Two people and three dogs standing outdoors in a park-like setting with trees and grass.

About MERK & Co.

MERK & Co. has been making tails wag since 2022! We focus on creating handmade, high quality pet accessories and creating and curating high quality items for their humans. Our goal is to strengthen the bond between pets and their humans!

We often get asked how we came up with our business name. Of course there's a longer story to it, but simply put, MERK & Co. is named after all of our pets!
M - Murphy, E - Ellie, R - Remy, K - Kitty
& Co. - was originally supposed to include us (the humans) + all past and future pets in our lives, but in the summer of 2023, we welcomed Colby into our home and made him part of the business name, too!

Jillian

Jillian is the sole production team of all things fabric - bow ties, bandanas, sailor bows, t-shirts, wristlets, scrunchies, everything that involves sewing. MERK & Co. was an idea that popped in her head, and she got inspired by it, which led to this dream becoming a reality. She was also spending too much money buying bandanas and bow ties, so she needed cut off somewhere! Jillian hand-makes everything you see, and she prides herself on high quality. She also is typically the person you're communicating with via e-mail. She handles all things event related, operates our online presence, and also handles all things finances.

Anthony

Anthony wears a lot of hats, but the main hats he wears are he's our wood maker and heavy lifter. The super cool wood animals you see? Anthony made those! Our vendor set ups? He does 90% of set up.

You can almost always find Anthony at his laser machine, as the face of MERK & Co. at vendor events (when he's not too busy petting all the dogs), behind the screen of Facebook messages, and carrying all of the heavy things. He also helps Jillian with small things like adding snaps on bandanas, cutting interfacing or fabric, wrapping bandanas, and so much more. He's also the constant source of encouragement that keeps this business running.
Cat wearing a floral bandana sitting on a carpeted floor.

Murphy

It's appropriate for Murphy to start our company name, because she is ultimately the leader of the house. She makes sure everyone is fed (but especially her), in a timely manner of course; she makes sure that no one forgets she exists; she is the reason we have to store all of our fabric in totes because she believes everything in our MERK & Co. room is her bed. Her most important role, however, is guardian of the sewing machine - her favorite spot in the house is directly behind the sewing machine to look out the window. Occasionally she allows us to talk her into being a model for us, but it does require a large increase in her salary of cat treats, while also having to catch her and wrestle her into a bandana - which is always as dangerous as it sounds, and life threatening to anyone in her path.

Ellie

Ellie is our highest esteemed model we have here at MERK & Co. She demands so little, as she just enjoys the attention. Every time Jillian finishes a set of bandanas, Ellie knows that one of those are hers and demands that we let her wear it immediately for a fit test. She will then proceed to prance around the house with her new swag. Ellie's second favorite thing to do is watch Jillian work - that is just as annoying as it sounds. She also does a very good job of alerting us when the mail has been delivered and that we have new packages to be opened. Ellie is one of our three treat testers, arguably the best of the three. She is our pickiest eater, so we know a treat is good when she gobbles it up. 

Remy

Remy is a jack of all trades when it comes to MERK & Co. He doesn't specialize in just one thing, but is decent at multiple things. His favorite job duty is by far treat testing, while his least favorite is probably everything else. He begrudgingly models for us, but only does a good job for the really good treats. He is what you would consider a "high maintenance model." He is aware he looks great and he knows how to work a runway, he just chooses to be difficult. Remy is usually our security detail - no dog, person, groundhog, cat, raccoon, or bird can sneak by our headquarters without him giving a full debrief of the situation. However, this position does have a lot of downtime, so he is often found sleeping on the job. 
Cat wearing a bandana sitting on a staircase

Kitty

Kitty is our oldest child. She really acts more as a CEO than anything else for MERK & Co. She often lounges in the room with us, watching over her associates. She does not appreciate being a model at all, but she will comply when we ask nicely. Kitty is the performance manager of the company though, always quick to hiss and screech at the dogs when they are becoming unfocused on their tasks at hand. Even after a few years of coexisting together, the dogs still have not learned to give Kitty her space, so we often still hear the battle cries from across the house. 

Colby

Colby is our newest member of MERK & Co. Still truly finding his place within the company, he just loves to be involved. He loves being a model, because he loves the compliments he receives and the treats he is paid with. His most notable contribution, however, is that he is usually the one who is seen helping us at outdoor events (when the weather permits, that is). He goes to several events with us throughout the year to help us model our items and showcase their quality in person. He loves attention, so coming to shows with us is one of his favorite job duties.

It takes a village!

It truly takes a village to keep MERK & Co. running. Throughout the years, we have had help from so many different people in our lives and we truly couldn't imagine this business without their help.

From cutting our fabric, to helping at events, to filling treat bags, and so much more, our family and friends have truly helped make this dream a reality. We are so grateful to all of them!