Meet Chanel Van Horn | Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chanel Van Horn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chanel, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Word of mouth support. It really means something to a small business because it makes a huge impact! If you’re passionate enough to tell a friend or family member about the product you love so much, that shows them that that might be worth buying for them too. It’s the biggest compliment. Sometimes it’s even strangers or acquaintances who will come over and ask people. We have had customers send us photos when they run into other dogs out at a bar or at the dog park, some tell us they’ve had to post in local Facebook groups because they were being asked so often, vet locations who all immediately find us on Instagram after seeing a dog walk in wearing pearls, doggy daycare locations, the list goes on and on! We are so thankful and feel it’s a testament to our customers’ passion and love for our beaded dog collars.

What should our readers know about your business?
Since we started Hypnotic Dog in 2018, we believe our consistent quality and attention to detail and continual efforts to bring new and exciting designs for our customers (as trends and styles continue shifting) sets us apart. I try to create patterns I would be excited to put on my own dogs and as always I try to make them aesthetically pleasing as possible. The journey has not been easy, we did not respect work-life balance for the first few years of this business and it admittedly took a big mental, emotional, physical toll on all of us. We would regularly be up until 3am making collars and it felt like we didn’t take a day off for the first 4 years. I’m proud that we were persistent, we never wanted to budge on quality or the customer experience; and we still don’t! We’ve just learned to streamline processes better making them more efficient, and focus on preparation before each collection release. Forecasting became crucial instead of just reacting to constant pressure and demand.

We are so excited to see beaded collars for dogs help soften their appearance and potentially change first impressions, especially for our bully breed friends who often have challenging stereotypes attributed to them. We see and experience this everyday ourselves, as we have four bully breeds at home; the shift from immediate fear to, “Oh my gosh! That dog is wearing PEARLS!” People will often give your dog more attention when wearing their pearls, it becomes a great conversation starter, and pets in the neighborhood become little local celebrities because they’re rocking the cutest dog collars! We also have found a lot of owners who previously had issues with flat collars chafing their dog’s neck and causing fur loss have hair that has grown back and none of the same irritation after wearing our beaded collars, which we think is an awesome extra perk.

We’re also proud of our efforts to support rescues whether that be monetarily, through physical collar and leash donations, or with vouchers for fundraising events and more. The current status of shelters is alarming and the number of dogs continues to increase, particularly with bully breeds. We are always proud as a business and personally to advocate and encourage adopting, rescuing, and fostering. Our current and past rescues have come from San Bernardino City Animal Shelter, Friends of Upland Animal Shelter, and Orange County Animal Care and that’s just a few of the numerous shelters within driving distance in Southern California that we can all make an effort to support.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d recommend going to an old college visit near USC to Mercado La Paloma. You can’t go wrong with the diverse options in there, but my all time favorite is the Pollo Asado dish from Chichen Itza. I’ve got at least 4 bottles of their spicy habanero sauce in my cupboard right now. Holbox is also incredible for seafood lovers! I’d also head west and spend a day in Santa Monica, grab Layla’s Bagels for breakfast, explore Montana Ave, explore the promenade, head down to the beach, and finish with cocktails and dinner at The Misfit. A few other essentials I would add: a visit to the Venice Canals, a visit to the Huntington Library and Gardens, and a visit to the Getty. For my spicy food lovers who want some authentic Thai food, a different day has you heading to Ruen Pair. I also can’t forget my all time favorite Boiling Crab in K-town!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
100% my family. This is an entire family operated business (my second time working with my brother and parents, too) between my husband, myself, my brother, my mom and dad. We all have a role every single day in keeping Hypnotic Dog running! We hand-make all of our beaded dog and cat collar necklaces, from the stringing of the beads to crimping and securely finishing. We also pack every single order, do our own graphic design, website programming, social media, new product design, you name it. My mom will sit and watch her favorite Thai soap operas while stringing bead patterns and my dad’s favorite task lately is to prep our hang tags we include when we pack and ship our orders. 🙂

Website: https://www.hypnoticdog.co

Instagram: @hypnoticdogco

Other: Tiktok: @hypnoticdogco

Image Credits
Larissa Manibog Photography