muffinhead

One of the primary missions of Muffinhead was to re-purpose fabric that may have otherwise ended up in landfills. Very early on, it became abundantly clear that after the dog jackets were all said and done- -there would be a copious amount of fabric scraps left over. So then it became a question of, “what do we do with the scraps?” To throw them out would be hypocritical, but they weren’t of any use…so we held on to them until we could realize their end purpose.

In the past we’ve discriminatingly donated them via Craig’s List under the heading “Free Fabric Scraps.” I say “discriminatingly” because we wanted them to go to good causes- -if at all possible, we wanted them to give back to dogs and/or the community. I had contacted a few shelters to see if they needed dog beds, after mulling over the idea of making fabric scrap dog beds (still a good idea), but they are mostly in need of toys, dog food and money (keep this in mind the next time you’re feeling particularly charitable). So, in the interim, to unburden my then one-bedroom apartment with 50+lbs of fabric scraps they were donated (as I said before) to people found on Craig’s List who were quilters, crafters, etc. One gal was making quilts for a local domestic violence shelter, which I thought was quite cool. Another gal offered to donate them to The Dreaming Zebra Foundation for us, and I had never heard of that organization up until that point- -but upon doing a bit of research- -I fell in love with them. They are AMAZING! They are a local Portland, OR non-profit who help provide/subsidize art education to children and young adults who might not otherwise have access to it. (Again, AMAZING!) We donated something like 6 huge trash bags full of fabrics scraps to them.

Then upon a recent “useable fabric-gathering expedition,” I found a bunch of discarded couch pillows and cushions and thought, “Wow- -I could fill these with fabric scraps and they’d make great dog beds!” The scraps were basically free, useless and burdensome to me- -and the cushions were nearly free. I figured I’d reach out to some of the various local rescue organizations again to see if they were in need of anything in the ways of dog beds. Surely some of these non-profit animal shelters would appreciate a comfy dog or cat bed right!? Right!

I met with a very devoted volunteer (and really, at this point, I’d call her a friend) at the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society, and gave her the dog beds made from 24.8 lbs of discarded fabric scraps. I also gave her a half dozen dog jackets for the volunteer dog walkers to use during the cold and rainy months- -and also to be used for the dogs that might have mange or other skin ailments that keep their skin void of hair and irritated. My hope is that this will start a long partnership with local shelters, to help them where and when we can. They give so much and it would be nice to give back.

Below you can see what 24.8lbs of fabric looks like. I hope to have photos soon of the dogs enjoying their jackets and beds.

Before

After