The Verve Bar: Fun Stickers, Dog Gifts, & Laughs. Our Story:

LMU & EARLY ADULTING

I am a California native. I was born in the Bay area and moved from Davis when I was young. I headed to Los Angeles for college and graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 1991. My timing was excellent, I was there for the basketball glory days. My girlfriends from college are lifers, despite living far apart, we see each other every year.

After graduation, a girlfriend and I did a 16,000-mile car trip around the US. There is no better recipe to extinguish the love of camping than a small cheap tent, no money, tornado sirens, and thunderstorms. No one told us about the bizarre weather common in the central U.S. each summer. We had amazing moments but not exactly the glamorous road trips portrayed on today's Instagram. Our Insta page would have provided endless comedy and motivated our followers to get a solid job so they could afford 5-Star hotels!

I lived in Manhattan Beach while working for a Japanese bicycle component manufacturer and trading company. I was the main salesperson for aftermarket components and the assistant for OEM sales. I visited every major bike distributor and manufacturer in North America that existed in the early 90's. Some of my standout memories include a distributor in Minnesota teaching me how to play broom-ball on his backyard ice rink, and a customer in Chicago taking me to a Bulls game to see Michael Jordan in his prime.

I BELIEVE IN FOLLOWING YOUR HEART & BEING SPONTANEOUS

That job was amazing but something was nagging at me. One morning, while biking to work, I knew what it was. I had been jealous of my peers who opted for “normal grad trips” by backpacking around Europe. I was 24 and quickly reaching an age when I would be too old for hostels. I put my bike away, ran inside, and whispered to a co-worker, “What would you think if I gave my two weeks' notice, cashed in my frequent flyer miles, and booked a one-way ticket to Europe.” He curled his lip, thoughtfully nodded his head up and down, and said “Yep, I can see you doing that.” I gave my notice the next day and less than 20 days later was meandering through Europe with a backpack, clutching an orange travel book called “Let's Go Europe" (this was, pre-cell phones & and pre-GPS). That orange book was the modern equivalent of exchanging your Instagram with a stranger, only to discover you had mutual friends. Every student traveler had this book.  If you saw someone with a backpack holding the orange book there was a 99% chance they were A) not a serial killer and B) likely a fun seatmate on the next train. The unexpected experiences and new acquaintances made by traveling solo, made this trip the most epic experience of my life. I learned so fun by talking to and spontaneously travelling with so many fun people.

After Europe, I moved to Portland, Oregon. I didn't know anyone or have a job. I chose Portland because of its beauty, the hipness of the city, mountain biking opportunities, and I knew my brothers and parents would pass through regularly. My parents had a vacation house on the Oregon coast and it was easy to swing through Portland on the way. I quickly landed a non-glamorous, well-paying job, this time I sold pallet jack parts (material handling industry). Like my previous job, I traveled more than I was home throughout the U.S. and Canada. I bought my first house in North Portland when I was 26. I would like to publicly apologize to all of my neighbors for the parties, especially the house next door with young kids. Fear not friends, karma got me, I ended up with three wild boys, all of whom were bad sleepers.

HUSBAND, BOYS, & FLOWERS

My brother's wife introduced me to one of their friends, Tim. We got married in 1997. Tim is in the tire business and we had many of the same customers. We bonded while comparing stories of drinking cold sludge coffee in greasy warehouses and how much we loved our quirky overall-wearing customers. Shortly after we got married, I quit my job to pursue a creative career. I attended floral design school and naively started a business thinking, “We'll start a family and I'll be so happy working from home with the kids.” BA HA HA HA. My two oldest sons were born shortly after I launched the business and the mayhem commenced. The boys used premium long-stemmed roses for sword fights, stacked my flower buckets to create skate ramps, and popped into client meetings blurting out, “How can you tell if a cut needs stitches?” Seven and five years after the first two, a third son joined the party. At this point I had 3 young kids, one of which had a lengthy school IEP. Since most of my events were weddings that took place on weekends, I was also missing the boys' endless schedule of sports games. I hung up my floral shears. I had my hands full and felt my energy was best served at home. To leave the door open, in case I ever wanted to return to the floral world, I published a coffee table book of my work. It's circa 2005 but the arrangement ideas were ahead of their time, the book is still very relevant. Conveniently (wink), my book, Design on a Lime - Flowers with a Twist, is available to buy (email me and put title in the subject line). It's a great gift idea for a flower loving friend.

A FAMILY OF DOG LOVERS

When my youngest son was 2 we adopted a 5 year old rescue weimaraner named Pete. Fortunately, no one told Pete he was a weim, he was unbelievably mellow (I actually thought they had drugged him before we took him for a 3 day overnight test....ha!). I had a golden retriever growing up and had always loved dogs but Pete turned our family into major dog lovers! This huge doggo wanted nothing more than to be a lap dog. His greatest love was cuddling and being my co-pilot. He was the perfect oversized pup.

THE BIZ BEGAN AS THE VERVE BAR, DOG LOVER GIFTS & STICKERS BUT REBRANDED TO SLY DAWG STUDO

Our sons are now 26, 24, and 19 so. I was ready for a new adventure. With the encouragement of a friend who owns gift stores and is also a wholesale rep, I decided to start a sticker business focusing on dog, cocktail, and lighthearted sweary humor (oh, and tons of )! I felt qualified to make this work as I recently became a pickleballer. I may or may not swear like a trucker, I'm a home mixologist, my friends think I'm funny, and I have 2.5 dogs. I grew up with a golden retriever and bunnies. Pete the dream dog passed in 2017. Our current pack consists of Apollo, my oldest son's pit bull mix (I don't pay his bills so he's the “.5” ) and Oscar and Snoop, our Australian labradoodles. I am Apollo's dog nanny and the 3 doggos provide great content for a sassy dog Instagram page. Apollo the pittie is the dog in my logo for Sly Dawg Studio!

Anyhow, I was starting a sticker business and began creating designs galore. But then, fueled by coffee and ADHD, I got totally derailed. I suddenly had hundreds of stickers, dog toys, funny collar charms, giftable keychains, trucker hats for dogs and so much more!

Welcome to Sly Dawg Stuido! My goal is to provide stickers and gifts for dog lovers like you that will make you feel amazing as the gift giver. Spready the great feeing that comes from making a friend laugh or smile while opening a gift you gave is our goal. Our motto is Laugh More, Pass it On!

WORKING FOR A 5-STAR REVIEW LIKE A PRO

I'm so appreciative of you being here. I am as guilty as the next person of shopping for gifts on Amazon but I truly make an effort to support small businesses when I love the merch and people. I hope you'll give me that chance too! Your product reviews will make or break my business. I'm not joking when I say I want to EARN the five stars. If you ever have a problem with an order or product, I'm your person! Text me and we'll figure it out! Even if it's something minor, I want to know when a product is less than awesome! I will make it right! If I didn't think my customers would love it, I wouldn't sell it so please tell me! 

The contact info on my site really goes to me. I don't reply to spam but I reply to customers quickly! Ask me anything!

Anne