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10 Questions with Hitomi Yasuda: Neko Habitat Designerby Audrey CroneIf you are a design-conscious gal and a pet lover, you'll love product designer Hitomi Yasuda's Neko Habitat. Born and raised in the San Francisco area, Ms Yasuda designs posh pet furniture for people with fastidous taste and who only wants the best for their pets. With her textile design background, she focuses on the bedding design and the structure of the bed, making sure that your pet comfort comes first. How long have you designed high end pet furniture? Neko Habitat LLC is a boutique pet furniture and accessories company and officially launched its website (www.NekoHabitat.com) in October 2009. How did you come up with the concept? 
Animals, fashion design, building things and Arts & Crafts have always been strong interests and hobbies of mine. During the summer of 2008, I was introduced to Bud Sutton during a home design project and an inspirational idea was conceived.
It became readily apparent that we shared a love for animals, possessed expert knowledge of the global textile, apparel and furniture industries, and were eager for new challenges involving our own designs and manufacturing. It was at the same time that I rescued three sibling kittens (Tiger, Kobe and Swoosh) and noticed the gaping void in the marketplace for contemporary, functional, upscale yet affordable pet habitat products that interested my rambunctious and playful additions to the family, while still maintaining my personal, modern and stylish home décor. Drawing inspiration from the high-end, sleek “people furniture” market, Neko Habitat LLC was ultimately created to provide upscale, contemporary lifestyle products for pets to be showcased and enjoyed in the home. The Japanese translation of the logo for the “maneki neko” means “lucky cat.” This internationally recognized symbol of a beckoning calico cat with a raised paw denotes prosperity, happiness and good fortune. The Neko Habitat feline is enclosed within a loving home to symbolize a comfortable and safe living environment. How difficult was it to go from an idea to where you are now? The biggest challenge has been setting up a domestic production infrastructure that upholds our strict guidelines of high quality every step of the way. It was very important to us that all our products be made in the USA. Quality is absolutely paramount to everything we do, from raw material selection to construction, packaging, website design, customer service and marketing. We back all our products with a guarantee of complete satisfaction. In the beginning, we experimented with many different mediums and literally hand-made all of our prototypes in the garage to get the right shape, dimension, look and feel before it went into production. As Neko Habitat grows, we will continue to seek unique and innovative ways to create interesting and functional designs using high quality materials and techniques that are both familiar and new. Who is your target market? City dwellers? Families? Because our pet beds represent refinement in the purest form, we cater to a very specific audience. Our beds start at a higher price-point than the average cat or dog bed, so our products are not for everyone. Our customers take great pride in their home’s interior design and like most fur parents, consider their pet not just another animal, but a treasured, beloved part of the family. We create products that pets enjoy while taking into consideration the owner’s lifestyles and their homes and elegantly design them in our hallmark contemporary style, capped with an ultramodern flair and unrivaled craftsmanship. Your current line is for cats and dogs, will you expand your line to pets like bunnies, birds, etc.? As much as we love all animals, our main focus for our contemporary and stylish line of pet beds and accessories are for pets that can roam freely around their home with their fur parents, i.e. cats and small dogs. We are also experimenting with unique designs for medium- and large-sized dogs. We will soon be launching cool feeding stations, wall perches, climbing towers and scratching pads / posts. As a pet lover, your work is like labor of love, but how about the nitty gritty of running a small business? Is it hard to handle both design and marketing? 
Luckily, my business partner and I complement each other well in terms of our strengths. Bud has a background in industrial engineering, manufacturing, product development, sourcing and quality assurance. I specialize in design, merchandising, planning, product management, marketing and retail sales. We both work on the conceptual design aspects collaboratively, as a large part of successful product development is cost-effective manufacturability, while I manage 100% of the marketing and public relations efforts in partnership with an outside PR firm.
What was the very first product that you designed? The “Cradle” bed. It measures 22” x 16.5” x 5” (7 lbs 6 oz) and is comprised of six faceted sides that lend itself to its unique curved shape. Two 19.25” stainless steel legs deliver the perfect balance of stability and style. Nestled inside is a soft 1” reversible cushion (print / faux fur) that drapes to the shape of the bed frame. b Tell us about your muses Tiger, Kobe, and swoosh. Do your designs reflect their personalities? Tiger, Kobe and Swoosh were the remaining three kittens in a litter of seven (two Tabbies, five Siamese), all born sometime in April 2008. They are all indoor-only cats and a source of great love and inspiration for Neko Habitat LLC. As the “Neko Residents,” they are the official “Spokescats“ and product testers for functionality, durability and acceptability. When creating a sketch for a new product concept, I do take into consideration their size and shape, unique personalities, body positions and movements, favorite pastimes, etc and how those characteristics ultimately lend itself to the appropriate design. Is there a store or your customer can only order the your products online? Currently, our products are available online through our website. On all products, we offer a flat ground shipping rate of $7.95 within the continental USA (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). We are in the process of researching partnership opportunities with several online and domestic brick-and-mortar pet retail establishments. What advice would you give someone just starting out with an idea to turn it into am actual product to market? Aside from having an absolute passion for your idea(s), “research, research and more research!” Interview a variety of suppliers to make sure they can deliver the quality you expect in a timely and costly manner. Stay up-to-date with current market trends by reading industry and trade magazines, online blog sites, product reviews, etc. Pay close attention to your competitors and really listen to what potential customers are asking for. Finally, in addition to maximizing social media, set aside a decent marketing budget to be able to partner with a strong PR firm that knows your industry well to help get the word out about your company and great products.. |
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