Behind the Design: sausage dog

Behind the Design: Sausage Dog

2nd August 2023 Share:

Dog lovers rejoice! Say hello to Sarah Richmond, one of our in-house designers here at Rex London and the wonderful mind behind the creation of our pawesome range of sausage dog gifts.

A woman holds a sausage dog and is kissing her on the head

Sarah and Bonnie

What inspired the design?

My little sausage dog, Bonnie! She is a tiny dog with a huge personality and makes us laugh every single day. Her favourite snacks are carrots & strawberries (which she picks herself in the garden!). She enjoys lounging in everybody's beds and she can ring a service bell for treats on demand. She is also super clever and knows each of the family member by name! If there's even so much as a sniff of rain, she'll be buried deep under a duvet somewhere in the house keeping a very low profile!

Where did you start? What did you draw first?

The first product in the Sausage Dog range was the 'Mini Sausage Dog in a Little Box'. I wanted to create a little pocket-sized toy that captured the character of our pocket-sized pup!

A sausage dog looks at the camera standing next to a little toy sausage dog

Mini sausage dog in a little box, £9.95

I started by sketching Bonnie and then brought her to life with colour, through hand-painting the design with acrylic paints. I like working with this medium as it gives a really nice organic hand rendered feel which, I think, adds to the character of the design.

A few sheets of paper with sketches of a sausage dog

Early sketches

Acrylic paintings of a sausage dog and colour palettes

Adding colour with acrylics

How did you choose the colours and style?

I looked at vintage styles to get inspiration for the toy in a box as it's reminiscent of an old, vintage matchbox. I wanted the colour palette to be soft and slightly vintage but with a contemporary feel that would appeal to a wide range of people! I love to gather inspiration from a real variety of places. I find a lot of creative ideas looking at vintage packaging and the work of past illustrators - particularly those of the 1950s!

Sheets of paper with acrylic paint colours on

Testing colourways with acrylics

What’s your favourite sausage dog product?

Hands down the 'Mini Sausage Dog in a little box' I think it's a really fun product and is a great gift for children and dog lovers alike. A close second is the Sausage Dog Counting Puzzle for little ones to learn their numbers whilst piecing together the doggy's jumper!

A sausage dog looks up at the camera next to a sausage dog-shaped puzzle

Sausage Dog number puzzle, £9.95

What's your favourite thing about dogs?

How long do you have? I love everything about them! If I had to pick, it's their love of life! They're ALWAYS happy to see you and have the same enthusiasm and love to give day in and day out. I'm definitely a dog-person!

Our thanks to Sarah for sharing this look behind the design! Feeling inspired? Here are some of our top gift ideas for sausage dog lovers, with lots more being added to the collection later this year!