Our store has always been about sharing beautifully designed items for pets that agree with, even enhance, your design aesthetic. So it's encouraging to see people embodying this ethic as whole-heartedly as Johanna Burke. Burke is a set designer and has designed shop windows for the likes of Bergdorf Goodman in NYC and has created an amazing apartment/office/workspace to share with her partner and lovely cat.
I wouldn't have heard of Burke if not for an article recently published in Freunde von Freunden, a beautiful online interview magazine which profiles a bevy of interesting artists and design-minded characters from all over the globe in the comfort of their own homes and offices. It's worth spending some time reading the interviews, looking through the photosets, and watching the videos available on theirwebsite, because not only is it inspiring to see creative people succeeding, there's something interesting (and jealousy-inducing, sigh) about being invited into a thoughtfully, charismatically designed home. Especially since each seems to tell something really small yet essential about their dwellers, like the graphic designer living in Paris who has a shelf full of porcelain hand mannequins, the artist in New York with one precisely moulded lemon sitting atop with a bowl of colourful fruit like a cherry, or a book designer's red carpeted staircase lit by small crimson lights with a plush ginger cat lounging between the banister in Istanbul.
Burke caught my attention early on however, because her dwelling space is idyllic for anyone living in any big city. It's a part of the city and apart from it. It gets tons of light without the encroachment of skyscrapers. It's large enough for her to spread her interest and personality throughout the apartment, saving work for her office just down the hall. Okay, it's something that most of us could never aspire to orcoughafford, but it's lovely nonetheless. Burke's apartment stood out particularly because of her sweet cat and the seemingly endless collection of cushions and sweet little places for it to snuggle up in or climb on. I'll always have a soft spot for people who don't snub their noses at the idea of having pets because they don't want to "ruin" their gorgeous space. It can be done!
To read more interviews and to see more photos of Johanna Burke's apartment, go here.
Behemoth the Cat by Kris Atomic My other love is reading and some of my favourite characters throughout literature are, in fact, cats. Most of them have appeared in books I read as a kid, but one caught my attention recently. His name is Behemoth and he is one of the side players in the the great Russian novel, The Master and the Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. He's feisty and playful and ferocious and all this aside from the fact that he also talks, walks on his hind legs, and performs magic tricks. One of my favourite illustrators, Kris Atomic, painted a wonderful little tribute to him and the amazing scene where he is first introduced.
Check out Kris' blog here for more of her fantastic illustrations!
I wouldn't say that I enjoy when people dress their pets in clothing, mostly because I dislike seeing a pet uncomfortable. That said, I can't deny that I think a cat wearing a little T-shirt or glasses is kind of adorable. So what to do about this ethical dilemma?!
Enter Heather Mattoon's collection entitled, "Cats in Clothes." She creates paintings, which are then turned into prints and cards, featuring cute kitties in all things fashionable. This isn't the first time this has been done by any stretch of the imaginationEtsy has a wide varietybut what sets them apart is their personalities, literally. Along with creating different cats of all different shades and breeds, Mattoon also fashions each with a name and a list of likes and dislikes to go along with their individual style.
Mattoon also has a great blog where she shares new work and what else she's up to. Check her out!
This was probably the first time I had a good look at a so-called human being. What impressed me as being most strange still remains deeply imbedded in my mind: the face which should have been covered with hair was a slippery thing similar to what I now know to be a teakettle.
- from Sseki Natsumes I Am A Cat (1905), a satiric Japanese novel narrated by a cat.
I stumbled upon this UK Ikea commercial and had to share! The idea was to set 100 house cats who had never performed in front of a camera into a Wembley Ikea and wait for something to happen. The result is a beautifully shot insurgence of cats and kittens being curious, getting feisty, and making themselves perfectly at home. Enjoy!
Cat vs Human If I could have any talent, I think I'd choose the ability to draw. Anything. To draw a respectable human that didn't look like a raptor or a webbed foot. Needless to say, I have a lot of admiration for people who do it for a living and do it hilariously. Today I stumbled upon Cat Vs. Human, the comic penned by Yasmine Surovec. It chronicles her life with her cats, putting her in situations that are awfully familiar to those who have lived with one for more than a couple of hours.
They're simply, they're sweet, and they're funny; they capture the hair-pulling frustration of co-existing with an animal and the bottomless love we feel for the despite every gross and mysterious thing they do.
The other great thing about Ms. Surovec? She's a lady of business. She's expanded her site to include a shop that sells prints of her comics, as well as a line of tees and totes for the cheeky cat-lover.
Give in. Clear your schedule and scroll deep into the archives. You can begin this lost-day here and check out her store when you're done.
Woman Speaks Cat
Another mystery of the universe solved, another burning question answeredthis lady's on it.
The internet is a testament to our obsession with cats and there are countless sites (see our post from Wednesday) dedicated solely to catching them at their most photogenic. But it's not often you see a book, let alone a beautifully crafted one, that integrates design and composition while maintaining the integrity of the cat's environment.
Rachael McKenna (ne Hale) is a well known animal, portrait, and still life photographer who, after meeting the love of her life, moved from New Zealand to France to embark on a photographic adventure. The result is her book The French Cat (the canine companion, The French Dog).
The book captures French felines in their natural habitats, both the cobbled alleyways and gilded libraries of the city and the lush gardens of the countryside. What sets these photos apart for me however, is Rachael's interaction with the cats, caught on video here. These interactions themselves become a part of the book in the form of photographs of Rachael's journal in which she describes each unique encounter. The result is a set of photos that reflects this care, revealing personality, depth, and of course the ever evasive chic quality that defines the country and the animal.
To see more images from the book or to see her other work, visit rachaelmckenna.com
I love Tumblr. I love cats. I love cats on Tumblr and the incredible amount of time that goes missing each time I get hooked into a blog where cats are rambunctious or simply the usual level of adorable. Here are the ones I dedicate the most lost time to:
It's exactly what it sounds like. Row upon row of cats resembling Parks & Recreation's favourite moustachioed curmudgeon, often coupled with a zinger from the man himself.
If you don't already know who Maru is, you need to take a much needed trip to YouTube to acquaint yourself with this wily feline and his love-hate relationship with cardboard. Then, get a daily fix from Daily Maru, which posts photos to perfectly encapsulate the personality and box-destruction that make Maru a star.
Pretty simple: Classic album covers with kittens replacing the artists. Highlights for me: Elvis Costello's This Year's Model, Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, and Mary J. Blige's What's the 411?
Something a little more risque, pour vous? Nah, just a delightful stream of the rich and famous with our favourite animal, ranging from contemporary to vintage.
Did I miss your favourite site of all time? Let me know!
It's hard to believe that the ModKat it is in fact a litter box. It seems to defy all characteristics that make most pet products worth hiding when company arrives. The modern design and versatile palatte allow you to take into consideration the personality of you, your cat, and your home, while serving the purpose of a traditional litter box. But how the heck does it actually work? And would a cat take to it after having gotten used to the old-school sandbox? To answer that and to show off all its amazing features, is one of the ModKat designers, Brett Teper.
The ModKat is H.J.'s current feature product. Visit their page to view the rest of the colours!
Looking for a gift to treat your vet to? Why not make it this clever black and white eye chart from Local Paper Studio, which puts a spin on the traditional chart by featuring kitty's favourite things. Available in two sizes 18 x 24 or 12.5 x 19, both on recycled paper, and $1 from the sale of every poster will be donated to Best Friends Animal Society.
Dearest friends, it's almost Thanksgiving; and as we all gather together with our nearest and dearest to show our love and gratitude for one another (and of course, to nosh on Turkey), we thought it only fitting to show our wonderful customers just how much we love you too! We're ecstatic to announce our biggest sale yet; THE BLACK FRIDAY SUPER SALE...
This past week the great people at Pet Adviser.com wrote a fine little review of H.J. Mews as part of a new Sponsor Spotlight initiative they've been working on. We've recently teamed up with them for their Awesome Halloween Costume Contest - be sure to take a peek at all the fine, furry finalists. Pet Adviser.com is an excellent resource for feline and canine owners alike, providing intelligent, well written answers and advice to it's wide scope of readers. ...
Kitty's all over the world rejoice: Halloween isn't just for little kids any more! H.J. Mew's is so proud to bring you the first of our own Holiday themed gift packages; beautifully wrapped and delivered to your door in time for fright night! Hand crafted toys, house made treats and a selection of unique, high quality bows to give your discerning feline that little extra touch of Halloween glamour.
But order now! These packages won't last for long! Click through to see more!
Dog owners look like their dogs. Cat owners act like their cats. Subtle similarities abound in the world of pet ownership, and it just got a whole lot stranger: recent (and significant) research suggests that there are some very concise personality differences between the two groups.
Here, we present you with one heck of an excellent infographic which exemplifies the differences between us pet owners.
Recently H.J. had the chance to sit down with the lovely Kat Webster, the entrepreneurial force behind CANOPYstudio and talented designer of the latest addition to our product line-up, the Canopy Lounge- a mid-century modern bent ply bed that takes form meeting function to a whole new level. She's sweet, she's talented, and like many of the designers whose work is featured on H.J. Mews, she's fighting the good fight as an independent creative- working hard to reinvent the perception that quality isn't important when it comes to pet products.
Thanks to the lovely Tina at SwissMiss, we've found another superior Japanese cat fancy. Japanese photographer Jun Kumagai spent an afternoon photographing his 5 feline daughters Rika, Hime, Fuwari, Kin, and Nana in mid flight as they jumped for their favourite feather toy (well, would ya look at that
My other love is reading and some of my favourite characters throughout literature are, in fact, cats. Most of them have appeared in books I read as a kid, but one caught my attention recently. His name is Behemoth and he is one of the side players in the the great Russian novel, The Master and the Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. He's feisty and playful and ferocious and all this aside from the fact that he also talks, walks on his hind legs, and performs magic tricks. One of my favourite illustrators, Kris Atomic, painted a wonderful little tribute to him and the amazing scene where he is first introduced.
I wouldn't say that I enjoy when people dress their pets in clothing, mostly because I dislike seeing a pet uncomfortable. That said, I can't deny that I think a cat wearing a little T-shirt or glasses is kind of adorable. So what to do about this ethical dilemma?! 
If I could have any talent, I think I'd choose the ability to draw. Anything. To draw a respectable human that didn't look like a raptor or a webbed foot. Needless to say, I have a lot of admiration for people who do it for a living and do it hilariously. Today I stumbled upon Cat Vs. Human, the comic penned by Yasmine Surovec. It chronicles her life with her cats, putting her in situations that are awfully familiar to those who have lived with one for more than a couple of hours.
