Although the partnership between PetSmart and Martha Stewart was announced late last year, products from the new Martha Stewart Pets™ line are just now starting to show up in PetSmart retail stores and on the PetSmart website. The idea for Martha Stewart to team up with PetSmart came about from her Daily Wag blog, which features photos and “first person” accounts of a dog’s life, as told by Martha’s two French Bulldogs, Francesca and Sharkey. The blog became so popular that Martha decided to run sponsored webisodes featuring her dogs, and this eventually led to her collaboration with PetSmart for a new line of pet products.
My local PetSmart does not have the new Martha Stewart Pets products yet, so I took a look at them on Petsmart.com. As a cat owner, one thing I noticed right away is that, despite being touted as Martha Stewart Pets, there is really nothing for felines. I’m not sure why they didn’t just call it Martha Stewart Dogs; this would certainly be a lot less confusing to people looking for products for their cats.
According to the PetSmart website, “Martha Stewart Pets is a new collection of innovative pet supplies and accessories – from dog bowls and beds, harnesses to chew toys – developed with both dogs and owners in mind.” Perhaps there are plans to add cat products to the Martha Stewart Pets line in the future, but for now it’s primarily dog products (though you could conceivably buy the bowls, feeders and pet beds for your cat).
The products are said to be “created and tested by Martha Stewart herself (with a little help from her pets). Most of the products come in a really nice aqua blue hue that is apparently the signature color for the line. The textiles all have a cute signature dog bone print. Below are some of the products available in the Martha Stewart Pets line.
Martha Stewart Dog Toys: this category, along with the dog grooming products, is the most extensive of this new line of pet products. With a few exceptions, the toys I saw were not particularly “new and different,” but they are all quite cute. The dog toys include ball tosses, plush chew toys, rope bone tug toys, colorful tennis balls emblazoned with the Martha Stewart Pets logo, crocheted squeaky toys, and totally adorable fleece lamb and bear chew toys. There’s also a Martha Stewart Cotton Canvas Toy Bin. It comes in blue, brown, gray or red, and makes an attractive place to store all of your dog’s playtime accessories.
One dog toy that is quite different from anything I’ve seen is the Martha Stewart Chicken Coop. It’s a plush coop that has three adorable chicks to put inside, sort of like a “child’s shape-sorter toy” for dogs. The description says that “toys inside of toys test your dog’s problem-solving skills and reward patience and perseverance.”
Martha Stewart Pet Grooming Products: this extensive category includes lots of different brushes and combs, as well as scissors, thinning shears, nail clippers, a water pitcher, microfiber bath towels, scrubbing mitts, bath mat, small portable bathtub and even a doggie bathrobe!
The Martha Stewart Grooming Tote is a great way to keep all your pet grooming tools and bath supplies in one place. The washable polyester dark brown tote has a roomy main compartment with pockets on the sides, front and back. I have a similar product for all of my gardening tools, which I love and use all the time.
Martha Stewart Pet Beds: it appears that right now there are only three products in this category, a bolster and snuggler bed in the signature aqua blue color, and a mattress-style dog bed in white. The beds are reasonably priced from $24.99-49.99.
Other products in the Martha Stewart Pets line found exclusively at PetSmart include bowls and feeders, treat jars, can covers, food scoops, doggie tees, leashes and collars. All in all, I think these attractive pet products are reasonably priced and well designed. I do hope they decide to include some cat products in the future, though!
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http://www.petsmart.com/
http://dailywag.marthastewart.com/