REBEL WITH A PAWS : The Mission to Dress Utah’s Naked Pets

by Ted Scheffler

If you’re searching for a holiday gift for your favorite furry friend, Rebel Paw has you covered. Not that Rebel Paw products aren’t perfect for pets year ‘round, but they would make an especially welcome present at Christmastime. 

Nicholas Black and Amelia Paulson - owners of a business called Rebel Paw - say that their mission is “to dress all of Utah’s naked pets.”  Rebel Paw creates handmade bandannas for pets. Says Amelia, “Our bandannas are unique in that they close with a collar buckle instead of a tie. This makes the bandanna much easier to put on your pet and ensures that it stays on securely.” What a brilliant idea! I, for one, am a dog owner who doesn’t like fiddling with knots.

Amelia and Nicholas explain that “Rebel Paw is a small local handmade company fueled by the pure adoration of our K9 companions. Our highlight product is pet neckerchiefs but we also make small batch organic dog treats and special occasion pup cakes.” They also say that they love custom orders and welcome customers to contact them with any ideas or questions they might have.

Both Paulson and Nicholas have days jobs: She’s a custom picture frame/art consultant while he is a lab specialist at the University of Utah. The couple started Rebel Paw because  “We couldn’t find stylish, quality bandannas that we liked so we made our own and went from there.”

Rebel Paw graphics range from skulls and crossbones and camo kerchiefs to dinosaurs, unicorns, and my favorite, pink flamingos.

Black and Paulson sell their Rebel Paw products at local markets and events like the Made in Utah Winter Fest coming up in December, but also at the Healthy Pets store in Cottonwood Heights and online at www.rebelpaw.bigcartel.com.

Where to the owners of Rebel Paw hope to be five years down the road? “We hope to be an established business with at least one storefront. We would also like to expand our products and offer handcrafted dog treats.”