Designer Desire: Sarah Westwood

Montage of Sara Westwood Sprocket illustrations

A couple of weeks ago, I was searching Etsy for a birthday bandana for Barley; he turned one-year-old on the 12th of August. I didn’t actually come across a bandana that I wanted – I eventually got one from Pets at Home. What I did do, though, was find the work of Sarah Westwood.

Sarah is a graphic designer who makes fantastic prints, notebooks, greeting cards, coasters & place mats, tea towels, badges and more. Most of her illustrations features her Weimaraner, Sprocket. Sprocket is often accompanied by a few of his mates;  Scoot the little bird, Sid the squirrel and Parsnip the hedgehog.

We’ll let Sarah herself tell you a little bit about herself:

My business as artist and illustrator started way back in 2005 and my work was completely different… My digital art didn’t start until I decided to do the Instagram hashtag theme #onehundreddays and I decided to do #onehundreddaysofsprocket and this changed the whole course of my work, a long with my inspiration. Sprocket was my dog and he is my muse. I love drawing his adventures. Sadly he’s no longer with us but we had him for 12 amazing years. My studio is based in Great Fryup Dale on the North York Moors. I use an iPad Pro to hand draw all of his adventures, if you love dogs then you should hopefully like my work. Sarah Westwood

I think I’m going to go and stock up on some of her Christmas and birthday cards. I know it’s Sprocket on the front, but I can pretend that it’s Barley!

Self portrait of Sara Westwood and Sprocket the Weimaraner

All illustrations: © Sarah Westwood

RIP Fudge

RIP Fudge

We don’t often publish really emotional posts, however we feel that we need to today. We reckoned that we can’t spend years blogging about all aspects of life and then not dedicate a post to one of the most important things – no matter how difficult. Our much-loved Weimaraner, Fudge passed away two days ago at the age of twelve. We knew this day would shortly arrive, he’d been suffering with hip and spine degeneration and digestive problems. Despite this, the devastation we’ve been feeling since it happened is crushing.

He’s been an integral part of our lives for such a long time, just getting through the mundane day-to-day chores is horrendous. What seemed important before suddenly feels irrelevant. As we work from home, he’s been in our company practically 24 hours a day. When we think about all the things we’ve shared – the thousands of walks, the holidays, days pottering in the garden, nights by the fire, the pork pies!

The house feels completely empty without him. In the future we hope to console ourselves with the fact that he had a great dog’s life and couldn’t have been more loved – and the reason it’s so painful is that we had something very special to lose. For the time being, it’s a bit of a struggle to say the least. You have to just keep going, we suppose.

We’ll try to keep on top of business and blogging as we work our way through the loss and grief. If there are any hiccups in our normal routine or schedule, we hope you’ll understand.

Sweet dreams little man…

Tasty treats from Webbox

Collection of treats from Webbox from their natural and Christmas ranges | H is for Home

When it comes to most things H is for Home, Fudge shows little or no interest in proceedings. However, the arrival of a box of tasty treats from Webbox, meant that suddenly, he wanted to get involved!

Fudge enjoying some of his treats from Webbox | H is for Home

We started by asking for his feedback on their premium fresh chicken with garden vegetables. He was too busy eating to talk, but we got the distinct impression that he approved. It’s made from 100% natural ingredients – easily digestible protein, vegetables, beneficial herbs, mineral rich seaweed and slow-release carbohydrate energy in the form of brown rice – a complete food that provides just about everything required for a well-balanced diet.

Fudge enjoying some of his treats from Webbox | H is for Home

A sample of the little snacks followed. The flavour combinations are very exciting – for example, the healthy treat bars – chicken with pea & blueberries and chicken with duck & cranberry. Something a bit out of the ordinary for our canine cousins. Delicious was the verdict again!

Collection of treats from Webbox from their Christmas range | H is for Home

We’ve held some of Fudge’s hamper back so he has something to enjoy on Christmas Day. He’s got a three bird roast turkey kibble, pork chipolatas and ‘pigs in blanket’ treats too. A glass of wine and he’ll be sorted!

It never ceases to amaze us the speed at which Fudge can demolish a bowl of food. You’d think we starve him, but we can guarantee that’s far from the case. We always get the, “is there any more please?” look. Thanks to Webbox there’ll indeed be more to follow in the coming days!

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A tale of tails

Fudge's tails.com food has arrived | H is for Home

We’re running this month’s competition in association with tails.com – and Fudge is obviously very happy to get involved in this one!

Fudge's tails.com email order confirmation | H is for Home

As you can see, he couldn’t contain his excitement when the package arrived.

Fudge and his tailor-made food chart | H is for Home

The prize is a month’s supply of bespoke dog (or puppy) food, tailor-made to your precious pooch’s needs – age, size, dietary requirements and health issues.

Fudge's tails.com diet assessment | H is for Home

tails.com is a really well designed and easy to navigate website. Just enter your pet’s details and it will magically tell you what mix of food they need and how much of it makes a portion. A handy scoop is included to help you measure the amount correctly every mealtime. Each month, you’ll receive a new delivery before your current bag of food runs out. You can update, pause or cancel online at any time.

Fudge waiting patiently for dinner time | H is for Home

Yada, yada, yada – can we get on with trying out the food now?

Fudge getting stuck into his tails.com food | H is for Home

Patience never was one of Fudge’s virtues, especially when it comes to food! He reminded us that it’s all well and good that the food is stuffed full of protein, vitamins and minerals, but is it tasty? We had to agree that the proof of the pudding is in the eating – so the waiting was over – and he genuinely loved it. Here he is devouring his bespoke dinner!

To win a month’s supply of tails.com tailor-made dog or puppy food leave a comment telling us the name, age and breed of your dog.

tails.com tailor-made dog or puppy food

Shared on: Superluckyme | The Prizefinder | Loquax | U Me and the Kids