The Dog Blog: Doggy pop-up
We love a pop-up and now the pooches are cashing in on the trend. The latest one is in East London’s groovy Brick Lane. Kristjan Byfield visited us on our radio show this week to chat about his pop up dog café that’s been inspired by his twin boxers Duke and Daisy. Another young entrepreneur realizing the value of the hound pound.
This pop-up has the space to accommodate a café, which holds doggy events. There are plans to combine talks and interactive training sessions for owners and dogs.
A selection of choice British boutique brands will offer plenty of retail therapy also inspired by their own hounds. The aim is for a dogtastic experience fuelled by a demand from London’s 3 x million plus urban dog owners.
Kristjan also believes it will offer sanctuary to all London dog owners who are unable to keep a dog in the Metropolis.
We wish him luck, and, if the pop-up doggy diner that opened a couple of years ago in Pimlico is anything to go by, people will be queuing down the street! That venue became a watering hole not only to four legged friends but also for Chelsea darlings intent on retail therapy along the Kings Road.
With approximately nine million dogs in UK living in 27 per cent of our homes, the ‘pet market’ is now worth over £5 billion. The market has grown nearly eight per cent year on year, despite the recession.
So perhaps in times of austerity we’ve been going back to the simpler things in life.
Baking and knitting is on trend as we seek comfort and security – that’s where dogs come into their own. Offering a constant companionship, unconditional love, and loyalty, even if the chips are down – could this be why we like to spend our limited resources on our four-legged friends? Or is it that we guilt if we spend on ourselves, preferring to spend on our four legged friends, thanking them for being there?
A recent Kennel Club survey revealed that dogs owners are more affluent than cat owners, and dog owners apparently eat out more often and are more willing to tip. This might be why The Big Gay Supper Club is opening its blue doors next week to a Sunday lunch where dogs and their owners can dine together. Laying on a doggy menu to complement a 3-course meal for the owners, The Supper Club is also tapping into the Hound Pound.
Not ignoring our feline friends Lady Dinah’s Cat café recently opened its doors in trendy Shoreditch. Offering a sanctuary to homeless kitties, it’s a haven for cat lovers to relax and enjoy a purr-fect cup of coffee, while the cats take the stresses and strains of the day away.
Known for being an antidote to our stressful technology led lives, pets have a healing gift, and it is perhaps because they make us feel human that we’re so keen to build them into our lives.
Dog ownership has quadrupled over the past decade. We must remember that while we might want a quick ‘fix’ dogs are a life-long commitment, and sadly the fact that rescue centers are bursting at the seams is a reminder that dogs are for life and not just a pop-up experience.
Barking Blondes by Jo Good & Anna Webb, published by Hamlyn, £12.99www.octopusbooks.co.uk
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