I want to share one of my favorite little shops with you today: Alaska Goldens Co!
Shop owner Molly has two pretty adorable Golden Retrievers that call her mom, hence the name of the company, and her products listed on Etsy are so cute, it is difficult to show any restraint when perusing her online shop. Whenever I meet up with Molly in person, she is always sporting a huge grin and her cheerful personality easily rubs off on the people around her - who says humans don't resemble their dogs?! The shop sounds good already, doesn't it, so let's talk product.
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| Oh Whale bandana is one of my absolute favorites - it's so Alaskan! |
As I am sure you are well aware, Fly is not at all gentle (unless we're around babies) and is extremely rough on anything I put on her body. Collars have broken, cloth has torn, everything gets stained. So, when I tell you Alaska Goldens Co products have not only held their own, but still look good, it is a testament to their quality.
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| She knows she looks good! |
Fly is not a dog who willingly swims, so I was shocked when she waded out and started swimming one hot day this past summer. She happened to be wearing an Alaska Goldens Co bandana (the By The Seashore bandana, to be exact) and it got completely soaked. Often, material will stretch when wet and permanently lose its shape and I feared the bandana was ruined. When Fly paddled back to shore, I removed the sad, soggy mess of material and distractedly dropped it on the silty ground - baby Rex was being crazy and I didn't have time to fiddle with silly bandanas.
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| Soggy bandana swim. |
Then, I remembered I had packed Alaska Goldens Co's Island Scarf: a water-resistant tube-like bandana (or scarf) that Fly had not worn yet. So, I dug around in my pack and popped that soon-to-be well tested wearable on Fly's neck. I will admit, she looked a bit silly in the stiffer water-repellant material, her fluff doesn't take well to restricting items such as this.
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| Mermaid pose. |
Flattering or not, Fly didn't mind, and she merrily waded back into the glacial fed pool. She was after a floating plastic water bottle I'd tossed in for her and would paddle circles around the bobbing bottle as she navigated in for a grab at it and brought it to shore for a game of keep away with Rex.
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| Fashion swimwear at it's finest. |
She spent quite a while in the silty water, especially after she noticed that there were salmon in there as well! So, when she finally emerged, tired and happy, I got a chance to inspect her fashion accessory for defects. It was wet, but not the sagging, sopping, nasty kind of wet that most material becomes when met with similar circumstances of dog + water combination. I wrung it out, after which I thought maybe I shouldn't have done in case it damaged the material, but it was too late to worry about it; then I tossed both bandanas in a plastic bag with my wet boots, dumped it in the back of the truck, and promptly forgot about the whole lot.
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| Don't judge me, I'm a forgetful person. |
Several days later, I remembered my neglect and washed the smelly dog things in the washing machine on the normal setting, dried them in the dryer (also normal setting, nobody has time to pamper dog gear) and then assessed the results. The tie-on bandana was wrinkly, but otherwise un-deformed; the tube/scarf bandana looked so unused it could have been new! Oh, and zero residual dog smell from either. No pulled stitches or misshapen ugliness on either piece and I couldn't be happier or expect more from my dog gear, let alone something that is meant as a fashion accessory.
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| Clean and back in use! |
If you are looking for super cute, durable, quality items to fancy up your adventures and you like supporting super nice small shops and their owners, I would wholeheartedly suggest Alaska Goldens Co! Be sure to check out all the other goodies that can be found at this little shop: collars, add-on vinyl options (look for the "Fly and Rex" font!), and more - there's such a nice selection.
You can find Alaska Goldens Co at these social places as well: Facebook and Instagram
(As always, I do not get any sort of kickback from writing this post, nor does Alaska Goldens Co currently know I am writing a review.)
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