Meet Tiffany Willett

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Willett.

Tiffany, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Oh gosh. I am the absolute worst at talking about myself. Most of us grew up with pets. I know I did. Dachshunds, cocker spaniels, strays on occasion, and while I loved them, I never really “connected” with them. To me, having pets was a normal part of life.

Fast forward, 20-ish years later, one of my closest friends introduced me to her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Fergus. I fell in love with him! It wasn’t long after, we got our own tri-color CKCS, Remi, at a wee 2.2 pounds. I bought him ALL THE THINGS. Seriously. Collars. Harnesses. Bowties. and Bandannas. When he was about six months old, I saw a girl over in Illinois rehoming her two cavaliers and showed one of them to my father-in-law. The next day, we drove across the state line, met Lola, our Blenheim girl, and brought her home. You would think by now we had enough pups right? Wrong. The following August, we added a ruby girl, Clover.

By this time, I had figured I would be better off learning how to make all the cute and adorable things for them instead of buying everything. Let me tell you, it did NOT start well. I had literally tried sewing multiple times and failed every single time. And I mean EPICALLY failed. Turns out, sewing a straight line is pretty darn difficult. So, instead of focusing on the gear, I focused on something I knew I could do: Custom Printed Dog Tags.

I design, hand letter, print, and ship custom metal ID tags for pups of all breeds, shapes, and sizes. Many may not know, but I am also a graphic designer, font designer, and calligrapher, mostly known as On The Spot Studio. After a few months of tag-making, I jumped back into collar creation. I tried multiple fabrics, webbings, hardware suppliers, and at last: I found my way with the sewing machine. I tested my original collars on many different breeds ( including cats!), varying in size, strength, and activity level. I am proud to say, that over the years, I have not only gained a loyal following, but I am improving my designs every day.

I love meeting all of my furry customers, dogs, cats, and even goats, and their owners, at in-person events and connecting with them on social media. I love seeing all of their adventures and photos of them wearing something I created specifically for them. I am a very hands-on creator and firmly stand behind every product I send out.

If it weren’t for meeting Fergus, getting my first three cavaliers (we actually have four now, and a lab mix! Remi, Lola, Clover, Chevy + Cora) I don’t know that Remi + Lola would even exist. I am grateful and so unbelievably proud of R+L and how it has grown in the past four years. I hope to grow even more in the next four!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh heck no. Learning to use a sewing machine properly was the first hurdle. Definitely a huge learning curve. Money, for sure. For someone who wasn’t used to having overhead because I worked in mainly digital works, money management and cashflow struggles were big deal. I am still working on that end of things. Some days, it’s easy to say, to heck with this self-employed life and go get a “real” job. Then, the next day, you wake up, things don’t seem quite as bad, and you move forward. It’s a balancing act every single day.

Another obstacle was Covid hitting in 2020. Talk about a wake-up call for small businesses. Shows were canceled. Pandemic precautions are everywhere. To keep busy, one of my closest friends, my daughter, and a group of her friends all banded together to help sew masks. Our local hospital put a call out to the community that they needed masks, so we did what we could. If you’d like to read more about that venture, here are the links!

https://www.thegleaner.com/story/news/2020/03/19/henderson-woman-uses-sewing-talent-fight-spread-covid-19/2876308001/

https://www.thegleaner.com/story/news/2020/12/31/2020-year-giving-henderson-county/4086345001/

https://wbkr.com/henderson-moms-making-masks-are-battling-coronavirus-creatively/

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am creative at heart. I do so many things, paint, hand dye shirts, create fonts, calligraphy, sew, etc. I am actually more well known for my font design, logo design + calligraphy, but slowly, Remi + Lola is finally becoming a name people recognize. I have overheard people in some of the shops I sell wholesale to, say something like, “Oh! We have one of their collars. We love ours!” and I get told on occasion that my collars are the only ones they will buy for their pups.

What I am most proud of is the fact that not only am I creating adorable collars and gear for pets but the fact that what I create is durable, machine washable and I stand behind them with a warranty of sorts. I use hardware from a small shop in Ohio. I purchase my webbing at a local factory near where I live and I cut, sew and assemble each collar by hand. I even create my own labels for all of my products.

I would like to say that my customer service and the love I have for every one of my customers is what sets me apart from others. I have a knack for remembering the faces of the owners and the names of the pups (and cats!). It’s weird but true. I firmly believe that knowing who I create for makes what I do so much more enjoyable.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I love all books. I can’t pick a favorite! I will say, I am a bit obsessed with Sarah J. Maas books at the moment though! As for apps, I mainly use my calendar app. If it wasn’t for that, I swear I would never know what day it was or what shows were coming up!

Pricing:

• 1″ Dog Collars $28
• 3/4″ Dog Collars $25
• 1.5″ Dog Collars $30
• Bowties $12
• Bandanas $15

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.remiandlola.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/remiandlola_tags
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/remiandlola
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/remiandlola

Image Credits
The Dood Watson, Its Willowful Life, and Stella The Bluepit