hello there!
I’m Jennifer, Flat-Wear’s founder. I’m a graphic designer whose career led me from award-winning work in off-air marketing and on-air promotions for cable TV networks to corporate identity and marketing in health care. A combination of burnout from years of client-based work, ongoing grief over the loss of my second Flat-Coat, and the 2018 FCRSA National Specialty taking place just a four-hour drive from home pushed me into a now-or-never ultimatum to finally bring this passion project—which I dreamed up long ago—to life.
Wanting to use my talents to bring smiles to Flat-Coated Retriever owners everywhere and support a cause near and dear to my heart, I signed up to be a vendor at the specialty. With less than three months to prepare, I hunkered down and got started. Flat-Wear’s debut was met with enthusiasm and warmth, making all the hard work and long hours worth it—and made it possible to send a first check in the amount of $200 to the Flat-Coated Retriever Foundation earmarked for cancer research.
Flat-Wear is also my way of honoring and celebrating the memory of Vixen and Olive, the sweet, crazy, beautiful Flat-Coats that left my side too soon. The essences of those two dogs can be found all over this endeavor and will continue to inspire it—as does my current canine companion and muse, Lulu. We’re happy you’re here!
vixen
Vixen was my loyal friend, my confidant, and my co-worker, whose favorite spot was curled around the legs of my chair, making it impossible for me to get up from my desk without asking her to move. (She would oblige when I said, “excuse me.”) Through her expressive face, she could look adorable and puppy-like, regal and sophisticated, silly and sweet, and everything in between. One of my favorite of her expressions was when she smiled with her lower lip dropped and curled, revealing the cute little space between her middle teeth.
Vixen always carried sticks on our walks, switching to bigger and better ones she’d find along the way. She loved to roll in the freshly mowed grass, she excitedly stepped out into every snowfall as if it were the first time, she stalked rabbits in the backyard, and she could be perfectly content to sniff the smallest thing for minutes at a time. She was a perfect example of how dogs help you appreciate the simple things. She was my sunshine through a lot of loss, and she made me laugh every day of her too-short life.
olive
Olive was a complex creature that was comical, willful, neurotic, silly, and maddening. She was quite the chatterbox, too (and I don’t mean barking). Whether it was an attention-seeking “I’m here!...look at me!”, an expression of impatience when she wanted to eat or play, her best impression of Chewbacca, or just plain talking back, it was impossible to keep a straight face when she vocalized.
Many people who met Olive used the word “sweet” to describe her. I always found that funny since her preferred way of greeting everyone was by wildly wagging her tail and slobbering them with non-stop kisses. She would’ve licked the nose off your face if you’d only let her. So, sweet, yes, but truthfully, at least a little “must you?!” obnoxious too. Kind of like how some mornings, I’d wake to find her head resting sweetly on my shoulder, and others, I’d wake to find her feet obnoxiously in my face.
Like Vixen, she did not get the chance to grow old, but I take a little comfort knowing that through her contribution to the BreenLab cancer research program, she has left behind a legacy of hope for future generations of Flat-Coated Retrievers.
lulu
I brought Lulu home at the end of 2018, after almost three years of being dogless. For the first couple of weeks, she was the sweetest little thing, making it easy to love her and reacclimate to dog ownership. But in the back of my mind, I wondered if she was really a little hooligan in disguise. Now that she‘s an adult, I can say she’s a little of both! (She can also be impatient, pushy, petulant, and persisent!)
Endlessly curious, there are few tasks I could be doing she finds mundane enough for her to think, ‘eh, I don’t need to put my whole self right smack in the middle of this.’ Some of her favorite activities are food searches, swinging her toys around wildly, doing puzzle toys, and tearing grass out of the lawn by the mouthful and gulping it down (but hand her an organic spinach leaf and she’ll spit it out). And while it can be a bit of a challenge for me when she’s all ignition, no cognition (fairly often!), she also loves training for obedience and a sport new to both of us, scent work. We started competing in those sports this year, and she has a nice collection of ribbons and titles so far.
I’m enjoying watching her mature (albeit slowly!) and am looking forward to one day being able to put the toilet paper back in its holder on the wall without her TP’ing the bathroom.