Designer Hand Knits for Pets and their People by Vanessa Sam

A self-proclaimed "obsessive-compulsive perfectionist", whose passion for knitting started when she was a mere 1st-grader, Vanessa Sam lives in the San Francisco Bay area (California) with her husband (they just celebrated their three year anniversary), and miniature schnauzer Bach. Bach is her star model, and has been with them for ten years. He's very dedicated to their business, and loves the free clothes! He's lucky that he lives with the designer.

Bach modeling "The Backpacker" (a cat/dog turtle neck sweater)

You'll have to visit their Etsy site to see his adorable face.

(Not that his butt isn't cute enough!)

Vanessa inherited her knitting "gene" from her mother who was obsessed with knitting pretty baby dresses while she was pregnant with her. Vanessa's first project was a vest for her teddy bear; her second project was a vest for her little brother. And, she's been "hooked" ever since. "Recently my mom revealed that the reason she taught me to knit at the age of six was to stop me from bothering her while she was knitting. I find that hilarious. But I am so grateful that she did teach me; this hobby has stayed with me for 20+ years and not only do my husband and dog benefit from the hobby, it has now become my business. By the time I was a teenager, my mom moved on to quilting. But there are lots of baby photos of me wearing her knitted dresses and cardigans, they're really cute!"

The Hipster cat/dog turtleneck sweater

Vanessa is a healthcare finance consultant by day, an obsessed knitter by night, and a photographer by weekend. Every item is knitted with love. And, she even customizes her knits according to variations in size. She also created a custom design for a buyer who wanted to recreate a toddler sweater that her mom knitted for her and her twin sister when they were kids. The result is the "Hello, My Name Is...." sweater. The buyer ordered matching dog sweaters for her corgi and her pug. Vanessa makes a human version of this sweater for toddlers, too.

She doesn't have kids yet (the two legged kind) but if she ever does, her shop will explode with knitted baby items! But, don't worry all you dog and cat lovers, she'll continue to knit adorable and "designer" outfits for your loved ones. And, yes, for most of us the weather is getting warm, but winter is just around the corner. So, visit Vanessa's Etsy site to see her designer hand knits for Pets and their People HERE. And, see her photography HERE.

Images posted with consent from Vanessa Sam.