St. Johnimals in Wharfside Village will be the exclusive Caribbean retailer of the esteemed Manfred of Sweden, pet fashion house.
Looking for the right gift this Christmas for that picky Fido who has everything, or just a treat for that special furry four-legged friend?
A new boutique opening next month at Wharfside Village will fit all of those gift needs, and will surely have customers back to the shop again and again for everything from leashes to custom doggie jackets.
St. Johnimals Island Pet Outfitter will be open by Christmas in Wharfside Village, next to Waterfront Bistro in the old Shea Designs location, according to the owners Ken Schadegg and Rob Upham.
The St. Johnimals Copperbone Club will give shoppers a yearlong 10 percent discount with a minimum $10 donation to the St. John Animal Care Center.
With a business model already in mind, the two former Rhode Island residents found the space in Wharfside ideal for their concept, and the island of St. John ideal in every way.
“We are animal lovers and we have three Schnauzers,” said Schadegg. “We had looked at a few other places and we knew this business model was very successful. We had originally looked at Roatan, Honduras, and then we came here and said, ‘This is it.’”
“Roatan already has a mega-mall and we saw that as how things were going and we just didn’t think that fit for us,” Schadegg said. “We came here and it was perfect. It has the market we’re looking for and we just love the island.”
St. Johnimals will have something for every dog on every budget — and even something for the cat lovers out there too. Stop by the Wharfside boutique for everything from $5 puppy bandanas and affordable leashes, to high-end pet gifts and custom-made Manfred of Sweden jackets.
The St. John animal boutique will be the exclusive Caribbean outpost for the esteemed pet design house, which has created a Caribbean resort collection for the shop.
“Everything Manfred of Sweden creates is all hand-made and tailored exactly to the size of the pet,” said Schadegg. “We’ll have their carriers and adorable hand-made jackets.”
Thanks to St. Johnimals, Love City joins the ranks of New York City, Milan, Beverly Hills, London and Paris as an exclusive outpost for the esteemed Manfred of Sweden.
Those not quite in the market for a custom sailor suit for Fido, will still find something to cherish at St. Johnimals, Schadegg added.
“We want to carry something for everyone, but the base line we’ve established is the best,” he said. “So if you come in you’ll see the best leashes and collars in the world from $5 to $200. We’ll have things all the way from carriers that can get beat up to jackets for owners who really want their pets to make a fashion statement.”
The boutique will also cover Fido’s diet. Stop by St. Johnimals for human-quality canned dog food, and scrumptious treats. And they’re not leaving out the feline-lovers. The shop will also include a kitty corner with toys, catnip, collars and more.
Schadegg and Upham have teamed up with the St. John Animal Care Center, the island’s no-kill shelter, to offer shoppers who donate to the non-profit an exclusive discount.
“We’ve created The Copper Bone Club, where if you make a minimum donation of $10 to the ACC for a year, you will be able to shop for the year with a 10 percent discount,” said Schadegg. “We hope that people make bigger donations than $10, but this is the first way we could help out. We also plan to do a lot more with the ACC.”
With St. Johnimals, Schadegg is sure he and Upham have created a recipe for success.
“We both knew what we wanted to do and we were just looking for the right place,” said Schadegg. “We’ve found that here. It’s perfect.”
For more information, check out www.stjohnimals.com, stop by the store in Wharfside Village or call 777-5988.