We recently discovered these exclusive, beautiful dog crates and gates by artist Maricela Sanchez. If you’re not just looking for a crate or gate, but rather a beautiful and unique piece for your home, you’ll love these.
Here’s a recent interview we did with the creator and designer, Maricela Sanchez:
Tell us about yourself:
Over the last 30 years, I’ve created paintings, prints, installations and sculptures centered on organic, ambiguous forms that evoke a uniquely human sense of nostalgia and a curious balance of sass and sophistication.
My work has been featured in a variety of public, private and museum collections and galleries throughout the U.S.
In 2012, I shifted gears to combine my artistic experiences with my love of animals and pets to launch Bespoke Collections & Décor by Maricela Sanchez Art.
These custom products perform a necessary function while transforming areas of the home into artful moments of beauty.
Tell us about your dogs:
My dogs are all rescues. In 2001, I rescued my first dog, Kissers, a Dalmatian, who actually rescued me while I was going through a divorce.
Kissers were my great companion as we traveled throughout southern Texas. We’d wake up and go for morning runs before I would take off for work.
He loved traveling with me, and I loved his companionship.
Eventually, I settled down and no longer needed to travel, so I was able to rescue my second pet, a 3-month-old poodle named Coco. She’s a sweetheart and can get around fine despite the fact that she’s now 12 years old and has gone blind.
Coco was best friends with Kissers, and when he died in 2011, there was such a sad silence in our house. Thank goodness we had rescued a few others.
During this period, I met my husband Jorge, who is also a dog lover. He had 3 dogs, so together, we had 5. It was somewhat of a pet Brady Bunch, but clearly, we needed a 6th dog, so together, we rescued our next dog, a Yorkie named Frito.
I always wanted a Yorkie, so when I was offered one that had been fostered by several families, we took him in. As you can imagine, Frito’s now the master of the household and bosses everyone around.
Clearly, we had been bitten by the Jolie-Pitt trend of having large families with our twist of collecting canines.
Our next rescue was a boxer named Reba. One evening at a friend’s house, we were on our way to dinner.
The boxer came running to us in the dark, and we took her home to get her through the night. Reba had heartworm, and we nursed her back to great health.
We had no intention of keeping her, but she was so sweet and naturally became a part of our family. Strangers are often scared of her, so she’s also become our house guard dog.
Our last rescue was actually a friend’s dog. Our friend was never home and her dog, a terrier mix named Toto, was lonely.
Toto was typically home alone with daily visits for potty breaks. Unfortunately, the home where our friend had been living had a fire, so Toto needed to be boarded (luckily, Toto was ok).
I told her I’d take care of Toto for the next several weeks until the house was livable. Toto got along so well with Reba, and Reba needed a new friend so Toto permanently moved into our home. These best friends are a joy to watch.
How did you come up with the beautiful dog crate and gate designs? What was the inspiration?
With our growing (dog) family, it was evident I needed gates to prevent my dogs from entering spaces, but I could not find a design solution that fit my home. So in 2012 I started making my own gates.
The first dog gate design was a spinoff from monotype prints I had made with my mother’s veil; a veil she often wore to religious and wedding ceremonies. I made these prints in her memory. Once I started showing this first prototype to friends, they were so excited and encouraged me into making this a business. After making several prototypes with various new designs, I had enough to to install them in my house like a box.
I would look at the dog gates daily as they were in my entry and it occurred to me that I should also make dog crates.
It took a long time to create the final prototype, but we were very happy with the end result. As we officially launched our dog crates and gates in April 2013, we are a start-up company.
How are the crates/gates made?
I’d rather keep this confidential, however, every person that works on my products is a male. So it’s exciting that I get the opportunity to work with craftsmen in their own field. They value my work and creativity, and I value their profession and perfection.
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