pamperedpuppy // luxury lifestyles for dogs

Glitter for Pets & Their Owners

Personalized Star Outline
Pendant, with diamond

Visitors to the Bark Avenue Jewelers web site (www.barkavenuejewelry.com) are given the choice between two languages; English, and Canine. That is reflected in the company's collections, which include fine pieces for both dogs and the people who hang out with them.

The jewelry is lovingly designed, and realized in such prestigious materials as platinum, gold and diamonds. There are bone pendants, beautifying dog tag jackets, memorial lockets, signet rings, an "I Love Mom" and "I Love Dad" series, and, dare I mention it, a Kitty Collection.

I spoke with Paul Bierker, President of Ingenious Design, LLC and Bark Avenue Jewelers to get the lowdown on these high-end goodies.

pp: When was Bark Avenue Jewelers founded?

baj: Bark Avenue Jewelers was founded in 2004 as a niche in my custom jewelry design business. As the popularity of our Doggie and Kitty stuff grew, we decided to start Bark Avenue Jewelers, launch the web site and create a catalog.

Small Diamond Bone Outline
Pendant, in 14K gold

While we have gorgeous pieces actually for dogs, the bulk of our business is still those pieces intended for humans. The jewelry we do is pet-inspired, for people who love their pets.

pp: Who designs the pieces and what is their background in jewelry and design?

baj: I personally maintain all design functions, engineering and raw material purchasing. I also manufacture most of our jewelry in my private studio in Pittsburgh, PA. We do have overflow contractors in New York City's diamond district (only the best).

After studying Graphic Design for a time I discovered that I had a true passion for creating artistic jewelry. Eighteen years ago I earned my BFA in Jewelry Design from the excellent program offered by Buffalo State College. I also maintain a Graduate Diamonds Certificate from The Gemological Institute of America as well as several other gemological designations.

pp: What were some of the most extravagant special requests you have ever fulfilled?

baj: To mark the official launch of the Bark Avenue Jewelers wholesale line, we created the world's most luxurious dog collar for Pet Fashion Week NYC, 2006. The piece is awesome! It has a whopping 23.5 carats of diamonds set in white gold. The 7.5 carat center stone is totally crusted with diamonds all the way around. Who wouldn't like to be the Chinese Crested who modeled that $150,000 stunner at the runway show in the company of its own armed New York Police Department security guard?

Then too, I have a client in Pittsburgh, very active in the dog community and an avid collector of collars and tags. For her we created an ultra-elegant name tag with her canine companion's name in the center along with two diamonds.

1.3 carat Diamond Outline
ID Tag "Jacket"

pp: I see your Zodiac pendants were in People magazine.

baj: Now that was a lot of fun! It was the February 27, 2006 issue of People. The cover showed a certain pop singer along with the headline "Britney Speaks Her Mind!" But the big story was on page 140, and was all about our Zodiac pendants. How it came to pass was that Cesar Dog Foods contacted us to do some pieces to be presented at Cesar's VIP Lounge and Spa at the Sundance Film Festival. Our Zodiac pendants were presented at the Spa, and shown off by Eva Longoria's dog Jinxy, who's a Cancer, and Kelly Osbourne's Jazzy, a Virgo. Jordan Eubank's of TV's The Hills has one and the Celebrity Columnist Liz Smith got a couple for her Yorkies.

Bark Avenue Jewelers has also been featured in Life & Style magazine as well as in Vogue, Nippon in its July 2006 issue. I didn't understand a character of the Japanese print but the photos were beautiful.

pp: What gave you the idea of beautifying mandatory license and vaccination tags? And how are these done?

baj: If you look at most puppy tags, they are unaesthetic; pretty awful, actually. Why should any pup go around with nasty tags? Our concept of enhancing and improving tags is not yet widely used, by we hope to create something of a revolution and make enhanced tags much more widely available. The enhanced tags basically make use of a bezel, as you'd do for human jewelry. We can take the outline of a tag, trace it and then add decorative elements including diamonds and other gemstones. So it's a way of saying that your dog has arrived.

pp: What new designs do you have on the horizon?

14 Karat Two Tone Bone
Earrings for owners

baj: We're going to launch a few new pieces every season. We're probably going to be launching at some major wholesale shows in the coming year. We have a lot of designs already available, and we're going to be implementing a lot of the custom work into production at a reasonable price.

Much of our creation is custom. It's especially gratifying for me to be able to produce something that people really want. With today's technology, all pieces are presented in computer images before they are actually created. So a client can tell me what they have in mind, I can show them the computer image of it, and then they can tell me whatever modifications they might like to see. By the time I produce the piece, it's a perfect realization of the client's desires. In the cases of both my human and dog custom jewelry, I love acting as a conduit to make people's jewelry dreams come true.

I'll also say that for me, it isn't enough for the customer to be satisfied; she has to be absolutely cuckoo over the jewelry!

pp: What special measures do you take to make jewelry for pets durable?

baj: When setting stones, I set them in bezels because then they are less likely to get caught anyplace. Using matching metals for moving parts also can augment durability. Beyond that, customers should keep in mind that this is fine jewelry that needs to be regularly inspected and maintained as such. The moving parts are those that might fail. Regular inspection of clasps and posts . .. . and repairing them as needed . . . helps insure that the pieces stay intact.

pp: It seems like yours is a socially-conscious company.

baj: Indeed, we are. Our jewelry is made entirely in the USA by professional craftsmen. That not only guarantees high quality but also means that nothing is done by child or sweatshop labor. The workers are well-paid and receive health benefits. And I can micro-manage every aspect of production so that the quality is there.

Then, I'm particular about obtaining diamonds that have gone through the Kimberly process, meaning that their source is well-documented and they are not so-called conflict diamonds. Those conflict diamonds, as mined in places like the Congo and Angola, can be filling the pockets of rebels with machetes that wind up cutting off children's arms. So it's very important to me that my stones not come from those suspect sources. Thankfully, heightened international awareness has the number of conflict diamonds steadily decreasing. I like getting diamonds from Canada's Northwest Territories because I know the people mining and trading them are well-paid and have health insurance.

pp: How do your memorial lockets work? How are they created?

baj: Those are a great way for somebody who has lost a beloved dog to remember him or her by. We take an image of the canine companion, laser etch it into gold then paint it and cover it with glass. It's like a very upscale wallet photo.

pp: What, in your opinion, is the key to buying great jewelry?

baj: Jewelry comes down to a couple of things. It's all about you and what you like, not about what other people tell you to wear. If your jewelry doesn't say something about you, why wear it? So buy the pieces you like, love them, and live them!