beds and canine houses are produced following the principles of circular economy: synthetics are swapped for plant-based fibres, natural dyes and earth-derived ores, like bauxite. Budó and Bustamante use recycled pre-consumer waste, such as water-repellent MDF salvaged from the wood industry and are investigating human hygiene performance tech like antimicrobial fabrics. That doesn’t mean their eco-approach sacrifices aesthetics. The designers turned to Danish textile brand Kvadrat—a darling of contemporary furniture design—to repurpose discarded fabrics to use in VolDog’s collars and leads.

Their world-bettering philosophy extends beyond products. “We were clear that if we could help community projects, we would,” Budó says. A portion of all sales support Projecte Empathia, a sanctuary for elderly dogs founded by architect-turned-animal activist Montse Bou.

VolDog’s holistic thinking reflects an emerging global shift that’s now a new norm: we should treat our animals to the same care we afford ourselves, not just in design, but in comfort, hygiene and quality of life.

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All images courtesy of VolDog
voldog.shop
@vol.dog

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CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS

A heartfelt thank you to all the photographers, artists, illustrators, and writers who trusted us, dived in, and brought us delight, grace, excitement, courage, wilderness, and wonder over the last five years. Their work not only reflects the bonds we share with our animal companions, it also celebrates their spirit.

None of this would be possible without our four-legged counterparts who sprinkle magic dust time and time again, and our readers, who embraced this kooky idea, rallied around us, and made this world theirs too. With friends like these, who needs nine lives?

February 5, 2019

TOGO

He may not have a statue in Central Park devoted to him like Balto does, but Togo was the unsung hero husky of the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska. Togo, a film starring Willem Dafoe, is here to tell his story. While Balto and his team ran the final leg of the run transporting diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Togo led his team through the longest and most hazardous leg of the journey, covering 264 miles (Balto ran 55). He navigated his fellow sled dogs and their musher Leonhard Seppala (played by Dafoe) through white-out storms, over a mountain and across the perilous exposed ice of Norton Sound. You can watch Togo on Disney+.

Click here to watch video

April 7, 2020

ROMPO I LACCI

Directed by Tilda Swinton and starring her four handsome springer spaniels romping and playing fetch in sea, fields and lakes. Set to the aria “Rompo i lacci” from Handel’s Opera Flavio, performed by countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo.

Click here to watch video

March 21, 2020

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