Darien High School Alumni
Darien, Connecticut (CT)
Alumni Stories
Lindsey Calastro McGraw
Class of 2000
Local Dog Product Entrepreneur In 2nd Round of Walmart’s ‘Get On The Shelf’ Contest and Seeks Public’s Vote
SOUTH AMBOY, NJ, August 14, 2013
The Doggy Dickey®—The original neck and chest warmer for dogs—from local business American Dog Apparel, is competing in Walmart’s ‘Get on the shelf’ contest. Now in the second round of the competition, The Doggy Dickey need’s the public’s support through votes at https://getontheshelf.walmart.com/product/1885/The-Doggy-Dickey. These votes will be taken into consideration and only 4 products will make it to the final round of judging. The winning product will get placement on Walmart’s shelves throughout the country! Voting is going on now through September 4th. You need a facebook account to cast your vote and the public can vote once a day for their favorite products.
The chest is one of the top three heat-loss areas on a dog and the easiest to protect. American Dog Apparel’s Top Dog Lindsey McGraw developed the product for her Bull Terrier Sharkey. Sharkey loves to hike with other dogs all year long, but due to her thin coat she was much more affected by the cold weather than her fluffier counterparts. Lindsey worked to develop a garment Sharkey could wear that would stay in place during miles of hiking, keep her chest protected from the cold and rugged underbrush, work with both her collar or harness and was easy enough to quickly put on and off. She finally hit on The Doggy Dickey last year in 2012.
The Doggy Dickey is an original patent-pending design and product-first for the pet industry. It is available in four colors of cozy anti-pill fleece and eight sizes, The Doggy Dickey fits dogs from 5 to 150lbs (Tiny Chihuahuas to Great Danes!). The Doggy Dickey is proudly 100% sourced and made in America.
During 2012 The Doggy Dickey was available for sale at local pet and community events throughout New Jersey, New York and Connecticut as well as at a few local boutiques in the tri-state area and online at the company website (http://www.americandogapparelco.com).
ABOUT THE CONTEST
As a young start-up and entrepreneur from the New York Metro area, Lindsey McGraw, Top Dog of American Dog Apparel, and Sharkey, The Dog at American Dog Apparel, are seeking public awareness of the Walmart contest and American Dog Apparel’s product entry—The Doggy Dickey. The Walmart ‘Get on the Shelf’ contest offers small business owners a unique opportunity to grow their brand’s reach and distribution with America’s largest big-box retailer. Using social media as the voting mechanism, the general public can vote for their favorite product every day from August 7-September 4. These votes will go into consideration when selecting the top 4 products to advance to the final round. The ultimate winner will receive placement on the shelves of Walmart throughout the country.
TESTIMONIAL FROM THE DOG
“My hiking buddies and I don’t stop when it gets cold out. Some of us aren’t very bushy and our chests and bellies can get cold from the wind and snow, but we don’t want to be weighed down by heavy gear or hindered when climbing on rocks and powering through broken branches. The Doggy Dickey fits snuggly against our bodies and gives us that added layer of insulation during our wintery treks.” – Sharkey, Bull Terrier and member of Somerset County Dog Hikers Meet-up
GETTING THE WORD OUT…ON YOUTUBE
Lindsey and Sharkey have developed a series of YouTube videos parodying some of their favorite TV commercials. In an effort to keep Facebook likers engaged and voting and possibly reach additional voters virally, Lindsey is rolling out a total of 4 funny videos on the American Dog Apparel facebook page through the month of August. Some of the videos were developed last year during their first go at the Walmart contest and can be seen on Sharkey’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/OnlineWithSharkBite. However 2 new videos will be posted later in the month. Let’s just say “Huuuuump Day!”
ABOUT AMERICAN DOG APPAREL
American Dog Apparel was founded by Lindsey McGraw and Sharkey in December, 2011. Our premier product is The Doggy Dickey—The original neck and chest warmer for dogs. Lindsey has a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis (2004) in Visual Communications and has completed courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Pet Product Design. She is originally from Darien, CT (DHS 2000) and now resides in South Amboy, NJ. In 2009 Lindsey and her husband rescued Sharkey, a Bull Terrier, from the Philadelphia Bull Terrier Rescue. Since the launch of American Dog Apparel Sharkey has stepped-up as the face and social ambassador for the brand.
https://getontheshelf.walmart.com/product/1885/The-Doggy-Dickey
http://www.facebook.com/americandogapparel
http://www.youtube.com/user/OnlineWithSharkBite
http://www.americandogapparelco.com
If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Lindsey McGraw or Sharkey, please call Lindsey at 203-820-4999 or newshound@americandogapparelco.com
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SOUTH AMBOY, NJ, August 14, 2013
The Doggy Dickey®—The original neck and chest warmer for dogs—from local business American Dog Apparel, is competing in Walmart’s ‘Get on the shelf’ contest. Now in the second round of the competition, The Doggy Dickey need’s the public’s support through votes at https://getontheshelf.walmart.com/product/1885/The-Doggy-Dickey. These votes will be taken into consideration and only 4 products will make it to the final round of judging. The winning product will get placement on Walmart’s shelves throughout the country! Voting is going on now through September 4th. You need a facebook account to cast your vote and the public can vote once a day for their favorite products.
The chest is one of the top three heat-loss areas on a dog and the easiest to protect. American Dog Apparel’s Top Dog Lindsey McGraw developed the product for her Bull Terrier Sharkey. Sharkey loves to hike with other dogs all year long, but due to her thin coat she was much more affected by the cold weather than her fluffier counterparts. Lindsey worked to develop a garment Sharkey could wear that would stay in place during miles of hiking, keep her chest protected from the cold and rugged underbrush, work with both her collar or harness and was easy enough to quickly put on and off. She finally hit on The Doggy Dickey last year in 2012.
The Doggy Dickey is an original patent-pending design and product-first for the pet industry. It is available in four colors of cozy anti-pill fleece and eight sizes, The Doggy Dickey fits dogs from 5 to 150lbs (Tiny Chihuahuas to Great Danes!). The Doggy Dickey is proudly 100% sourced and made in America.
During 2012 The Doggy Dickey was available for sale at local pet and community events throughout New Jersey, New York and Connecticut as well as at a few local boutiques in the tri-state area and online at the company website (http://www.americandogapparelco.com).
ABOUT THE CONTEST
As a young start-up and entrepreneur from the New York Metro area, Lindsey McGraw, Top Dog of American Dog Apparel, and Sharkey, The Dog at American Dog Apparel, are seeking public awareness of the Walmart contest and American Dog Apparel’s product entry—The Doggy Dickey. The Walmart ‘Get on the Shelf’ contest offers small business owners a unique opportunity to grow their brand’s reach and distribution with America’s largest big-box retailer. Using social media as the voting mechanism, the general public can vote for their favorite product every day from August 7-September 4. These votes will go into consideration when selecting the top 4 products to advance to the final round. The ultimate winner will receive placement on the shelves of Walmart throughout the country.
TESTIMONIAL FROM THE DOG
“My hiking buddies and I don’t stop when it gets cold out. Some of us aren’t very bushy and our chests and bellies can get cold from the wind and snow, but we don’t want to be weighed down by heavy gear or hindered when climbing on rocks and powering through broken branches. The Doggy Dickey fits snuggly against our bodies and gives us that added layer of insulation during our wintery treks.” – Sharkey, Bull Terrier and member of Somerset County Dog Hikers Meet-up
GETTING THE WORD OUT…ON YOUTUBE
Lindsey and Sharkey have developed a series of YouTube videos parodying some of their favorite TV commercials. In an effort to keep Facebook likers engaged and voting and possibly reach additional voters virally, Lindsey is rolling out a total of 4 funny videos on the American Dog Apparel facebook page through the month of August. Some of the videos were developed last year during their first go at the Walmart contest and can be seen on Sharkey’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/OnlineWithSharkBite. However 2 new videos will be posted later in the month. Let’s just say “Huuuuump Day!”
ABOUT AMERICAN DOG APPAREL
American Dog Apparel was founded by Lindsey McGraw and Sharkey in December, 2011. Our premier product is The Doggy Dickey—The original neck and chest warmer for dogs. Lindsey has a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis (2004) in Visual Communications and has completed courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Pet Product Design. She is originally from Darien, CT (DHS 2000) and now resides in South Amboy, NJ. In 2009 Lindsey and her husband rescued Sharkey, a Bull Terrier, from the Philadelphia Bull Terrier Rescue. Since the launch of American Dog Apparel Sharkey has stepped-up as the face and social ambassador for the brand.
https://getontheshelf.walmart.com/product/1885/The-Doggy-Dickey
http://www.facebook.com/americandogapparel
http://www.youtube.com/user/OnlineWithSharkBite
http://www.americandogapparelco.com
If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Lindsey McGraw or Sharkey, please call Lindsey at 203-820-4999 or newshound@americandogapparelco.com
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