THE VERY IMAGE OF A MODERN CORPORATE CANINE


We're on a tour with the dog d'jour


A thriving corporate empire, offering quality goods of refined taste for our enjoyment, located in the beautiful and hip Pacific Northwest ...
Are we talking about Starbucks ? No. This corporation is one of pure philanthropy and no financial gain. That lets out Starbucks. We're talking about Chadsrags . We're going behind-the-scenes and taking a tour of the crocheted empire with Chad himself.
--Nigel

Nigel: Here we are at the entrance. I see security.
Gimlet: I see a gnome.
Chad: That's Monty, our head of security.

Photos courtesy ChadsRags.

Nigel: I guess that's a good security idea, because that's scary.
Chad: As you'll see,this is a large undertaking, although we have a homey decor. We make crocheted hats, jumpers and FauxFoofies for many, many dogs. We have a large staff and we can't be too careful.
Let's go inside and meet my assistant, Miss Bunny.


Don't let the light pink exterior fool you. Miss Bunny is one tough cookie.

Chad: Miss Bunny, a tour of journalists coming through. Please hold all my calls, and send out reminders to the rescue groups that we're there for them whenever they need to outfit a new recruit.
Miss Bunny: (Nods.)
Nigel: Miss Bunny is very reserved.
Chad: Oh, she can still squeak. She's the only one of my toys that can. I have an unfortunate habit of shaking them until their squeakers pop out. I can't help myself.
Gimlet: Don't let Dominick Dunne find out about that, Chad. We're wire fox terriers, and we know that shaking toys to near-death is a common practice, but ... your general public isn't in on that secret.
Nigel: May we see what goes into your yarn selection, Chad?


ChadsRags uses only top-of-the-line yarns.

Chad: Of course! Here we are with some of the yarn that I select, with some help from my CEO.
Nigel: CEO?
Chad: We'll get to that later. Now that you've seen how I select yarn, how about grabbing some lunch and meeting some of the staff?
Chad: Here are my toys. I love each and every one of them. I loved them even more when they squeaked.
Nigel: You may have set a record with squeak kills, Chad.
Gimlet: Oh, yes. Impressive!



Chad: Time for that hot dog!
Nigel: How much time goes into one of your creations? They 're very clever, and have lots of detail.


Chad enjoys a hot dog ... or is it a toy? He indulges in both!

Chad: Well, it takes me a while to actually select the yarn, and the color combination. That has to be my touch, my contribution. Then one of my staff goes into crocheting ... my best crocheter likes to watch television while she works. I would say she may be able to crochet a foofie during two Law & Orders, but I would have to check on that.
Nigel: Where is your staff?
Chad: Follow me. Be careful. They can get a little frisky.



Chad addresses some of the staff ...Hope they're union.

Gimlet: What about your creative team? Your designers? How do you treat the talent?
Chad: Oh, they're in the employee lounge. Come on, I'll introduce you to some of them.


Chad and some of his creative team ... ChadsRags is an equal opportunity employer.

Gimlet: You're a rescue like Nigel, aren't you, Chad? You've done very well for yourself, and I applaud you for donating all your time and hard work to outfitting rescues and other pets. It's unbelievable in this day and age, but some people have a bias toward rescues.


Creations from ChadsRags: jumpers, Foofies and
other boutique items.

Nigel: They deserve a good biting.
Chad: Biting is too good for them. They know who they are!
Gimlet: I would like to meet your CEO, Chad. Just who is the Canine Executive Officer? Who is the other wire fox terrier behind ChadsRags?
Chad: Here she is now ...


Pat, CEO of ChadsRags, and Chad model some of their signature line of ChadsChapeaus.

Nigel: Chad, this is quite unusual. We seldom feature two-leggers on Mr. Doodle's Dog. But you two are a creative legend in the wire fox terrier world, and we're sure there will be a lot of interest in your unique partnership.
Gimlet: Love those hats!
Chad: My mom is my CEO and my best friend. No doubt about it. I just wish she wasn't on the computer so much.
Nigel: Thank you for the tour, Chad. Let us know when you offer stock in the company.
Chad: My pleasure. You're very welcome. And you dogs out there, if you're in the market for a hat, a jumper or a foofie, just let the Doodle Dogs know. They'll get word to me.
Nigel: You bet we will.

Posted: Sun - April 4, 2004 at 12:18 PM          

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