Good Idea: OTRADA

Posted by Aimee

November 7, 2009

Otrada is the name of a shop on Etsy that features products for animal lovers. They have a lot of fun items, especially for those who love horses (but they have things for all animal lovers too). I really thought this was a cute necklace, and what a great way to show off your pet too! Several of Otrada’s jewelry items, gift ornaments, and belt buckles can be customized with your animal’s photograph.

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Here is a bit more from the shop owner:

Our brand, Otrada, is about creating the most stylish animal-inspired designs for you and your home.

I’m a licensed commercial Interior Designer that loves animals and in the Summer of ‘07 I just decided to combine my two passions. I noticed that I was able to find neat animal-influenced products in linens, housewares, jewelry, home decor etc., but I could never find them all in one location. I found some at Target, some in catalogs, some in antique malls, but why wasn’t anyone creating a lifestyle brand for animal lovers? There are so many of us! I started thinking about first products, company names, and how I wanted to go to market. Our first product was a digitally printed, black and white, limited edition pillow. I took the original photography in Jackson Hole, WY, found a printer in SC and had 12 lumbar pillows made. They’re graphic, timeless, and pieces of art, really. I hope to do a new one each year so they may be collected by our loyal customers. In fact, Donna Warner, the editor-in-chief at Metropolitan Home Magazine has one in her NYC office and loves it!

In addition to the pillows, I started designing jewelry, guest towels, belts, ornaments. Several of our designs may be customized with a favorite pet’s photo. Again, it’s artistic, but also all about the animals. Things for Otrada are moving ahead and we just got our trademark registration this Summer from the USPTO.

While I was busy building Otrada the brand, I also got serious about my equestrian pursuits and purchased an untrained Haflinger mare named “Patsy”. She was green, ill-mannered on the ground, and seemed like a big project. She had been abused, had hair loss on her nose from a tight halter, flinching issues if your hands got near her face, and a distrust of humans.However, I had a dream to have a horse for myself to jump and one for my daughters to learn how to ride on. Plus, she was tolerant of children. This breed and this mare seemed to be a good match for our family. I re-named her Otrada after our company name. I got flack for her funny name, but I knew she was in some way tied to what is possible with having a vision -just like my new brand. Two years later -she’s a different horse because she was treated fairly and trained with consistency. (please see her attached photo).

My vision for Otrada the brand is to have all different animals featured in our products, create great designs, promote awareness for non-violent training methods, and share the joy that animals bring to all of us. I see a bright future for our brand since there are so many people who love animals AND want to have stylish products.

We haven’t had the chance to see any of the products in person, but we think creating great items for animal lovers is always a good idea!

good idea