PLUMBING PIPE. LADDERS. Picket fencing. Indies are experts at turning unexpected items into fixtures for their stores. These pet businesses use these and other pieces to display collars, harnesses and leashes, all of which can be a challenge to show well and keep neat.
Firehouse Pet Shop
Wenatchee, WA
Thirty-four wooden crates make up this collar-centric display, shown here with manager Traci Simon. They clip around on rods within, grouped by color, and mix with housewares. At the center sits an antique metal file box owners Jennifer and Allen Larsen found at an antique store.
COST & SOURCE: $15 each for crates at Walmart, $40 for file box
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Wishbone Pet Care
Missouri City, TX
Tammi Bui used copper pipes and fittings to create a perfectly petite collar display, which fits into a wooden stool and spins for easy access.
COST & SOURCE: $30 for each 10 feet of copper piping, $19 for cutter, $3 each for fitting at Home Depot
TIP: Don’t be intimidated by the idea of cutting pipe. Bui says, “I used copper pipe because it’s the easiest type to DIY. The cutter is very easy to use.” Also, don’t make the arms too long, so customers can easily reach collars farther in.
Harbor Pet
Greenport, NY
More than 400 collars hang on the wall at this store! Kim Loper kept it simple when creating this fixture, purchasing pre-cut steel plumbing pipes around which to attach the collars.
COST & SOURCE: $350 at Home Depot
TIP: When using pipes for a neat and attractive display, Loper says to “Clean them really well and spray paint them black. They are black, but the original black will rub off on the collars and stain them.”
Animal Connection
Charlottesville, VA
Pattie Boden Zeller turned a section of deck railing on its side to create this rustic display. Collars attach around one or two posts, depending on size, to keep the selection tidy while allowing easy access for shoppers. Leashes drape over Western-style star hooks.
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COST & SOURCE: $10 for fencing at yard sale, $5 each for hooks at Atlanta Gift Market
TIP: Zeller recommends straightening these products several times a day. “I think everyone should have to work retail apparel and neaten clothing displays at least once in their life. Then they would be respectful and put things back where they found them! Maybe.”
Belly Rubs N Suds
Ashburn, VA
Teresa Hogge hired a local carpenter to build this spacious hutch. Collars and leashes hang on built-in dowels, with harnesses clipped to shower rings.
COST & SOURCE: $1,550 for hutch by Virginia Wallen, $1 each for curtain rings at Bed, Bath & Beyond
Flying M Pet Grocery
Houston, TX
Trace Menchaca brainstormed this eye-catching tree fixture with the woodworker who created other displays in her store. Leashes and collars hang from hooks amid leaves and a wise old owl, with additional collars shown on an adjacent wooden ladder.
COST & SOURCE: $0 for the fixture, as it was a thank-you gift; $0 for the ladder, as it was a dumpster find
Bark on Mulford
Rockford, IL
Plumbing pipe for the win again! Kaye Busse-Kleber found a similar fixture on Pinterest, and her husband, Gordon Kleber, made it for her as an anniversary gift. It’s super sturdy and allows the colorful products to draw the eye. “It’s attached to the floor and wall and is definitely not going anywhere! It’s the first thing you see when you walk into my shop.”
COST & SOURCE: $250 at Home Depot | Practice patience when building such a fixture, Busse-Kleber says. “It did take a while to assemble to make sure all of the fittings went together. Lots of swearing and multiple trips to Home Depot occurred!”
Southern Barker
Lexington, KY
Harnesses show perfectly on wooden children’s hangers, Leslie Stewart says, and hang neatly on a rack.
COST & SOURCE: $1 for hangers at online supply store, $15 for rack at Hobby Lobby
Cool Dog Gear
Warrington, PA
Sue Hepner and Paula Jaffe cut a section out of a wooden-slat bed frame and turned it into their collar display. Hepner says she likes that they can “clip all the collars on it so that the customer can just stand back and look and not have to rummage through the pegs looking for their favorite pattern/color … great way to display, and the peg holes on the tags are no longer ripped.”
COST & SOURCE: $20 for the frame at a second-hand shop
Bath & Biscuits
Granville, OH
Danielle Wilson refurbished this classic cabinet, then added shower rods around which to hang the collars. Leashes simply drape over the open door.
COST & SOURCE: $45 for cabinet at local antique market, $10 each for shower rods
TIP: Move away from slatwall and pegboard, Wilson recommends. “After I brought in pieces like this cabinet to showcase my products, my sales went up.”
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House Of Paws Pet Boutique
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Carly Patryluk hired SaskAbilities, which employs area individuals with different physical or mental abilities, to build several fixtures in her store, including this collar and leash rack, that she then finished with stain and paint. Collars attach around the rods, with leashes clipped to a wire up top.
COST: $200
Sweet Paws Bakery
Gainesville, FL
Curtains rods do the trick at this store, keeping collars neat and tidy. Colleen O’Fallon says, “I organize each pattern together, and then by size. So I have all the houndstooth together and then go extra-small, small, medium, large and extra-large.”
COST: $20-25 per rod and accessories
Natural Pet Essentials
Charlottesville, VA
Tried and true slatwall and hang rails in chrome keep up to 270 collars in order.
COST & SOURCE: $100
TIP: Kimberly Matsko advises, “In order for this to stand out, it has to be kept fully stocked. Empty bars are not as eye-catching or appealing to the consumer. They enjoy having a lot of options.”
Harmony Animal Hospital
Jupiter, FL
Monique Pierpont uses a wall adjacent to her front desk to display collars, leashes and harnesses. She likes the slatwall because it’s “slick looking.”