DURHAM, NC – Queen Elizabeth II has already received many tributes in advance of her official 90th birthday on June 11th but none more unusual than a collection of 90 corgi dog-pillows, plus one life-sized body-pillow of the Queen herself.
Such, however, is the “unique tribute to a unique love affair” created by Spoonflower (www.spoonflower.com), a website that lets users design, print and sell their own fabric – including fabric printed with photographs of their pets and made into pet-pillow replicas of their dogs or cats.
“It is a token of our affection and admiration for the Queen – and her life-long love of corgis,” says Allison Polish, President of Spoonflower, which has released photographs showing the 90 corgi pillows, plus one body-pillow of the Queen herself, in a variety of poses.
“This year,” says Polish, “marks not just the Queen’s 90th birthday but also – less remarked – the 83rd anniversary of her love affair with corgis.”
The Queen has loved corgis ever since she was a small child. The first she ever owned was called Dookie, which her father, the future King George VI, brought home for his daughters Elizabeth, age 7, and Margaret in 1933.
Spoonflower itself also has two other strong links with corgis. It is, among other things, the world’s leading source of corgi-themed fabric, wallpaper and gift-wrap designs, with almost 300 available. “We’re amazed by the number and variety,” says Polish. “There seems a special fascination with corgis. They punch way above their weight.”
Spoonflower is also the place to go for anyone wanting to create a replica of their corgi or other pet in the form of a pillow. Indeed, the new Spoonflower Handbook, published by Abrams Books, includes an explanation of How to Create A Doppelganger Dog Pillow.
“Not many people realize that you can make a replica of their pet in the form of a pillow,” says Allison Polish. “But such pillows would become the next big thing.”
Spoonflower’s corgi pillows are not the only 90th birthday tribute to the Queen and her corgis. The Queen herself has posed with her corgis for the cover of the latest issue of Vanity Fair magazine.
Spoonflower’s photographs, however, amount, in their way, to something approaching a work of art – a sort of art installation perhaps, with a debt to Surrealism.
But what will become of Spoonflower’s 90 corgis once the Queen’s birthday celebrations are over? Spoonflower is sending two specially produced extra corgi pillows as a gift to the Queen – one each for the Queen’s two remaining corgis, Holly and Willow.
It hopes one day to present all 90 pillows at Buckingham Palace itself. Failing that, Spoonflower may consider auctioning them in aid of one of the Queen’s favorite charities.
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Custom Fabric, Wallpaper & Gift Wrap
90 corgi clones for Queen’s 90th birthday make unique tribute
An online extract from the new Spoonflower Handbook, published by Abrams Books, explains How to Create A Doppelganger Dog Pillow.
12 Things You Never Knew About The Queen And Her Corgis
- The Queen has owned more than 30 corgis (but none, as far as we can tell, with a name longer than two syllables).
- Pembroke Welsh Corgis are her favorite breed.
- She has loved corgis since she was a small child, after first encountering those owned by the children of the Marquess of Bath.
- The first corgi she ever owned was called Dookie, which her father, the future King George VI, brought home for his daughters Elizabeth and Margaret in 1933.
- Elizabeth, age 7, picked Dookie from a choice of three Corgi pups, reportedly because of his longer tail – “So that we can see whether he’s pleased or not”.
- When still young princesses, Elizabeth and her sister Margaret, invented the “dorgi”, by cross breeding Elizabeth’s corgi, Tiny, with Margaret’s dachshund, Pipkin.
- On her 18th birthday in 1944, the future queen was given a corgi named Susan.
- She was so fond of Susan that she took her on honeymoon after marrying Prince Philip in 1947.
- Susan founded a corgi dynasty, producing at least 10 generations of royal corgis.
- Susan became one of several royal corgis to bite royal servants, when she nipped Leonard Hubbard, the Royal Clockwinder, as he was entering the Royal Lodge Windsor in 1954.
- Holly and Willow, the Queen’s current corgis, are the last two remaining of a once 13-strong pack.
- Holly and Willow seem likely to be the Queen’s last corgis, after the announcement last year that she had ended her breeding programme.
NOTES FOR EDITORS :
Spoonflower’s 10 Best-Selling Corgi Designs
1. Corgi Fun! by westgateillustrates
2. Corgis! (Black) by jaana
3. Watercolor Corgi by pateisen
4. corgi pet dog sweet corgi... by petfriendly
5. Corgi crowd by rusticcorgi
6. Corgis! (Blue) by jaana
7. Everyone loves a corgi by dianef
8. Happy Corgi by hipllama
9. corgi corgis girls sweet ... by petfriendly
10 Corgis! (Gray) by jaana
There are nearly 300 designs for corgi-themed fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap on Spoonflower.com.
ABOUT SPOONFLOWER:
Spoonflower (www.spoonflower.com) is the world’s largest source of corgi-themed fabrics, wallpaper and gift wrap. It lets users design, print and sell their own fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap. Founded in 2008, it was the world's first web-based service for custom fabric creation and has become the world’s largest community of independent fabric designers. With over 350,000 designs for fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap, and more added every day, the Spoonflower Marketplace is also the world’s largest design collection of its kind. Making things with Spoonflower is the subject of a new title from Abrams Books, The Spoonflower Handbook: A DIY Guide to Designing Fabric, Wallpaper & Gift Wrap with 30+ Projects. For more information visit www.Spoonflower.com/welcome.
Spoonflower employee Robin Szypulski takes the 90 corgis for a walk in a park near the Spoonflower office in Durham, North Carolina.
90 corgi clones for Queen’s 90th birthday make unique tribute
Could pet-pillow clones become the Next Big Thing?
An online excerpt from the new Spoonflower Handbook, published by Abrams Books, explains How to Create A Doppelganger Dog Pillow.
High-resolution photographs can be downloaded here
High-resolution photographs can be downloaded here
And here’s a picture of the corgis with the Queen herself, kindly standing in for this one in place of her own life-size body pillow