28-11-2019
A new era in our life equals a new perspective on what we find necessary and what we are interested in. Not only for ourselves but also for our pets.
It takes quite some time to dive into something new and broaden our mindset. Designing, testing and developing will always continue and eventually turn into a new product. Patience is an important matter in this. Observing our cats and dogs while they sleep, when they eat and when they play. What are they attracted to? What catches their eye? Will they touch this kind of material or do they simply walk away in disapproval? But even the endless journey of testing and adjusting comes to an end.
Time to reveal what we came up with for person and pet through our product range for MiaCara, thanks to our beloved test panel and team!
28-02-2019
Dutch design
Studio Snorhaar is located in Netherlands; from here we design and manufacture our products. We use high quality natural materials, vegetable tanned leather & 100% wool felt. Each design is carefully tested in the lab and by our test panel.
Collaborate
If you want to collaborate with Studio Snorhaar, exchange ideas or do you have an assignment?
Just mail or call to: info@snorhaar.com | +31 (0)628 884 718
Do you want to know more about the designer of the pet products?
Take a look at the website of Regina: www.reginamol.com
Ever tried to get a cat into a travel basket?
This is not something that cats or their owners enjoy. Studio Snorhaar reasoned that it must be possible to create a carrier that would appeal to both. Testing various shapes and materials, we found that cats like to keep an eye on things and prefer natural, tactile materials, so we took this on board in the designs. Because the bag can also double up as a sleeping basket, it always smells like home.
Travel bag | How to use
Studio Snorhaar strives to ensure that every pet will embrace our designs but gives no warranty. Animals are just like us, individuals. As owner you are responsible and should pay attention to the following points after/before buying the Travel pet bag:
Purchase
Place the Travel pet bag open folded as basket on a quiet location in the living room. Preferably a location where your pet can overview the area from a safe spot. Let pets decide for themself when he/she is going to visit the Travel pet basket. Give your pet the space to discover the bag. This is essential for cats.
Trust
Before you go travel let your pet sleep in the bag for at least a few weeks to get used to his or hers new basket. After a while your pet will see the Travel pet bag as his or hers own property. Scent plays an important role to create a trustable bond between the pet and the bag. Try not to clean the bag too much and find out what your pet prefers as his or hers favorite pillow. The standard felt pad is the most loved one but it may be that your pet prefers something else. Find this out by testing various materials.
Traveling
Observe your pet well and once you see that the pet is trusted with the bag, you can go traveling. Slowly build up the travel process so your pet can get used to it. If you have a kitten or a puppy you are lucky. It is possible to make a habit of the traveling. It is important to start traveling from an early age so they get used to the traveling ritual. For example, small trips in the car or a walk through the park. Try not to travel the first time somewhere that is associated with a nasty situation.
Observe
As owner it is important to observe the behavior of your pet to prevent problems. If your dog or cat is bored and no longer likes the pet bag? Be sure to challenge it! For example by changing the shape of the bag, transform it into a cave, of or put another pillow in it. Maybe even use your favorite shirt or jumper! Again, scent is important.
Cleaning
The designs are made of natural materials; vegetable tanned leather and 100% wool felt. Wool has got a self-cleaning feature. You can remove hair with the vacuum cleaner and remove any minor spots with lukewarm soapy water. The leather can be cleaned with a slightly damp cloth. For a long, beautiful life treat the leather with a natural leather wax. The bottom is made from EVA foam and is water resistant and can be washed under the tap. If you are not sure your cat or dog will make the travels without any accidents; place an extra towel in the bag so that any small accidents can be washed out.
20-02-2018
Cat bag training
Everybody knows a cat is a perky creature with a stubborn attitude..
Nonetheless, introduce your kitty to the travel bag as soon as she sets her paws in your home. Repetition and frequent usage of the bag will help her start seeing it as her own little space, a safe haven wherever she is.
Be steadfast and your kitten will be curious to join you when you go for a ride or even when you visit the veterinarian.
23-06-2017
A memory for Dot
Pets turn into friends, family members even. No matter the duration of time they have spent with you, you get attached to the creatures that won’t judge you no matter how you look, the way you act or whatever you say.
Tiny Dot, at first so small and fragile, soon turned into something oh so curious and sweet after we took her home from the shelter. Regaining her strength a little more every day she started to brighten up. No matter what had happened in her past, she gave her best in loving us and loving life as a Snorhaar family member. A real test cat, sitting out her old days on every fluffy and soft creation she caught sight of, never complaining about anything.
Saying goodbye to a pet is never easy but gone certainly does not mean forgotten.
19-05-2017
Stubby cat
When you travel to Asia you, as a big cat fanatic, will notice a few things about the cats as soon as you leave the airport. The cats are rather small compared to your own cat or the cats from Europe in general. Next to that their tails are short, kinked or not present at all. How is this possible?
As always there are many stories and theories about this. But keep on searching long enough or ask around at the locals and you will notice the same thing will be repeated over and over again. All those fairy tales about cut off tails or accidents can be put aside. Of course there are cats among them that are injured because of the crazy traffic around there, but believe it or not the stubbed tail cat is an actual breed! The cats are born this way and it is quite a common breed in countries of South East Asia such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
So worry no longer, there’s no need!
08-04-2017
Publication: Trendtablet by Lidewij Edelkoort
Let’s enjoy the traveling cat @ www.trendtablet.com
05-01-2017
Cat toy design for MiaCara
This is Topo
Topo is a friendly cat toy handmade with vegetable tanned leather and 100% wool.
Cats will react to Topo because of his movable tail and they can cuddle his fluffy wool body. Topo fits into many home interiors because of his earth tones. His tail can be attached to a wall or you can curl him up and put him on a shelf.
For more info about Topo please visit, www.miacara.com
12-11-2016
Cat town
When you are on a holiday, especially in a hot country, it is unfortunately very common to see a lot of stray cats. If Malta had a say in this I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be a single unhappy cat left in this world.
Cats in Malta don’t just have one owner like regular animals, but the lucky furballs have multiple owners (Malta’s citizens) whom provide food and water for them in the shady corners of the streets. On top of that, they have their own villages!
A famous cat village is located in Saint Julian’s Spinola Bay. There, next to the boulevard, between all the restaurants, hotels and jabbering tourists, you can find a pretty park filled with happy, satisfied cats that are surrounded by food, water, comfy beds and countless petting hands.
Those parks should be everywhere around the world, right?
18-05-2016
Test test.. What’s in here?
Junethekitty was diving to the bottom of the Travel Bag, totally in favor of testing some Snorhaar products.
Using the grey version of the Travel Bag to fit into the interior of her house, owner Nancy got behind the camera for us to take some pictures of her beloved cat June. The two and a half year old June is gaining new followers on Instagram daily and luckily for us she is willing to test some of our products and spread the word about it. The results of product 1: looking like a model and screaming for more!
Thanks Nancy and June!
Keep an eye out for more updates on the Dutch beauty vs our products!
23-03-2016
Cat loving in South-Korea
Human beings love cats. Same goes for South-Korea. They love cats so much that they decided to open up a ton of cat cafes so everybody would be able to hug the beloved pets as much as they please.
My name is Merel. I once was an intern at Snorhaar and right now I’m trying to see as much of the world as I possibly can, which I capture by text and images. As for my cat café experience:
While walking through Seoul it wasn’t hard to spot signs of the cafes. But to make it even easier we bumped into a big fluffy mascot, eager to show us the way to one of the many paradises. Even though outside everything is crowded and noisy inside the cafes it is exactly the opposite: silent, calm.
For the safety of the cats we had to disinfect our hands, stow our bags into a locker and wear special slippers. As soon as we ordered a drink and sat down there were meows and paws all around us, cats hungry for attention. They jumped on our laps to be the first one to claim that spot with the intention not to leave anymore for the rest of the day.
It was relaxing and peaceful and I swear I could have sat there until forever.
It felt like having coffee with your best friends, only these friends were a little bit more hairy..
27-12-2015
A new member for the Snorhaar family.
This is Dot, our new friend and test cat!
She looked so tiny when we saw her for the first time at the animal shelter. Staring at us with big eyes and a cute little tongue that was sticking outside of her mouth. Everything about her was unknown but from the first moment on we knew she was a real sweetheart. We decided to take care of her the best we could and brought her home. There came no noise from inside the cat bag. Couldn’t hear her, couldn’t see her. Dottie was a little dot in the voluminous fluffy blanket we brought for her. Hiding in the warm fabric up until her nose. At first she seemed so lost, she wouldn’t move and hardly took a few bites of her food. We patiently gave her a daily dose of love and soon she started to come alive. She slept a lot in her fluffy blanket, that she would not say goodbye to anymore, and gained back lots of her strength. Nowadays she is curiously watching us and is even asking for attention. Walking around in the studio, sniffing here and there, Dottie is becoming a real test cat!
It takes some time to create a bond and gain their trust. But when you are patient and loving, you will have a friend for life!
16-11-2015
Publication Dude, Dutch Design Magazine from BNO.
The Association of Dutch Designers (BNO) is the professional
association for designers and design agencies in the Netherlands.
22-10-2015
04-10-2015
Publication Volkskrant
Publication Dutch newspaper: Volkskrant Magazine
11-09-2015
Cat paws
They do much more than being spongy, pink, fluffy, soft and cute. For cats they can’t be missed! A few facts about little cat feet:
Cats move around on tiptoe, this way they are silent and at the same time they can gain speed. Cats have, just like us humans, a dominant front paw which is used for most of the things they do. Sometimes cats drink water with their feet to filter the water before drinking it. Paws are super flexible, which is handy for climbing and hunting. Cat paws have lots of touch receptors, they use them for evaluating texture, location, liveliness of their prey and sensing how hot or cold a surface is. Between their paw pads cats have glands. These glands leave a scent every time they scratch something. And I know they look really cute but paws can be stinky sometimes as well because cats sweat through their paws to keep their body temperature balanced. These same stinky feet are also used for grooming! Cats rub them here and there to clean certain areas.
And when your cat pulls back his paw when you touch it, that’s just because they are super sensitive so don’t be offended!
25-08-2015
Animatie by Heleen Haijtema
11-08-2015
Cat bag experience: Tijger
Curious about experiences from users?
Let us introduce you to Tijger.
Tijger is our grumpy but loyal test cat. She’s a 4 year old British shorthair. A normal Snorhaar day starts with wondering where Tijger is. Is she still outside? Or walking through the studio already? During the day you will find her somewhere hidden in one of the baskets or travel bags, sleeping. But when there are products in the making Tijger will be around to check them out. And you can trust us if we say that she’s very critical when it comes to judging everything. For us that’s great, thanks to her we learn new things about cats and their behaviour everyday. We observe her to see what happens just as she observes the world from her favourite spot in front of the window. All of our products are approved by Tijger, our great help. She tested many many versions of the Travel bag and decided this was her favourite version to sleep in.
04-08-2015
Curious about experiences from users?
Let us introduce you to Kitten
Somewhere far away in Melbourne Australia lives Kitten with her kittens.
Here is her experience of the Travel cat bag.
Right now Kitten is 2 years old but she has the life experience of an at least 10 years old cat. Kitten was found under a container when she was little. The founders took her home and cared for her. But when the owners went on a holiday Kitten ran away and nearly survived her 3 weeks in the wilderness. Skin and bones, that was what was left of her. However it didn’t only make her weak, she also became a mother thanks to her adventure! For Kitten and her kittens the Travel cat bag is a cozy den. The kittens are raised in this small home. It’s their place for sleeping, playing and being fed. Everything about the bag is positive for them because they grew up with it. Soon, when the kittens become too big to share the Travel bag with their mom they will have their own bag which they can fill with kittens! Kitten herself won’t have children again because she is sterilized. In Australia cats will be given a tattoo in their ear when they are sterilized so it’s not a secret either! She will just enjoy her old days being lazy, sleeping in her den and getting attention now and then.
10-06-2015
Honorable mention design award for the travel cat bag.
Vredeman de Vries voor Vormgeving
05-06-2015
Cardboard equals happy cat
Did you ever lose your cat while unloading the groceries?
Or maybe at that time when that big box arrived with your new item?
Well he’s probably inside that box..
Research shows us that cats are happy when they are sitting in a cardboard box. They can hide in it plus it’s cozy and warm. Cats are also getting used to their environment quicker when there is a cardboard box around to sit in.
Therefore we included a little piece of that cat-happiness in our travel bag as well! And did I already mention it gives cats less stress and makes them want contact with people faster?
