I knew no matter what I chose to do in life it would have to be something relating to animals. My intended career path when graduating from a Southern NH high school, was to be either a pet portraiture or a nature & wildlife photographer. Because I received a partial tuition scholarship, I found myself studying photography at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, PA.

Right time, right place. On the way home from classes, waiting for the walk signal to change - a little black kitten was thrown out of a bar! I scooped him up, brought him home and named him Ebony (ebonypaws :). He was with me for almost 19 years before he crossed the rainbow bridge at the very beginning of 2013.

Somehow I ended up on the pre-press, retouching side of catalog print production (not animal related). Seeking a way to make a little extra money on the side, I opened my first shop on Etsy summer of 2007, mainly selling my photography and a few pet tags. After losing my job in 2009, with little hope of finding a new job in a dying industry, I decided to build on designs I already had and started making pet tags full time. I now have over 350 designs and have added several other products - all featuring my photography or illustrations.

The inspiration behind my ideas comes from all sorts of places but
many of my ideas come from experiences with my pets, so I consider them to be part of my staff :) For instance: Ollie is a Border Collie Mix rescued from St. Martin. He is why we can’t have nice things.
Birdie Puggles has the vocal range of her Beagle side with a side of drama queen.
Jack the cat was the inspiration behind my tripping hazard tag after he tried to kill me at 2am by tripping me on the stairs.
Domino is just a fluffy hot mess.

For pet tags, please visit ebonypawspets.etsy.com

If you want to keep up with my new ideas (design or product), you can find me at:
Facebook - www.facebook.com/ebonypawscreative
Instagram - www.instagram.com/ebonypaws/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/ebonypaws