Prepping for the UN

The DachshundUN  is coming to Harbourfront Centre on February 28 – March 3 – less than a month away! I feel like I already can’t contain myself!

Yesterday I saw a long haired wiener walking near work and my heart started to race  and I let out a squeal! In just 24 days Harbourfront will be a bustle with over 200 dachshunds!  200!  That is crazy! (If I squeal at the site of one doxie just imagine the excitement that will be bursting from me when I see 200!)

Preparation for the DachshundUN marketplace is in full force. Castings are back from the casting house and now its a matter of turning them into wearable objects! We will be busy making friendship bracelets, charm bracelets, rings and pendants for the next few weeks.

S’wag will be selling our jewellery and greeting cards at all 4 performances. If you wish to pre-order jewellery for pick up at the show you can use promo code PICKUPUN when checking out of our Etsy shop. Pre-ordering will ensure that we have the piece you want available at the shows.

Hope to see you and your wieners there!

~S

 

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Calling All Doxies!!!

Check out this video Of Euie’s audition for the Worldstage performance! This could be your doxie!

Waldi – The First Official Olympic Mascot

With the Olympic Games starting today I thought it would be fitting for me to write about a past Olympic mascot, Waldi!

I had the idea to write about him a while ago and decided to wait till closer to the Olympics to do so. I almost forgot until I saw a bookmark on my browser today! (Funny how things work like that sometimes!)

Have you heard of Waldi? He was the 1972 Summer Olympic Games mascot and….wait for it… he was a Dachshund! He was created by German Designer Otl Aicher to represent the olympic values of resistance, tenacity, and agility. I think a dachshund pretty much sums that up! Waldi is certainly more loveable then the creepy, monster-like mascots we see at today’s games! What do you think?

To read more about Waldi click Here.

Good luck to all the Olympians competing at the Summer Olympics 2012 in London!

Rescue Dog to Star in Annie

Last night I received an e-mail from Twitter recommending stories for me. I admit, usually I skip over these e-mails. But last night I thought I would check it out and I am so happy that I did because I found a really interesting story!

The story comes from dogtipper.com and will bring a smile to your face. You know the musical Annie? The one about the little red headed orphan? Do you remember her dog Sandy? Well, the musical is returning to broadway this fall and playing the part of Sandy will be a foster dog Sunny who was just 2 days away from being euthanized! That isn’t even the most interesting part though. Apparently, a rescue dog is always used to play Sandy – a tradition started when the show first opened in 1977.

The musical has also partnered with Pedigree and for each ticket sold through to December 31st Pedigree will donate 2$ to the Pedigree Foundation.

A very heartwarming story.

To read the full story that I read click here.

And here is another interesting look at the dog who is to play Sandy and how the original Sandy was cast back in 1976.

Long on Love

Since it is quickly nearing Valentine’s Day I thought I would share a few of my favourite handmade Doxie items off of Etsy!

If you love Dachshunds as much as I do then you will surely love these one of a kind, unique gift ideas!

Sausage Dog Gloves by Pomber

I love these convertible fingerless gloves by Pomber! They are perfect for this time of year!

Valentine's Card by ShesSOCreative

These greeting cards by ShesSOCreative are fantastic. She has one’s for all sorts of occasions!

Paper Cut-out by Scratch and Sniff

I love the piece I got from Scratch and Sniff! They are so simple and beautiful! You can choose from all sorts of different breeds or if you are a Dachshund lover you can choose from wire-haired, smooth or long haired!

Frame Pouch by rabbitsmoon

This coin purse is super sweet! As the seller rabbitsmoon says it is perfect to hold lipgloss, keys or other small treasures!

For more of my favourite handmade dachshund items on Etsy view my treasury here!

You can view my Dachshund inspired jewellery pieces on etsy here!

Scratch and Sniff

I am so excited because I received my paper dachshund silhouette from Scratch and Sniff in the mail. Lou from Scratch and Sniff makes her cut-outs from unique and vintage papers. She does all sorts of breeds not just Dachshunds. These are perfect for any dog lover! I just love my long haired doxie cut out of a Winnie-the-Pooh book! I can’t wait to frame it.

Check out some other designs from Scratch and Sniff on etsy.

Andy, Amos and Archie

Andy Warhol is best known as an American painter, printmaker and filmmaker. Most notably, Andy is recognized as the father of the Pop Art movement. We have all seen his bright, dynamic and repetitious paintings of soup cans or celebrities, but did you know that he (like Picasso) had a dachshund muse? (or should we say two?)

Andy had two Dachshunds, Amos and Archie, who became the subject of some of his artworks. He also did a piece entitled Portrait of Maurice for Gabrielle Keiller.  I found a great read about Andy and his dogs. To read more about them click here.

Andy and Archie taken from http://the-brilliant-life.com/

Portrait of Maurice by Andy Warhol taken from art.com

And on a jewellery note: Here is another tidbit of info you may not have known about Andy Warhol…He designed Christmas greeting cards for famous jewellery company Tiffany and Co. His greeting cards can be seen in the book Greetings from Andy: Christmas at Tiffany’s.

If we had the honour of giving Mr. Warhol a piece of S’Wag, it’d be this lapel pin. Simple. Graphic. And it kinda looks a lot like Archie, don’t you think?

Dachshund Brooch - Brass with Cermait - $45 (But for Andy Warhol, well, we'd have let him have it for free!)

 

Picasso and Lump

Probably one of the most famous or recognizable Dachshunds in the art world was Picasso’s doxie Lump (pronounced loomp – meaning rascal).

Lump was said to be the inspiration for some of Picasso’s artwork, most famously his print The Dog.

Pablo Picasso - The Dog (Picture taken from Allposters.com)

Searching the web I found hundreds of pics of Picasso and his muse. I also found an interesting blog that tells the story of Picasso and Lump. Check out the blog here! There are lots of great photos of Picasso and Lump. He was quite the poser!

And if the story really interests you and piques your curiousity (as it did me) there is actually a book written about Picasso and his pooch. Picasso and Lump : A Dachshund’s Odyssey is available at Chapters/Indigo. I’m going to have to check it out!

Picasso and Lump : A dachshund's Odyssey