Just over two years ago, I came to the conclusion I needed a dog in my life. When my mother asked me what kind of dog, I was quick to say a dog breed that someone else in my life wanted, not me. When my mother asked me a second time, I answered, "A Golden Retriever." I was blessed to grow up with a Golden Retriever, Bentley. Bentley slept at my crib side and often woke my parents up when I was trying to escape my crib, a nightly occurrence.
After making the decision to get a Golden Retriever, I immediately went looking at all the shelters and rescue groups for a Golden. After long searches and countless applications, I gave up on adopting and took my search to the breeders. I tried my best to adopt a Golden Retriever, but I was not the ideal candidate living in an apartment. Once I figured out my way around the breeders in the area it was all a matter of finding a female dog that was expecting a litter and getting onto a wait list, after paying a deposit, to see if you'll get the chance to pick the #3 female or #2 male, etc. etc. Well, I could not find any Golden Retriever puppies in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas or Louisiana.
I quickly called my parents, who live in Georgia, and asked if they'd be willing to pick up a puppy for me in their area if I could find one, my father said yes without consulting my mother. (My dad LOVES dogs!!) I started the search in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. I about gave up the search... thinking I should wait until after school gets out and maybe I'll be able to find a puppy in the summer.
When a final search lead me to the breeder out of South Carolina. This wasn't just anywhere in South Carolina... this was on the way to a favorite family spot we frequent as a family. We passed this city numerous times without any real notice. They had phone numbers listed (odd in the breeder world... everyone seemed to prefer emails) and so I called. A wonderful woman answered the phone and said they did have one female left but I would have to speak with her husband. I called/he called back and we agreed he would send pictures of the one female left from the litter. A few days later (it seemed like a month) I got an email from the breeder with two gorgeous pictures of a puppy, she was mine! The second I opened the email I was quick to notice 2 email addresses in the "To:" line. I called him immediately, no one was getting my Dixie!! I asked all the questions to ask a breeder and then said I want her and when can I pick her up?! Twenty long days later, Dixie made the long journey to Texas - like a champ!
That summer, Dixie and I travelled back to the southeast for vacation when we stumbled upon a store with fun upholstery fabric for a great price! My mom was quick to suggest we sew a new dog bed for Dixie with her sewing machine. Well, while we were in the southeast we never finished the dog bed, so the sewing machine came back to Texas with us in order to finish the project. Well, when that project was complete - the sewing machine stayed and Dixie Goods Company was started. The journey from the first dog bed to the most recent collars has been a long and fun one - I have learned more about collars than I would have ever expected. The logo with the picture of puppy Dixie is monumental for me because she's the reason why I am starting this business. I'm a proud dog owner and I am now creating wonderful, stylish collars for all dogs!
This coming weekend, September 15th - I'll be selling my dog collars and hopefully dog duvets as well, at the Dallas Flea. Also, I will be selling my collars and dog duvets on my Etsy site, which is still under construction. I do have the Turkey Lurkey collar up for sale currently on Etsy.
I will be posting more about Dixie Goods Company and the Dallas Flea throughout this week and next week!
Thank you for all your support over the past year with this blog - this will continue to be my creative outlet for all my wonderful readers!
Happy Dixie Goods Company!
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