About Laughing Dog Designs

Welcome to Laughing Dog Designs. As you probably guess from my name and photos that I love dogs! I have all my life and that love includes nature and top of my list my family. With this love of nature, I focused on biology in college and my professional career included environmental research followed by a long career in toxicology. I spent several years teaching science which was creative and all consuming. I decided to take a break and my BFF suggested using my creative nature and try my hand at painting on eco friendly bamboo totes that she used daily.

 

That is how my business began: with simple designs and showing them at local farmer's markets and craft shows. A relative asked if I could put her two dogs on a bag and it launched me into another direction, custom pet portraits. After several years of painting on bamboo, I decided I wanted to expand into fabric art so began making my own totes out of upholstery fabric and eventually out of a variety of fabrics from my favorite designers. Painting designs on painter's cloth and appliquéing to my cross body bags became a new outlet. I try to buy local fabrics for my products. New ways on how to use all the fabulous fabrics is evolving in my business and consequently hand painted pillows are part of my inventory. Dog sling beds and unique hand painted foot stools are on my design board.