Artwork for podcast Animal Posse
Reframing the Way We See Cats with Frame Your Feline
Episode 53 • 30th January 2026 • Animal Posse • Unwanted Feline Organization
00:00:00 00:51:57

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Dixie:

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

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people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

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Today we are gonna be focusing

on cats as works of art.

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So I would like to welcome Kristina Hughes

and Brian Vermeire with Frame Your Feline.

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How are y'all doing?

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Kristina: We're doing great.

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Thank you.

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Doing good.

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Dixie: I am super excited

to talk about this.

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Because I did not know that this existed.

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And Kristina, when you reached

out to me, I went and looked

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it up and I'm obsessed now.

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So before we dive into frame your feline,

can y'all share a little bit about

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your background and what led you here?

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Brian: Oh boy.

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I'll be the first to say that

I never grew up with a cat.

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I had no idea about anything about cats.

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And it wasn't until Kristina came

along in my life that I've learned the

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way of the cat and I was a dog guy.

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My entire life, I am now the cat man.

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I love

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Kristina: the cat butler.

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Brian: I love cats.

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Like cats are the most amazing creatures.

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It's amazing.

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I came with no background in cats.

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Kristina, you grew up with a cat, right?

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Kristina: Yes.

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My parents when they were in college

together my mom was the go-to person.

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Everyone would say, and I've only just

learned this recently actually, they'd

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be like, oh, Linda we have a cat.

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. We can't keep it.

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Can you find a home for it?

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Rumor has it, they had eight cats

in a one bedroom apartment, and my

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mom was rehoming cats, and so , I

always had cats growing up, but

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actually I only really had one cat.

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From basically first grade

until I moved to California.

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That was Misty.

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She was a Siamese kitty, and

she was the runt of the litter.

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She was actually all black, and she

was this teeny tiny little kitty.

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But she was my best friend growing

up, and I could always tell her what

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was going on in my world and what I

was happy about, what I was sad about.

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I was an only child, so I either

had my stuffed animal wookie or

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my living cat mis ty to lean on.

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But when I moved to LA I left Misty

behind 'cause she was 20 years

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old and I felt like that was too

old to bring a cat across country.

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So I let her live out her life with

my parents in Massachusetts and I

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knew someday in LA I would get a cat,

but I just didn't really know when.

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And Brian and I moved in together

and the neighbor's cat who was being

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abused, started taking a liking to us.

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And that's where we took over.

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And Brian became a cat daddy.

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Brian: I did.

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And then I quickly realized

that cats are like tattoos.

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Mysteriously, you end up getting more and

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you

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Kristina: can't stop.

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Brian: You can't stop.

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And next thing you got a

tattoo covering your face.

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And it's the same way with cats.

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Kristina: And if you know us,

Dixie, or you don't, those people

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who are listening, Brian and I do

not have any tattoos on our faces.

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No.

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We're actually really anywhere else, but

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Brian: I don't have tattoos, but I

do have cats that take that place

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and and so yeah, we loved our cats

when we were living in our apartment.

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We wanted to, build a cat wall.

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We wanted to do certain stuff.

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But we never got around to it.

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But then we moved out of the apartment

and we bought our first house.

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And we have all of a sudden, like when

you go from an apartment to a house,

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like life changes, you're like, wow,

and we were like, okay, we wanna do

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a cat wall, but now that we have a

house, we don't want it to be tacky.

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Like we don't

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Kristina: we don't want just a

bunch of shelves and some, and

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Brian: right.

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We wanted something elegant and then

that was how we just started having a

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conversation about how do we do that?

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Kristina: Cliffhanger.

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Dixie: Yeah, I love that though,

because I have cat shelves in my

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house, just things that we put together

and i've got cat trees everywhere.

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And I will say it's looks like a

catastrophe for cats, there's no other

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way to say it because it's cat trees.

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I think we've got let me see, I've got

1, 2, 3, we probably have about six cat

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trees, and then we also have the shelves.

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And then of course they

don't always use the shelves.

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They like to, either sit in

front of the TV or sit in front

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of the computer or go in places

where they're not supposed to go.

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Yeah.

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But yeah, the idea that the frame your

feline, it is such a unique concept

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and it is so like aesthetic too, and

Yeah, like from the photos that I'm

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seeing, like when the cats are actually

like in the frames it's just amazing.

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So for people that don't know,

just give us a brief overview of

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what the frame your feline is.

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Brian: Okay, then this dovetails into

how the idea of the concept came to be.

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So when we were hanging artwork on the

walls and we were then thinking about

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the shelves, and then that's when,

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Kristina: My, my dad, yeah, my dad is an

avid art collector and he has a lot of.

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Artwork from Ronnie Wood, from the Rolling

Stones, John Lennon and Jerry Garcia.

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And he at his house, he has museum

walls, right of artwork everywhere.

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And he had gifted us a Ronnie

Wood of Rod Stewart, and it's

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beautifully framed and matted.

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And I was saying to Brian like, how can

we hang up Rod Stewart, but how can we

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have our cats hang out around with him?

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And the concept of just plain shelves,

I was like, oh, it's just not really

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the look I'm I wanna go for, right?

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And so I was like, what if we could like

somehow have a frame and like a shelf?

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And he's do you mean frame your cat?

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And I said, that is exactly what I mean.

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And he was like.

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This is really interesting.

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I don't know about this.

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So we went online and

we did tons of research.

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We are entrepreneurs, we own other

businesses, and we wanted to make

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sure that nobody out there was doing

anything, like what we were thinking

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about because we we can't just go, oh,

wouldn't it be fun to just DIY something?

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We're like, Hey, if we need

this, other people need this.

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If we're tired of what we had

in our old apartment was gifted

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from our hairdresser was an ugly

powder, blue carpeted cat tree.

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The cat sat in, they threw up on it.

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We would cart it down the stairs,

we'd go rinse it off outside.

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We'd let it dry, we'd cart

it back up the stairs.

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We'd put it in our living room

and go, God, that just smells.

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Why does it smell so bad?

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Because it has formaldehyde in it.

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And a lot of people don't know that's

what's mostly in their cat trees.

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We were just like.

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Let's see if this is something,

and Brian's dad is an engineer.

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Brian: Yep.

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Kristina: And when you have

a problem, who do you call?

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You call your parents and we're adults.

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We're like, Hey, we wanna

bounce this idea off of you.

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And he is I don't know.

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And we went back for a visit , and his

dad brought it up at the dinner table

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. Brian's parents do not know about cats.

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When we go visit them on Cape Cod, brian

and I always go visit this little local

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animal shelter and we go see the cats and

we come back and we tell them about these

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cats that are available for adoption.

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And they're like, yeah,

we're not cat people.

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But his dad was like, so you really

think that this could be something?

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And I'm like, yes, of course.

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Do you know how many people

own cats and do you know how

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many people own multiple cats?

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And so we went back to California and a

few weeks later he said, Hey guys, I've

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got something coming for you in the mail.

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Don't open it up.

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Call me when you get it and you have

a chance to, open it up with me.

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And so we did.

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And that was when Bill,

Brian's dad had sent us.

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Like the first version

of Frame Your Feline.

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Brian: So from concept and then

he said he took our concept

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and then made it a reality.

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And that, and so for the people at

home listening, explain what it is.

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Yes.

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Alright, so finally, what is it?

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So Frame Your Feline is the best.

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Cat shelf perch.

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You can imagine there's a, we

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Kristina: call it the

cat shelf reimagined.

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Brian: There are two shelves, so think

of a shelf on the wall, and then directly

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above that about two feet above that

is another shelf directly above it.

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Kristina: An upper shelf and a lower

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shelf,

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Brian: an upper shelf.

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And a lower shelf.

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Lower shelf is carpeted.

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Okay.

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Kristina: Yay.

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Brian: And then imagine an actual

beautiful art frame that connects

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to those two shelves and the

artwork panels slide in and.

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As backdrops.

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Okay.

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And so they slide in and out, so you can

always change the artwork in your frame.

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Your feline, the cat jumps into

the frame and they just sit there

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looking out at you and they look like

a framed work of art on your wall.

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They are a living work

of art on your wall.

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And it's just it.

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And you see your cat in a whole new

way and it's absolutely a stunner.

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When cats love being in frame

of your feline, you do not have

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to train your cat to be in it.

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You don't have to hope they use it.

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They naturally, instinctively

will absolutely go in it and

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they'll hang out in the frame for

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Kristina: hours,

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Brian: for long periods of time.

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And the magic.

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It's something that we didn't expect.

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, When we installed it in our

home for the first time after

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we did several beta tests, did

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Kristina: it in our garage,

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Brian: we did several tests in

the garage and we had to figure,

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modify, modifications, higher,

bigger, wider, like all of this,

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all that stuff we had to figure out.

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Then when we finally installed it

in our home, we didn't know how

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the cats were gonna react to it.

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We walked away and

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Kristina: didn't, we didn't pick them

up and put it in it, we just walked

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away and then we like looked around the

corner and within, I don't know, two or

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three minutes they were investigating

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Brian: And then it became a territory.

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It became a place where all the cats

wanted to be in because here's what

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we figured out was cats in frame your

feline, they instinctively feel safe.

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Cats love to be, they love to be high.

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They get, they love getting that vertical

space, but because of the ceiling,

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the upper shelf and the lower shelf,

and then having that frame around

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it, they feel like they're in a box.

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Even though it's open on

all sides, they feel safe.

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So I'm looking at our cat.

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Kristina: Yeah, I'm looking at pop.

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So we have a cat named Poppy.

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She's a rescue from the

Palmdale Animal Care Center.

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We got her in 2019.

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It's a very high kill shelter and we

just put a new piece of artwork in today,

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which is of the poppy fields that we

live nearby here in Southern California.

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So we've got Poppy.

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In a frame.

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It's the warm walnut, right?

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Yeah.

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That's the new frame with the new frame

style with poppies behind it, and she's

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giving herself the cat bath right now.

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So she's just having a great

high poppy, and that is installed

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in our kitchen actually.

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People say like.

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Where do you put these frames?

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And we say anywhere you hang art is

where you can have, frame your feline.

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So you know, you can have

it in your even kitchen.

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You can have it in your home office.

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We have 'em in our

bedroom, our living room.

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We're putting one up in our

dining room 'cause we're about

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to do a big install video.

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Brian: We have one in the home office.

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Kristina: Yeah.

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Brian: Yeah, as Kristina said, anywhere

you hang out, you can have your

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cat hang out and frame your feline.

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And

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Kristina: we and the cool thing is.

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While we've been growing the

product, we get feedback from

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people on different types of art.

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They want.

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Some people want photography,

so we've been supporting some

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smaller photographers, some fine

artists, some watercolor artists.

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We got access last year

to the Master's art.

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So you can have Monet in your home.

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You can have Rembrandt in your home.

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So we have some really cool

art that people can feel like

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they're in a museum and then.

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The growth of the product is we're

adding new art, we're adding new

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frame styles, and then what we have

new for this year is we have a museum

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plaque that goes next to the frame.

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So it starts to look like you're curating

your own art gallery in your home,

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Dixie: and you're curating

cats with it, huh?

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Kristina: Yes.

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We're we have our own resident cats.

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And then , we're Hey, , how

are kittens in the frame?

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Hey, how are being coons in the frame?

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How are Bengals in the frame?

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Some of our first beta testers

were a main coon and a Bengal.

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Paired in Indiana, right?

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That's where , Maria, the Cadi,

and Clia, the Bengal, they were

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some of our first beta testers.

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And Clia has lots of energy

'cause she's a Bengal.

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And we are like, give this thing a

pounding, and then Maria, the Cadis,

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she's this big fluffy man, coon, and we're

like, let's see, how do you look when

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you stretch out and that sort of thing.

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So here in our home.

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We, like I said, we live in an area,

we have two very high kill shelters

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within 10 minutes each direction of us.

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And so , we started fostering cats

and kittens of all shapes and sizes.

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We've tried to get cats before

they get dumped at the shelter.

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We've worked with a couple

of groups who do TNR.

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And we've personally fostered.

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And then we have some

fosters who have frames.

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And what we all do collectively is

we've elevated the adoption photos and

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videos and when Petfinder is working,

'cause it hasn't been working very well,

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there's a bug in their system right now.

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But when Petfinder is working

and when we post on Facebook and

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Instagram, they'll rescue that.

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We are involved with.

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It's called DS Kitty Rescue now

on Instagram and we adopt out of a

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Petco in Santa Clarita, California.

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Called Petco Bouquet Canyon, and we have

so many people that come to the adoption

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events or that message us during the

week and say, I'm interested in this cat.

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I wanna meet this cat because

they saw these amazing

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photos and videos of the cat.

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It's not just like a kitten bolting

through your living room that you tried

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to snap a photo of or a cat that's

just not happy if you put the cat.

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In the frame that has never been in

the frame and you give 'em a couple

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of pets they feel so comfortable

and , we're able to get really

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great pictures and videos of them.

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Dixie: I think that's great and I think

that's really what appeals to me about it.

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Not just that my personal cats would

like it, but because I have a rescue too.

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I struggle so much with trying to take

photos of cats and kittens that are.

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Nice, decent looking photos.

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And so to me, having something like

that , it just makes it so much easier.

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It takes it to another level.

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It looks like you have a professional

photographer come in, but you

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could do it in your living room.

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Kristina: Yes.

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There is a cat cafe and rescue in

Wisconsin called the Barista Cat Cafe.

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I think this is, it's super cool.

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You can see them on Instagram and TikTok.

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They installed a frame your feline into a

100 and 50-year-old stone wall, and they

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have it a little lower so that when people

come to the cat cafe and they sit down

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in a chair, the cat is like right next

to them at like shoulder, head height.

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They can have a coffee,

an amazing picture.

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They can have a coffee with a cat a Milo

Sanctuary which is a big rescue out here.

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They have a lot of cats, the cats who are

actually like blind cats who can't walk.

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And they actually purchased from us and

we went and installed it for them so

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we could meet up with them last year.

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And it was amazing to see.

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A blind adoptable cat

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Brian: in the frame

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Kristina: in your feline.

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It's just like super

comfortable and happy.

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And,

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Brian: and what's really great, so the

rescues are starting to see that taking

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pictures of cats in the frames actually

ups the rate of adoption way faster.

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And and also we have a great vet.

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Animal Hospital in Maine.

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Kristina: In Scarborough, Maine.

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Brian: Yeah.

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They've installed two.

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They purchased two.

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Kristina: Yeah.

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They bought one and then they bought

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Brian: another.

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They bought another, and

they're gonna buy more.

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They tell me and I'm like, okay.

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And they have their patient cats and they

put them in the frame and take pictures of

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the cats and the people love it it's just,

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Kristina: and it's a great, it's a great

branding moment for them because we offer.

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Customized artwork panels.

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So they've ordered actually art that

we have existing on the website,

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but then they've asked us to

create Scarborough Animal Hospital.

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So when a person takes a picture

of it and then they post it online,

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then people start to see it.

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So it's really cool advertising for them.

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Really love that.

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And I have to say, when we

started with Frame your feline.

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And this has been a

learning experience for us.

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We were like, oh, we want it made out

of wood and we want it handcrafted.

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And we were having Brian's dad who

is over 80, make them one at a time

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by hand, out of wood in his shop.

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It was time consuming.

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It was costly because wood warps.

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And then when we went to an event in San

Diego where there are cat rescues there,

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but there are also purebred cats there.

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It's through the Cat Fanciers Association.

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We went to their West Coast event

and a lot of people who were

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breeders, they're like, oh, I love

this idea, but your products may not

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have wood and my cat's not fixed.

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And he's gonna spray on it and I'm

never gonna be able to clean it.

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And we were like, aha.

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Actually that weekend we had already

been doing research for a few months.

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We had received our sample of

what is now frame your feline 2.0,

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which is non-porous.

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Non-toxic recyclable.

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It's super easy to clean.

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So if your cat, throws up on the frame

or the shelves there is no problem

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with cleaning it and sanitizing it.

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And that's a big thing with the

cat rescues and the cat cafes.

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So they need to have, something

that can be easily cleaned.

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Brian: Yep.

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And we were so happy with this

material because it's what woodworkers

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use when they don't have wood.

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And so it's more durable than wood.

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It's sturdier than wood.

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But , it's lighter and it's just fabulous.

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And everything is made in the USA.

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All manufactured in the USA.

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No, my dad is out of a job.

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Thank goodness.

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Kristina: Happily

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Brian: happily.

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The good news is that it's

better materials and just.

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Way better for cat cafes to use and

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Kristina: durable.

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And that's a big thing

with us, as cat parents.

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How many times Dixie , you're shopping

at Aldi and you're like, oh, look at

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this cute little cardboard house, and

you buy it for your cat, you put it

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together and within 20 minutes you're

like, oh, this is going in the landfill.

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I'm tired of buying things that

either my cats are gonna destroy

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or they're not gonna use, or,

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Brian: yeah.

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We got a we have an exercise wheel,

Dixie I'm telling you for the

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Kristina: cat.

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Brian: These cats.

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They it's repellent.

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I say it's cat repellent.

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They do not want anything to do with it.

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We've tried training them to do it.

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They don't want,

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Kristina: we have one cat that will

sit at the bottom of the cat wheel,

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but we bought it during COVID.

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We thought it was gonna be a fun thing.

396

:

And we're like, wow, it takes

up a huge footprint in our home.

397

:

And nobody wants to

398

:

Brian: use it and nobody wants to use it.

399

:

And cat trees are gross.

400

:

They're disgusting.

401

:

I'm out to deforest the

world from cat trees.

402

:

They're an abomination.

403

:

And it's so great to

have this on your wall.

404

:

And I'm telling you, it, when you see

your cat in it, it'll give you goosebumps

405

:

because it is crazy when you look

directly at the cat in the framed, it's

406

:

just such a neat experience because they

do look like framed art on the wall.

407

:

I can't tell you how great it

is to have a product that cats

408

:

actually wanna be in and use.

409

:

And it's great when they're not in it too.

410

:

It doesn't look like an eyesore.

411

:

It looks pretty cool.

412

:

Kristina: That's true.

413

:

Because some people online will

be like, oh, do you guys just

414

:

pick the art and send it to us?

415

:

And we're like, no.

416

:

We have over 2000 images

you can poke through.

417

:

What do you like?

418

:

Do you.

419

:

Watercolor.

420

:

Do you like oil?

421

:

Do you like the masters?

422

:

Do you wanna support a local artist?

423

:

Do you have your own logo or

images that you wanna use?

424

:

Do you wanna change it up every season

or every holiday so you can have fun?

425

:

With the cat too, even like for Cinco de

Mayo, we have a sombrero that the cat is

426

:

perfectly poised in the frame that looks

like they're wearing sore, a sombrero and

427

:

they got Moroccans around 'em and stuff.

428

:

Fun.

429

:

We have a sense of humor.

430

:

Brian and I we were out in California

because we started this journey as

431

:

performers and we've been known to do

some standup comedy, so that's why some

432

:

of the images like the cat who looks

like a damsel in distress, laying on

433

:

the train tracks in one of the panels.

434

:

Brian: We have a train tracks.

435

:

We've got we have a whole bar section

with, funny things like whisker whiskey.

436

:

The

437

:

Kristina: meowtini time.

438

:

Brian: meowtini time.

439

:

Yeah.

440

:

It's just fun.

441

:

Why not have a product that's

fun, but also functional and

442

:

just looks fabulous on the wall?

443

:

And when you have guests come over,

they're gonna go, what is this?

444

:

What is

445

:

Kristina: it?

446

:

Brian: Yeah.

447

:

We, when we first, when we

installed it in our living room.

448

:

We had a Halloween,

449

:

Kristina: we were hosting

a black and orange party.

450

:

Yeah.

451

:

For our son and all his little

452

:

Brian: friends,

453

:

Kristina: 3-year-old friends.

454

:

Brian: One of the dads of one of his

friends was walking through the living

455

:

room and he, all of a sudden he stops

his tracks, he sees the cat in the frame

456

:

and he goes, what the am I looking at?

457

:

His brain was like, what is this?

458

:

It's moving and then he

was walking closer to him.

459

:

He's this is nuts.

460

:

And he took out his phone and was

like, I gotta take a picture of this.

461

:

And I said no.

462

:

It's

463

:

Kristina: nothing in development.

464

:

Brian: We're in development.

465

:

You can't share this, you can't share it.

466

:

Don't take any pictures, please.

467

:

Yeah, it's just crazy when you have

it and you put it on your wall,

468

:

it really is a cool experience.

469

:

Yep.

470

:

Dixie: So I understand that

y'all were on Shark Tank as well.

471

:

Kristina: Oh, that little show?

472

:

Brian: Yes.

473

:

Kristina: Shark Tank season 16

episode, I think they're calling it 17.

474

:

It was 18, but 17.

475

:

So 16, 17.

476

:

If you go on Instagram through Shark Tanks

profile, you can scroll down our video.

477

:

Brian's wearing a hot pink suit.

478

:

I'm wearing a bright yellow dress

with like over 400,000 views.

479

:

It was a journey.

480

:

It was fun.

481

:

The show aired last April 18th.

482

:

We've had a rerun and people

are discovering us quite

483

:

often from Shark Tank.

484

:

Brian: Yeah, it's a process.

485

:

Dixie: How do y'all balance

being entrepreneurs and still

486

:

doing your, creative career?

487

:

Kristina: That's a great question.

488

:

Brian: That's a good question.

489

:

Kristina: And we're also parents

to a 9-year-old who we homeschool,

490

:

but we juggle, we focus and we.

491

:

Really try to time manage ourselves.

492

:

We own a company called One Bike

Creative, where we do logos and

493

:

websites and commercial production.

494

:

And that kind of came out of being a

performer because when you're an actor

495

:

and you're not making, $50 million

a year, you've gotta be really savvy

496

:

and start to do things for yourself.

497

:

So we had to learn how to

build our own websites.

498

:

And then once we were building our

own websites, we were like, oh,

499

:

we could do this for other people.

500

:

And Brian is a Squarespace specialist.

501

:

He's certified and is doing

really great websites.

502

:

So we do that.

503

:

We, our focus right now

is not on standup comedy.

504

:

It's really on what we're doing with

One by Creative and how we're growing.

505

:

Frame your feline, that's

like our big focus.

506

:

Doing things on social media,

going to in-person events, engaging

507

:

people through media experiences,

and really listening to feedback.

508

:

What do people love

about Frame Your Feline?

509

:

What do they want more of?

510

:

And what they want more of is.

511

:

Some of them want to experience the

modularness of frame your feline.

512

:

They wanna put multiple

frames on the wall.

513

:

And so we've had people reach

out to us, how do I do this?

514

:

And how do we create a little schematic

about maybe you're gonna install it

515

:

here, you're gonna put it over here.

516

:

So it's really cool to see that.

517

:

Expanding into rescues and cat cafes.

518

:

When we did Shark Tank, we we had

tons of paperwork, Dixie, it was

519

:

like going to business school and was

like , carrying a baby for nine months.

520

:

And we had so much paperwork we

had to fill out and one of it was

521

:

like, what's like a wild thing that

you wanna do with your business?

522

:

And we said, we actually have

two wild things that we wanna do.

523

:

One, we wanna have a frame your feline

at the National Zoo for a big cat,

524

:

and we haven't given up on that.

525

:

We'd love to see, a lion, tiger,

serval, a panther, or a Jaguar.

526

:

Frame your feline and

we think that'd be cool.

527

:

And the other thing we wanna do, because

we're so involved in fostering and rescue

528

:

and Brian and I also sit on the board of

Mission Meow, where we fund big grants

529

:

for small feline centric nonprofits.

530

:

And through that we

really wanna have either.

531

:

A cat cafe or a cat rescue, or an actual

museum that wants to install a series of

532

:

frames in their space, and we wanna have

a fundraiser and a big adoption event.

533

:

So we wanna see lots of cats and frames.

534

:

People drinking and donating and

celebrating cats and celebrating art.

535

:

So that's something we

are really excited to do.

536

:

We can't have everybody here at our house

where we practically have a museum now,

537

:

but, we're really excited about that

outreach, really getting out there for

538

:

the rescues and supporting the fosters.

539

:

People love fostering, but there's a point

where they're like, I really wanna get

540

:

this cat adopted so I can go on vacation

or, so I can foster another litter.

541

:

So we want, people not to feel

like when they're fostering,

542

:

they're gonna be stuck with a cat.

543

:

Because sometimes they're quote stuck

because nobody's doing the social

544

:

media, the networking, the marketing,

having events for, these cats that these

545

:

people are fostering in their homes.

546

:

Dixie: I think that's why it appeals to

me so much because I have been in that

547

:

position, if I don't have a physical

location to go to, to bring my cats to,

548

:

I rely on a really good photo and I suck

at really good photos with the cats.

549

:

Not anymore.

550

:

Yeah.

551

:

Yeah.

552

:

I could see how they could just go

in it and just be in there, enjoy it.

553

:

Because for one thing, something

that I notice is my cats, they

554

:

like to be the center of attention.

555

:

That's a cat thing.

556

:

So it's if I'm watching TV or if I'm on

the computer, they're sitting right in

557

:

front of it, so you can't see anything.

558

:

So I think, like with the art,

it's almost like the same thing.

559

:

Like to them it's oh, I'm

the center of attention.

560

:

If I'm here she's gotta

look directly at me.

561

:

So I could see how it really elevates

your photos to like that next level.

562

:

Because they're so calm

and they're so relaxed.

563

:

But in addition to that, you've got

the pretty aesthetics and it looks

564

:

like they're like living works of art.

565

:

It's really cool.

566

:

Yep.

567

:

Brian: Yeah,

568

:

Kristina: and it's funny you do say

that because , when we eat in our living

569

:

room, we will have a cat that wants

to sit on the table in front of us and

570

:

look at the TV and it's itty bitty.

571

:

She's one of our foster fails.

572

:

She's my first ringworm kitten, and all I

do is I pick her up and I put her behind

573

:

us in a frame, because we have two frames.

574

:

If you see, when we do our lives,

we have two frames and five shelves.

575

:

As a super wall.

576

:

And so she'll sit behind us

and then she gets to watch tv

577

:

Brian: Yeah.

578

:

Kristina: As well.

579

:

And she's not right in front of

us anymore, so it's funny, when

580

:

they're elevated, they can look out.

581

:

When our son was little and he had really

noisy toys, this was a way for the cats

582

:

to get the vertical space that they need.

583

:

So the cats would jump up and sit

in the frame and watch Jackson.

584

:

Crawl around on the floor, roll around

on the floor, play with his noisy trains.

585

:

They were still around him,

but they weren't, on the floor

586

:

running away from the boys.

587

:

They could

588

:

Brian: observe

589

:

Yes.

590

:

In a safe distance away.

591

:

Yeah.

592

:

Dixie: What is the feedback that you get

from most cat owners once they get one?

593

:

Brian: Oh, it's tremendous.

594

:

, The constant feedback is,

they say it's always occupied.

595

:

It's always Occupy.

596

:

Kristina: And right before

Christmas we had it's, she, her

597

:

handle's something Chantilly.

598

:

She posted like an unboxing video

and then she had installed it, and

599

:

then Lunabelle, she's in Georgia.

600

:

She installed it.

601

:

She was like, oh my gosh, it was so

easy to install and we are like, yes.

602

:

You know what happens is like it's not

just shelves and it's not just a frame.

603

:

Everything is pre-drilled

and it's all accurate.

604

:

We supply you with the tool, like

with the drill bit, we supply you

605

:

with the screws that you need, the

brackets, because this isn't just a

606

:

frame that you buy at Michael's, these

frames are reinforced because they're

607

:

made to take a pounding from your

cats, jumping on them all the time.

608

:

And so we have a poster that we provide.

609

:

We explain how to install it if you

want, at eye level so that you can

610

:

partake in some of the illusions.

611

:

Other places like the Cat Cafe

may wanna have it down lower.

612

:

That's fine.

613

:

But we give people the poster, we give

them the tools, and on our YouTube

614

:

channel, you can see like our 1.0

615

:

video install.

616

:

It's pretty much the same, and it's easy.

617

:

I did the install video because it was

during COVID and I had never used a

618

:

drill before, and Brian's guess what?

619

:

You're doing it.

620

:

And we're about to reshoot that in our

dining room because we're going to install

621

:

another frame and a shelf configuration

because we actually have our 1.0

622

:

version.

623

:

Still on our walls in our living

room, and then in our office and in

624

:

our kitchen, we've installed the 2.0

625

:

version.

626

:

But I said, we need to do an

install video because people

627

:

don't believe how easy it is.

628

:

And it's four screws that mount

into the studs in your wall.

629

:

Brian: We've made it

bulletproof because Kristina,

630

:

apartment

631

:

Kristina: friendly

632

:

Brian: Kristina has called the,

talked about the installation

633

:

poster that it comes with, which

you simply tape it onto the wall.

634

:

You make sure you use a level to make sure

that it's level and we show you exactly

635

:

where to put hole number one, hole number

two, hole number three, hole number four.

636

:

You tap a little pilot hole into that with

a nail we provide you with, and then you

637

:

take the poster down guy, you know where

to drill , and it's super, super easy.

638

:

Like you'll always have, it's

straight and looking amazing.

639

:

We've had people go, I wish

hanging art was this easy.

640

:

Dixie: How high do

people normally put 'em?

641

:

Because you said some of

the cat cafes do 'em lower.

642

:

So like in your house, are they like

eye level or where do y'all usually put

643

:

' Kristina: em?

644

:

I am five foot five and Brian is six

foot two and so we split the difference

645

:

and so it's just a tiny bit high

for me and a tiny bit low for him.

646

:

And when I shoot the foster cat videos,

I'm often just on a little step stool, so

647

:

I get myself a tiny bit elevated so that

I can get that perfect illusion of the cat

648

:

in the frame, and the art is all seamless.

649

:

So if you hang it up too high and

you go to shoot it, you'll see the

650

:

illusion is revealed , so people say,

how did the cat get into the frame?

651

:

They can get into the

frame three different ways.

652

:

They can get in from the right side,

from the left side, or from the middle.

653

:

Because it's two shelves.

654

:

Cats can sit within the

frame on the carpeting.

655

:

But if you have some wild cats like we do,

like Sawyer, who's one of our, we'll call

656

:

him not quite socialized cat, 'cause we're

trying not to use the word feral all the

657

:

time, but he will jump from the shelf to

the top of the frame while our cat Bodie

658

:

will be hanging out on the carpeting.

659

:

So you can have two cats.

660

:

On each shelf, you can have two cats

on one shelf because like we said

661

:

earlier, it's really strong and it's

made to support a lot of weight.

662

:

Dixie: And do the cats ever have

difficulty jumping into the frames?

663

:

Kristina: No.

664

:

So we sell shelves that look just like

the upper shelf and the lower shelf,

665

:

and then other people will have a

cat tree or furniture, like a desk,

666

:

a credenza, a table that they'll have

underneath it, and they might want

667

:

the cat to access it that way, so

they're not jumping from the floor.

668

:

Into the frame unless the frame is low.

669

:

Like our son Jackson, who's nine, he

helps us foster a lot and we've toyed

670

:

with the idea of putting a frame very

low on the floor, like not on the

671

:

floor, but a foot up off the floor so

that when he has kittens in his room,

672

:

they can start jumping up in there.

673

:

And then we can easily take their adoption

photos when we take adoption photos

674

:

and videos of the kittens in our home.

675

:

And the frames are five feet

up, in the air five to six feet.

676

:

Brian and I are underneath making

sure that the cats are safe,

677

:

that they don't, wander off the

edge 'cause they're tiny kittens.

678

:

The smallest kitten we've

ever had in a frame was a week

679

:

old and was really adorable.

680

:

And we just make sure,

we're right underneath it.

681

:

Brian: Yeah.

682

:

Kittens are like, they'll

go back and forth.

683

:

They go back

684

:

Kristina: and forth.

685

:

A one week old just help, what am I doing?

686

:

I'm just sitting here.

687

:

Brian: But then other cats, you

just put it in there and they

688

:

just look at you like, okay,

689

:

Kristina: We love it when like they plop

their tail off the side so that when.

690

:

Shoot the the photos for the adoptions.

691

:

The cat's tail will be dangling or their

paws will be dangling we actually make

692

:

beautiful flyers with the adoption photos.

693

:

And then on the flyer we have a QR code.

694

:

That people can scan to

see the cat live in action.

695

:

Because Dixie, if you're at an adoption

event, a lot of the cats are just sitting

696

:

in a kennel, petrified of everybody

sticking their fingers in or talking

697

:

to them, or sticking treats in at them.

698

:

So I'll say, oh, I know Andy

looks really shy, but she has

699

:

a really outgoing personality.

700

:

Let's scan this QR code and look at her

video on YouTube and make it of her.

701

:

Brian: Of her.

702

:

Of her in the fridge.

703

:

Kristina: Yeah, in the fridge, right?

704

:

Yeah.

705

:

So that's a cool thing too, to have

the, using it for marketing materials.

706

:

Using it for the adoption flyers.

707

:

Brian: We've even made the artwork

panels that you have not seen yet, but

708

:

we're gonna, have a rescue section.

709

:

For artwork panels because we

have ones that say, adopt me.

710

:

Kristina: Those are on Instagram

711

:

Brian: and adopted!

712

:

Kristina: They, so they say Adopt me.

713

:

And so what we'll do is when we have

a cat that we're photographing for an

714

:

adoption event or that we're fostering.

715

:

We'll have them in the frame and we'll

shoot the Adopt Me and it looks like

716

:

a little cartoon bubble you call it.

717

:

And then at the same time we're

shooting that, we'll switch out

718

:

the art panel and put the adopted.

719

:

So I just ha hang them in my phone.

720

:

And then when the cat gets adopted,

I'll go, yay, Marley got adopted.

721

:

And there's the backdrop

that says Adopted.

722

:

Adopted.

723

:

Dixie: Oh yeah, that,

that's really cool now.

724

:

I like your i the idea of the funny ones.

725

:

'cause I have a sense of humor, so

726

:

Kristina: Yeah.

727

:

Dixie: I would love to see a cat with

a sombrero hat, but what are your most

728

:

popular prints and then like, when you're

doing them for say the adoption photos,

729

:

aside from the ones that might say Adopt

me, which prints seem to I guess get

730

:

the most views or the most attention?

731

:

Kristina: Great questions.

732

:

We have two artists.

733

:

That are very popular on our website.

734

:

One is Michael Powell, he's

a photographer, and the

735

:

other one is Janine Carini.

736

:

She's a watercolor artist and a

lot of people love their images.

737

:

Because we have access to fine art, the

masters, a lot of people, they want.

738

:

Their cat hanging out with Vincent

Van Gogh or Whistler's Mother

739

:

Brian: or the Mona?

740

:

Kristina: Lisa.

741

:

Lisa.

742

:

Brian: Yeah.

743

:

Kristina: Those are fun.

744

:

And for the Cats for Adoption.

745

:

We started noticing,

something interesting, like

746

:

a lot of people will say.

747

:

Oh, nobody wants a black cat.

748

:

Don't bring them to the adoption event.

749

:

We have too many black cats.

750

:

The black cats aren't moving.

751

:

And I go, oh, contrare mon frere because.

752

:

In September to October, we fostered

eight black cats and they got adopted.

753

:

And the cool thing was we experimented

with gradients and solid colors

754

:

that we sell on the website.

755

:

So the hot pink magenta, like the Barbie,

we had whole bunch of little black kitties

756

:

with that and yellow, bright green,

757

:

Brian: so contrasting color to the black

cat and it just it's wow, they really pop.

758

:

And

759

:

Kristina: Orange kitties.

760

:

If you follow Abram Engle on Instagram

he has an orange kitty named Kurt

761

:

and he had one artwork panel that he

picked up that was just like a bright

762

:

blue backdrop with his orange kitty,

and it he popped it looked amazing.

763

:

So , that's fun.

764

:

We experiment, with what looks

great behind this color cat, or what

765

:

girl looks great behind that one.

766

:

So I try, when we're

fostering, we try to shoot.

767

:

The Adopt Me and then the adopted, and

then we'll try to get one other artwork

768

:

panel that's just a regular artwork panel.

769

:

So we print everything on demand.

770

:

So we're not sitting on,

10,000 images of art.

771

:

So when we're running the orders

for the people who have purchased

772

:

from us, we're slowly adding

to our own personal collection.

773

:

So like last week we did

this one image I'm looking at

774

:

right now at the Poppy fields.

775

:

I forget what the other one was

last week, but, it's neat to get

776

:

the new artwork and change it out.

777

:

And that's the fun thing

is like you're never bored.

778

:

Because sometimes people are like.

779

:

Yeah, I've had this painting on my wall

for a while and I feel like I shouldn't.

780

:

I really love to change it up,

but I don't wanna take it down.

781

:

I don't know what to do.

782

:

And we're like that's what we do.

783

:

We swap our artwork out.

784

:

Brian: You can swap it, you

785

:

Kristina: know, daily, weekly, quarterly,

786

:

Brian: And it can't go any faster.

787

:

Literally in under two

seconds you can swap it out.

788

:

Do you have another one?

789

:

And what's great too, Dixie, is if you

get bored of the frame style, let's say.

790

:

So let's say you got the gallery

gold, and then a month later you

791

:

are like I really want the silver.

792

:

All you need to do is go to our site.

793

:

You don't have to buy the

whole feline frame gallery set.

794

:

All you need to do is go to our

accessories and just buy the frame.

795

:

And the all frames are

interchangeable, just like the art.

796

:

So you could take off the

gold frame and then you could

797

:

just put the silver frame up.

798

:

So that we've really made it so that,

you're not stuck at any point in time

799

:

with art or with the frame style.

800

:

You can always change it out.

801

:

Dixie: Now since you do print on

demand, what is the lead time then?

802

:

If somebody orders it?

803

:

I guess from the time, they

order to the time it ships.

804

:

Brian: Typical turnaround

time is about two weeks.

805

:

Two weeks?

806

:

Kristina: So if you order on a

Monday, then, not that Friday, but

807

:

the following Friday it'll be going

out and sometimes people will reach

808

:

out to us like, oh, I need this for

a birthday, or I need this tomorrow.

809

:

We're like, if you need it

tomorrow, it's not gonna get there.

810

:

But we have little like gift certificate

kind of things you can present

811

:

people with that says you have a,

like at Christmas time, people were

812

:

ordering the day before Christmas

or two days before and we're like.

813

:

You're not gonna get it in time.

814

:

But we're happy to accommodate and give

you something that you can print off.

815

:

And then, if sometimes if someone's

I really need this, but I need

816

:

it in 10 days if you communicate

with us, then it's possible

817

:

Brian: we can make that,

we can make it work, right?

818

:

So , we just need to hear

okay, how fast do you need it?

819

:

And we could probably get it really quick.

820

:

But typical turnaround time

is you put your order in,

821

:

you get it within two weeks.

822

:

Yeah, , it's a matter of , what print

run you get into when your order's placed

823

:

, Kristina: We live in the

Antelope Valley, so we're an

824

:

hour north of the Hollywood sign.

825

:

And our printer is actually here in the

Antelope Valley and our manufacturer.

826

:

So we moved from Brian's data on Cape

Cod, and then we had a manufacturer in

827

:

Nevada and they weren't working for us

the way we wanted to be worked with.

828

:

And so we left them and we.

829

:

Secured a great manufacturer

in our own town.

830

:

On the east side, we're on the west side.

831

:

And so that's really great because now

you know, when things come up at the

832

:

last minute, we're able to accommodate.

833

:

'cause as the business grows, now we

have inventory and we're not relying

834

:

on Brian's dad to make the product.

835

:

So that's a nice growth in our

business that we're proud of.

836

:

Dixie: As far as the artwork, 'cause

this was something that I guess maybe

837

:

other cat people might be thinking about.

838

:

Yeah.

839

:

So you said that you don't use the porous

wood, so that way you can clean it.

840

:

What about the actual art?

841

:

Kristina: Yeah, so the material

that we used for the art

842

:

work panels is non-porous.

843

:

Non-toxic Scratch and fade resistant

and there's a Cat family, they also own

844

:

some cat products called the Meow Mob.

845

:

And they have a cat named Buddy.

846

:

They actually wrote a book about

fostering two books about fostering,

847

:

and they have a video of Buddy.

848

:

His little kink is that he loves

to scratch at the artwork panel and

849

:

he can scratch all he wants because

it's never going to have any issues.

850

:

Brian: And if a cat throws a hairball

up on it, you can just pull it

851

:

out and wipe it down with a white

cloth, the colors will not run.

852

:

You

853

:

Kristina: can have it near a window.

854

:

It's not going to fade.

855

:

Brian: Nope.

856

:

And it's a thick material.

857

:

It's really sturdy.

858

:

It's a semi rigid material, so it's

got a nice little weight to it.

859

:

It's really great.

860

:

Yeah, we do everything high quality,

like it really is top notch for sure.

861

:

Dixie: I love it and I love too, that

you give back through mission Meow

862

:

and that y'all are on the board of

Mission Meow and you help with the

863

:

fostering and getting kittens adopted.

864

:

So before we end the call,

I do have another question.

865

:

Yeah.

866

:

If you could frame one iconic cat, real

or fiction, who would it be and why?

867

:

Kristina: I would love to go back in time,

and it's just because we just watched this

868

:

movie the other night on Amazon Prime.

869

:

Brian: Okay.

870

:

Kristina: I would love to go back

and frame Freddie Mercury's cats.

871

:

Brian: Oh,

872

:

Kristina: see, did you see That's a good

873

:

Dixie: one.

874

:

Kristina: Yeah.

875

:

Did you see the Freddie Mercury movie?

876

:

Dixie: I did.

877

:

Yeah.

878

:

Kristina: When that movie came out, we

had, I think just moved here and, and it

879

:

was pouring rain and I dropped off Brian

and my dad at a regular movie theater.

880

:

Because we work in entertainment,

we usually go to really great,

881

:

amazing movie theaters that

are very private in Hollywood.

882

:

And I was like, I want you

guys to see this movie.

883

:

'cause my dad loves rock and roll.

884

:

And I dropped 'em off and I

was like, have a great time.

885

:

And afterwards Brian's you

really gonna wanna see the movie?

886

:

You're really, and I'm so

busy being a mom, like I.

887

:

Never had time.

888

:

And the other day he's oh, look at

the Freddie Mercury movie is on tv.

889

:

So we sat and watched it and you

had said when you first saw it, oh,

890

:

there's something you're gonna really

love about it, and then the film

891

:

opens with him and these little cats

eating out of their little dishes.

892

:

And I was like, oh, I would love

to frame all those little cats.

893

:

I know if Freddie Mercury was alive.

894

:

He would have so many frames

in his house for all his cats.

895

:

Brian still thinking of a famous

896

:

Brian: cat?

897

:

No.

898

:

No, because this, now this brings me

up to who else was a lover of cats

899

:

and it was, who invented the cat door?

900

:

The original cat door.

901

:

It's a famous, it's like Michelangelo.

902

:

It's like what?

903

:

It's a big inventor.

904

:

Kristina: Really?

905

:

Brian: Yes.

906

:

Oh, who is it?

907

:

. I

908

:

Dixie: can't help you on that one.

909

:

Brian: This is gonna drive me mad, but

like a major historical, this is I Albert

910

:

Kristina: Einstein.

911

:

Brian: No.

912

:

This is way old.

913

:

And I remember reading, where's your

914

:

Kristina: phone?

915

:

Brian: I got, I have to Dixie

come up with another question.

916

:

Kristina: I, I will say it's really fun,

like when people send us pictures and

917

:

then we've had these moments happen.

918

:

In our home where people who have

multiple frames and the shelves,

919

:

it'll be like the Brady Bunch.

920

:

So they'll have one cat in a frame, or

one cat on top of the frame, one cat

921

:

on the shelf, the other cat in another

frame, the other cat on the shelf.

922

:

That looks really cool.

923

:

You don't remember the Brady

Bunch with the Squares?

924

:

Dixie: Yes.

925

:

I was just thinking about that.

926

:

Like you could set up the whole Brady

Bunch theme in your living room.

927

:

Kristina: What's the artwork piece?

928

:

Is it by Rembrandt where it's

creation and one person is touching?

929

:

It's like God is and

man are touching almost.

930

:

Yes.

931

:

Dixie: I know.

932

:

I know which

933

:

Kristina: one you are

934

:

Dixie: talking about.

935

:

I can't think of the name of it.

936

:

Okay.

937

:

Kristina: Yeah, I think we're carrying

that now, but we had a Abram Engle

938

:

and then freezy Kershaw on Instagram.

939

:

They had the same moment where the cat

is on the frame hanging its paw down and

940

:

the other cat is on the shelf trying to

reach the other cat, the creation artwork.

941

:

Oh no, that's awesome.

942

:

It's funny.

943

:

It's funny to see these little

trends with cats and prince.

944

:

Brian: Okay, Dixie, I got it.

945

:

Kristina: You got it?

946

:

Brian: Okay.

947

:

All right.

948

:

All right.

949

:

Alright, here we go.

950

:

Kristina: I'm not gonna say it.

951

:

Brian: Here we go.

952

:

According to well-documented antidotes.

953

:

From his time at the University

of Cambridge, sir Isaac Newton.

954

:

Kristina: Newton Uhhuh really

955

:

Brian: was frequently, yes, Newton

was frequently interrupted while

956

:

working because his cats wanted in and

out to avoid getting up constantly.

957

:

He cut a hole in the door so the

cats could come and go freely.

958

:

Legend ads that he even made two

holes, one for the mother cat.

959

:

The smaller one for the kittens, which

hilariously would, was unnecessary

960

:

'cause there was a bigger hole, right?

961

:

While there's no patent or formal product

launch that he ever did, the story has

962

:

been repeated in academic histories

and Newton's biography for centuries.

963

:

So I would love to have, go back

in time and install a Frame Your

964

:

Feline for Sir Isaac Newton.

965

:

His mind would be blown.

966

:

He would be like, whoa.

967

:

What?

968

:

Dixie: Thank y'all for joining me.

969

:

It has been fun.

970

:

I enjoyed our conversation and

learning about Frame Your Feline

971

:

Kristina: thank you.

972

:

Brian: Thank you.

973

:

Dixie: That's it for today's episode.

974

:

I wanna thank everybody for

listening and supporting us.

975

:

If you wanna take that an extra

step, consider becoming a member.

976

:

We just added this to our

website, animalposse.com,

977

:

scroll down, look for the support tab.

978

:

Our membership program is going to

help us directly support animals

979

:

in need, whether that be through

vaccinations, food or spay neuter efforts.

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