Designer Hyla Frank creates fabulous dog portrait pillows and clothing styles for every dog breed, bowls, lovable leashes and other vogue accessories. Featured in Ellen Degeneres’s latest book Home, Frank’s designer pillows have also been purchased by celebrities including Paris Hilton, Zoey Deutch and Terry Richardson, who frequently share their pillow pictures across social media. Hyla Frank examines the present day world of dog-wear, accessories and home design, and then develops her unique and contemporary fashion statements.
Crave: How were you first inspired to create dog portraits on pillows?
Hyla Frank: I made them for a friend who was moving out of LA for her first time and wasn’t able to take her family dogs with her. They were the perfect mix of something sentimental and a new apartment gift!
Your dog is a rescue dog. Do you give some of the proceeds to rescue dogs, or help the cause in any other ways?
Yes, I donate proceeds to the rescue, Wags and Walks where I got my dog, when they are mentioned with an order. My twin brother also volunteers with them so I help him when he needs and support by going to their events. They are a great organization.
I do all of my designing. I take a lot of inspiration and do research from my friends and the people around me. I like to see what they do with their dogs, what they put them in, how they exist in everyday life, what the people around me are interested in. Everyone has a different routine so it creates a lot of different ideas for me! I love listening.
Which of your products is the most popular and why do you think this is the case?
The most popular is definitely the pet portrait pillows. I think they are so popular because, first of all, who doesn’t love their pet more then anything else? They are also relatable and customized, I could just imagine someone seeing a pillow of someone else’s dog and wanting to see what a drawing of their dog would be like! They are very unique gifts as well. My t-shirts with palm tree drawings also do really well. I think of the Palm Tree as my signature.
The pet portrait pillows have reached the dog/animal community in an awesome way and I get a lot of requests for all my hand-embroidered work. I’m constantly making new designs, doodles and getting custom orders for special occasions, so I think people are really drawn to my style, there’s a real sense of a “hand” in all my work. Interior design and decor is also attracting a whole new audience, and people really like to put effort into a beautiful home, so people seem to be really interested in the embroidered pillows, blankets and the home accessories I make.
Some of the dog bowls are hysterical – what makes humor exciting? The combination goes from elegant designs to pure fun.
I think there always needs to be a balance. I of course always want to include some humor, something light and not too serious but I’m actually not a very funny person so my natural instinct is the sophisticated side. The balance helps reach more people and I appreciate that I don’t only have one type of customer. I work with high-end interior designers, as well as people not in the design world who love dogs. My style stays pretty consistent throughout my work though, so the elegant and the funny work together and can live together, which is important to me.
What are your plans for the business in the future?
The one future plan I know of is to keep designing and making! My company is still a baby and very small so I hope to grow, work on new projects, work with new collaborators but at the end of the day keep being able to do what I’m doing now- have fun.
Hyla Frank’s portrait pillows are made from 100% Belgian cotton, plus her variegated designs comprise sophisticated hand-embroidered pieces or whimsical accessories – all perfect holiday and anytime gifts. To see pictures of Hyla Frank’s rescue dog and her outstanding fashion on many breeds of dogs – visit Hyla F. and Ready To Wag.
