Here in the Hawai`i Doggie Bakery shop, we can’t make everything on our own.  The ingredients for our Doggie paw-ty cakes, muffins and WOOFLES have to come from somewhere and that place is local farmers markets and suppliers!  But we wanted to have other things in our shop too besides our fresh baked treats and for that we proudly turn to our other local business owners to stock our shelves!

As a traveling bakery over the past year and half, we really gained an appreciation for being small business owners not only because we sold things that we made ourselves, but because of all the other small business owners that we met along the way.

Being at a market every week, you get to know your neighbors pretty well!  For example, at Hawaii Kai Farmers’ Market, we made friends with Dale from Nuuanu Orchids and learned how much time and care it takes not only to keep the orchids alive and looking beautiful, but the amazing amount of work that goes into breeding the right orchids together to come up with a flower that’s uniquely yours. Over at Makiki Farmers’ Market, we always chit chat with Kathy from Sweet Revenge Honolulu who tells us all about baking equipment, selling to large crowds (like Eat the Street!) and of course how to come up with flavors that no one has ever heard of before.

Then only a few months ago, we started to see some really sad things in the dog-business industry.  All of our fellow small businesses started shutting down!  Bark Avenue in Koko Marina, followed by Cocojor on Kapiolani and 55 Pawsh Place in Kapolei.  Mililani Pets closed down too, and we just couldn’t believe it.  Where were all the small businesses going?  If we lose our small businesses to large corporations then we lose our identities as locals.  We lose what makes us unique and everything starts to look the same no matter where you go in the country.  As business owners who worked side by side weekly with local farmers, bakers, crafters and more, we knew we had to do our part to support local businesses.

That is why we have pledged to stock our store with mostly–if not ALL locally made products.  We feel so strongly about supporting our fellow local business owners and  feel that if we have been blessed with the opportunity to open a shop of our own, then we should pass it on and use this opportunity to help others.  Dog lovers can feel good about supporting the products sold in Hawai`i Doggie Bakery because every dollar spent in our store is going towards helping small businesses succeed in Hawaii!

Right now during our soft opening, you can find quite a few local vendors in the corner of our store.

We have doggie t-shirts made by idkwhat2wear, a t-shirt company in Mililani.  We’ve loved their prints for years, ever since we discovered that they made a “Shi-Boo Inu” pin for Halloween.  This hardworking team designs all their shirts themselves and then screenprints them by hand on the weekends.  They are a favorite at craft fairs and sell out of many of their unique prints–like the affectionately named “Dr. Rocky” design, a cute shirt featuring a dog with glasses and a bow tie!!  Squeee!

Also in our shop are reversible doggie bowties, neckties and reflective collars and leashes made by Hawaii Handmade Gifts from Wahiawa.  This family of crafters is so creative, they come up with the neatest designs, things so original you’ve never seen anything like it before!  Their doggie bowties have been so popular in at Hawai`i Doggie Bakery that during our soft opening we sold out of the pink designs in every size!  (But don’t worry pups, we quickly got them back in stock!)  The gals at Hawaii Handmade Gifts literally cannot stop thinking of new things all the time, so we’ll be excited to feature more of their products in store later on!

Lastly we have Filthy Farmgirl Soaps — 100% natural handmade doggie soaps.  We’ve had these soaps at the Farmers’ Markets for about a year now, and they are so popular we sell out really fast–especially during the holidays!  The soaps are made with ingredients that are a natural flea and tick repellant like lavender, peppermint and tea tree oil to name a few!  Read more about Filthy Farmgirl Soaps here.

We’ll definitely be adding more local vendors very SOON — hint hint, aren’t these collars cute?  What do you think about Katsumi & Kuri Firefox in these Halloween tutus?

We are so very very proud to support our friends and we just know you will all love their products too.  Come on down to our new store in Manoa – 2961C East Manoa Road – to check them out for yourselves!