1. Diana Tiger Buchman
CREATIVE DIRECTOR/DESIGN RESEARCHER
PILLOWS FOR PAWS
OUR GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2. What Makes Pillows for Paws Unique?
 Pillows for Paws uses User Design Principles to provide enrichment items to
NYC shelter animals
 Volunteers (informants) embedded in the NYC Animal Care & Control facility give
us direct feedback on issues, needs, and how our products are working.
 ACC is the county’s largest shelter. Over 30,000 pets pass through each year.
 One of the first places to get the budget ax.
 The need is great. The resources are few.

3. Our Pillows
 Issue:
 Durability
 Beds were thrown out when inner layer (batting) began to
shift
 Seams easily split due to rough usage by animal and
fragile fabric
 Cost
 Easier to find fabric for donation than batting
 Easy to clean and sanitize
 Must be able to endure multiple washes and be easy to
dry
 Looks
 Research has shown that shelter animals placed in cute
settings are more easily adopted
 Time
 Adding durability can increase production time

4. Batting – Pillows for Paws First User Research Test
Because we all know cats will ly on anything, even plastic bags
Polyester Batting
 Synthetic product
 Less durable
 Requires more quilting
 Scratchy when not encased in fabric
 Thick, harder to sew on machines
Cotton Batting
 Natural product
 More durable
 Requires less quilting
 Very comfortable to work with
 Thinner, so it’s easier to sew

5. Batting – Pillows for Paws First User Research Test
 This is LilyBeth. LilyBeth has an obvious preference. LilyBeth could not be
persuaded by my arguments of why cotton was a better choice.
LilyBeth is a traitor.
 About half the cats (50%) preferred the thicker Polyester batting.
The other half showed no preference at all. Polyester won!

6. Hammocks: Success or Failure?
 The public loves seeing cats sleeping in
hammocks. We got a special request and
we tried to meet the need.
 Can only be used at adoption events in
stand-alone cages.
 Due to logistics within the ACC facility,
they need to be laundered separately if
they are to be used more than once.

7. Hammocks
Pillows for Paws Design Research Failure?
 Despite many hours of discussing design and price points with our imbedded ACC
informant, the information we received was incorrect
 One of the special requests we received was to make sure the attachment hooks
separate. Easier to launder hammocks and keeps the price point down.
 The hooks were lost and never reunited with the hammocks. Instead workers cut
the hammocks in an attempt to make them reusable. In actuality they made them
completely unusable.
 Lesson: We relied on information from one source. We should have double-
checked with other individuals and organizations. This was a costly mistake in both
time and money.

8. Hammocks Redesigned
 Easy to use hooks that are permanently attached
 Dual fabrics: One for comfort in cooler weather the other for warm weather
 Reinforced seams

9. Our Toys
Catnip
 Made with scraps of fabric and batting leftover from the bed making
 A brand new product line made for the price of catnip ($25/lb)
 Must be a minimum size (2.5” x 3.5”) otherwise they fall through the bars
of the cages

10. Our Toys
Cat Dancers
 Biggest issue:
need to sanitize after use
 Created a design that used Human Grade
Chopsticks
 Can sanitize using dishwasher, autoclave
or washing machine
 Cost was minimal ($2.00/dz)
 Made with scraps of yarn
 Great short term project for people who
knit or crochet. Can be made in a few
minutes. Can be safely embellished in a
multitude of ways.

11. Our Toys
Cage Dancers
 Old idea
 Easy to make
 Great for kids at education event
 Perfect for kittens who haven’t yet
developed the nasal receptors for catnip
 Great for cats who don’t like catnip

12. Our Toys
Jingle Balls
 Plastic is not sterilizable. So must be a
single use item.
 Can get expensive
Issue:
Solution:
 Recreated the toy using less expensive,
disposable products
 Everybody loves finding a use for TP rolls
 Also great for rabbits. They like to play too.

13. OurToys
TigerTugs
Issues:
 Need toys good for big dogs and heavy
chewers because smaller dogs are easier
to foster
 Almost all the dogs at ACC are
Pitt Bulls
 Rope toys are not allowed due to issues
regarding sterilization
Solutions:
 Created a rope-like toy using fleece
(unwoven fabric) knotted to increase
durability
 Easy to teach and can be done by
anybody
 Toy can be created for $0.20 to
$0.50/each (depends on the cost of
fleece)

14. Our Toys
Flying Saucer Toys
 Originally designed by Gennie Perez, volunteer designer. Made of
donated over-felted wool and a squeaker.
 Cannot recreate with wool because it would be too expensive and it’s too
rare as a donation item.
 Re-designed with fleece and an inner lining of bulletproof nylon.
Recreated same touch and feel but a more reasonable price point.

15. Our Toys
Spiders
 100% a Gennie Perez masterpiece. Took
elements from Flying Saucer toy, Tiger Tugs
& a no-sew catnip toy.
 Other than technically being Gennie’s
supervisor, I cannot take any credit except
for recognizing genius. Part of being a good
supervisor is knowing when not to mess with
greatness.

16. Rabbits
The most forgotten of
ACC’s adoptable animals
Issues:
 Rabbits need to chew. Their front
teeth continuously grow and
must be worn down or they will
become ingrown.
 Despite what Bugs Bunny thinks,
carrots are not good for rabbits.
They are too sweet and can cause
health problems.
Solutions:
 TP roll treats & toys
 People love finding a use for all
those TP rolls. Also provides lots
of roughage for the rabbits.
 We also make toys out of
commercially available
products purchased from
pet stores

17. Rabbit Toys & Treats
A Unique Problem
 There are many treats for rabbits that should be of minimal or no cost that
are difficult to source inside of NYC
 Applewood from unsprayed trees
 Most orchards in the Northeast use active pest management. This means many trees
in an orchard may or may not have been sprayed.
 Willow branches from a reliable source
 It is illegal to harvest any botanical item from a State or National park. Need a
private source with a clean water supply
 Dried corn husks
 Does not need to be organic, but cannot be sprayed. A rarity in the Northeast
 We continue to work to find appropriate, reliable, low-cost sources of
these supplies

18. To Be Announced
Items on the Drawing Board
 Rabbit Pillows
 Must be completely edible. Will be made on a loom using Sisal or Sea Grass for
warp and wefted with willow, corn husks or other edible materials
 Hammocks & toys for small mammals
 Many small mammals are abandoned at ACC everyday. Guinea pigs, gerbils,
hamsters, ferrets, mice. They are passed along to private rescue organizations that
specialize in those animals.
 Toys & Treats for Birds
 Like small mammals, many are abandoned and sent to private rescue organizations.
There are many species of birds in captivity, each with their own special needs.
 Tools for Wildlife Rehabilitation
 We meet special needs as we can using the same Design Research principles we use
with all our other users.

19. To Be Announced
Items on the Drawing Board
 We have worked hard to develop relationships with
veterinarians who specialize in exotics, rehabilitators,
rescue groups and those who adopt exotics. We consult
them to determine their needs with each species and we
actively seek feedback on all our products.