Starting my own business was never part of my life’s plan, but dog&boy has grown to be one of my life’s unexpected accomplishments. What started out as just a love of scarves, has taken us to trade-shows in New York, our scarves shipping internationally to gorgeous retailers around the world, connecting with some truly amazing people on every path, and we have continued to grow, despite being thrown a 2020 curveball when we launched our print fashion range at the start of a 2-year global pandemic (that’s another story!)!
My biggest love
My other and biggest love is, of course, my son Nick. For Tony, my husband, and I, it was never really a “we are ready to have kids”, so much as a “maybe we should think about it?” I’d always said to him, that “there is more to you and me than just you and me”.
So, after a few challenges from mother nature, along came our baby boy, and we both tend to agree that he got the best parts of both of us (we’re both thankful for that!), though he certainly has a more bougie taste in food than most 13-year-olds, and does love a good creamy latte (like mother, like son!).
Reflecting on motherhood, I don’t think we realised how much we took our daily life for granted before children. The sleep, the spontaneous coffee and dinner dates with friends, those moments to yourself; this is all changed when Nick came along. Before birth, I envisioned a life that our baby would simply just fit into, but the realisation quickly set in that it was now baby’s world, and that being late to everything comes with the parenting territory (at least for some time). Life seemed to flip a 180 when I had Nick, not only in our daily routine but also in the way that I viewed the world and the way I reacted to different situations.
Like any mother, I wanted to give my son the best life I could. As cliched as it might sound, I also wanted to be the best person I could be. Knowing that little mind was taking in every word, every action of mine, I wanted to be a good role model for my son, knowing he would inevitably follow in my footsteps.
Inspiration behind the designs
As my son grew, and life went back to a (somewhat normal) speed as he reached his schooling years, dog&boy was established, a new chapter for our family. There are many moments in Nick’s childhood that have helped to shape the dog&boy collections - Graffio was one of our very first designs, where we took a photo of Nick and manipulated it, so he looked like a little superhero. Another one of my favourites is a design called Imagination, a design of his little fingers in a heart symbol, which has appeared in quite a few of our designs now, and the design, Beautiful Chaos, too, was inspired by Nick’s childhood (isn’t it a fitting name indeed!)
Being a mum is a privilege
Mother’s Day is a celebrated time in our house, because it is an honour and a privilege to be Nick’s mum. However, there is ongoing debate between Tony and I - I am still down one Mother’s Day compared to his Father’s Day which I joke about but still annoys me after 13 years! Nick was born early June, one month after Mother’s Day and while I was very clearly a mother by this point (8 months pregnant), Tony refused me that Mother’s Day, and only when Nick was born, did we celebrate it.
For me, Mother’s Day is more than just me, it has always been a time spent with family, whether it’s an afternoon of competitive ten pin bowling or a day in the games arcade, it is we appreciating the memories made together as a family.
Sonya X
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Our gift to you
This Mother’s Day, we joined with Loobylou candles, to create and gift to you a beautiful Gardenia & Fresh Basil scented candle with your dog&boy purchase. Pick the perfect scarf, we will gift wrap with love and send it on your way for Mother’s Day!
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