Michaella Laird of Forty Wags and her farm dog, Levi. Photo / Bevan Conley
Michaella Laird of Forty Wags and her farm dog, Levi. Photo / Bevan Conley
A Fordell family has turned its need for new dog beds into a business - one that shows the many uses of wool.
Forty Wags owner Michaella Laird said it began with a need to give her family’s working dogs somewhere comfortable to lie down.
“They’re wet, muddy, they getpretty cold in the winter time and whatnot.
“We’ve had coffee sack beds and things like that before but they just don’t seem to hold up with working dogs so I just thought I’ll try to make something more heavy duty,” Laird said.
Her husband works on their family’s sheep farm so they had plenty of wool around to use for the bedding.
After prototyping, Laird settled on a heavy-duty and waterproof canvas for the outside layer.
The beds are made entirely from New Zealand products with all of the production save the sewing being done by Laird.
The main challenge was making them warm enough for the winter, light enough to carry and easy to clean, with the wool able to be removed for the covers to be hosed down.
Initially, Laird used the farm’s own wool for the beds, but as the amount needed grew, she switched to wool from Gisborne which was more suited to her needs.
“It’s nearly half the weight. It’s a tear-resistant mattress upholstery wool and it’s just fabulous,” she said.
Laird said she hoped selling the beds would advocate for how versatile the material was.
Thirty or 40 years ago wool was a thriving business but due to the rise of synthetic fibres, the sale price of wool has gone drastically down, she said.
“In farming the meat value of lamb, that’s been doing well but the wool has forever been decreasing to the point where it costs more to shear a sheep than it does for what you get for the wool, so it’s become a liability for farmers.”
However, she said the desire for more natural products was growing and she hoped the beds would help educate people.
“It’s great, it’s odour resistant, good for allergies, just all sorts of things,” she said.
The woolly inside of a Forty Wags bed. Photo / Bevan Conley
Forty Wags sells a limited edition bed, “The Green Corridor”, with 15 per cent of profits going to LandSAR Search Dogs.
Laird, who has been producing beds for around 18 months, said there had been a lot of support from the small business community.
“It’s been great because it’s quite hard pulling off a start-up.
“My husband’s working, he’s farming on the family farm, and at the time I was at home with my son so we were only on one income.
“Financially it’s definitely been tough, but as we’ve sold more you get more fabric and you can do a bit more,” she said.
There had also been a lot to learn in a small amount of time, like learning the ins and outs of social media marketing.
“Just to hone in on who your niche is and [know] you’re on the right path.”
Beds had been sent all around the country, from the deep south to Northland, Laird said.
“We’re just concentrating on New Zealand at the moment.
“We haven’t looked into other markets, we’re just trying to get this right and then we may look abroad,” she said.
The beds will be on display at the Whanganui Home & Lifestyle Show at Jubilee Stadium on August 12 and 13.
Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.
