October 25, 2024 • 29 mins
One on one with designer Dalia McPhee. Every piece of fabric this woman touches has a meaningful message and an extra protection of love in every layer. Meet Dalia MacPhee, designer, inventor and dog and horse lover, who has always thought out of the box with every stitch she sews.
EPISODE NOTES: Designer Dalia MacPhee – Creations with a Conscience!
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EPISODE NOTES: Designer Dalia MacPhee – Creations with a Conscience!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rappaport-to-the-rescue-on-pet-life-radio-petliferadio-com--6667849/support.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Live.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
This is Pet Life Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Let's talk Pets.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Rapaport to the Rescue with award winning animal advocate, best
selling author, journalist and pet product creator Jill Rappafort.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Welcome to rap Aford to the Rescue. I'm Jill Rappaford.
My guest today is Dahlia McPhee. Now. Dahlia is the
founder of Dahlia McFee clothing brand and entertainment. Tonight has
called this brand coutur with a conscious. She's been featured
in Beau the Loore, Marie Clare and each season. Her
focus is making beautiful pieces and affordable prices for women
(00:45):
of all sizes. Gotta love that. And the reason I
couldn't wait to get her on the show is she
is such an incredible animal advocate, an accomplished requestriant who
is also part of this incredible campaign that I am
involved with every year called Seen Through Horses, a nationwide
fundraising effort that really makes a huge difference. And wait
(01:08):
until you hear what she has designed for horses. She's
really amazing and her work is influenced by the motto
changing the world One gown at the time. Designer Dallia
McFee when we come back.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
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(01:46):
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Speaker 1 (02:05):
Thanks, let's talk past me, Let's done, pet pet Life Radio, Hetline.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Radio, petlight Radio dot com.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Welcome back to Rappaport to the Rescue. I'm Joe Rappaport,
and certainly one of the greatest gifts that Vancouver has
given us are the designs of this amazing woman, Dahlia McPhee.
And Dahlia, I'm so happy that you're joining us today.
You have done such incredible work in your career, and
what I love most about your beautiful fashions is affordable
(02:41):
for women of all ages and really can appeal to
anybody of any lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Hi, thank you for having me by the way. I
love what you do.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Oh, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Means a lot to take the time out today and chat.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Well. You are so creative, and when I heard about
you and I started reading about you, you're so much
more than just a designer creating amazing fashion. That is
one skill and one talent in itself, but you take
it to a whole different level, da' you.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Well, creation is creation, It's all the same, you know,
as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I was cracking up reading your bio because you started
out as a young child thinking you might have had
this talent. But others didn't think you did, did they.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Oh you're speaking about missus Stewart.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, what a nightmare, right?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
That was? When I was in school, it was mandatory
to take a home economics class and the all season
with sewing, and then the spring summer season was cooking.
And she's threatened to fail me because I was useless
with the sewing machine at the time, and we had
this school project and it was to sew this blouse
(03:53):
that was the most ugly blouse you'd ever seen in
your life, and the was you had to sow this
blouse in the wretched fabric and the most wretched color,
and then you were going to model it in front
of the entire school. And so I learned early on
that if you're not motivated, you can't do anything right.
So I just wasn't motivated and was not doing well
(04:15):
in school, and so she made me stay after school
because I was, I guess, remedial with the sewing machine,
and my memory there was trying to sew this blouse
and her being very stern with me and accidentally running
over her nail, so her nails now caught in the
sewing machine as she paused, and she just looked at
(04:36):
me and said, I suggest you never pursue a career
in fashion.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
And hello, fast forward. Did you ever get back to
that lovely lady and let her know hello here, I
am right.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I wish she'd said, I suggest, you know, her pursue
a you know, a cure for cancer, because we might
have that now I to prove her wrong?
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Did you ever for wrong? And what is it about
your designs that it's so important to you to make
them appeal to everybody? Well?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I think I was a little bit lucky in that
I grew up in the business, but on the resales side,
my parents had some clothing stores in Canada, and I
was pretty much at that time. I hated it because
I was forced after school was really spent in the stores,
and vacations were spent a company mom and dad on
overseas trips and whatnot. But I always remember watching my
(05:31):
mom selling to women, and at a young age, seeing
women of all ages and all sizes, and literally witnessing
them being transformed with clothing and understanding. I think it
was always just drilled in my head. Make sure you
design for people. You know, sixty two percent of American
women are oversized twelve. It makes sense. The fashion is
(05:54):
for everyone, so it's really important that we make it
for everyone well.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
And it's so great today that we embrace people of
all sizes and we welcome seeing women of all sizes.
You know, there used to be a time, you know,
the thinner, the better you know, And now people are
so happy and so thrilled that beauty comes in all
shapes and sizes, And thank goodness for designers like you
(06:18):
that appreciate that and understand that and have always designed
for women of all sizes.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Thank you. Yeah, we've evault quite a bit. And I
think it's always hard when you're in the renegade and
the pioneer for something. I was, you know, one of
the first mainstream designers to go all vegan, way before
it was the cool thing to do. But now look
at how the industry has changed. I don't think we
would have ever thought that some of the old school,
(06:46):
iconic household names would be going vegan, would be getting
rid of fur, And we just don't need to anymore
with what we're able to create, you know, we're not
living in caves.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
And by the way, the vegan fashions are so beautiful
and I love thechine to the vegan pants. I mean
they're just so great looking and so fashioned forward. And
I think it's so wonderful that you were so ahead
of your time. How did you know back then, Dahlia,
when you started, Why was it so important to you
to go vegan?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Well, the basics were always motivational for me, so obviously
I never wanted to do fur, and ever did for
I never wanted to do you know, ostriche or any
of those things that were quite apparent. But I remember
Chatting was a friend of mine in New York who
was fully vegan and really spent time in a lot
(07:38):
of the vegan circles. And she had said, you know,
there's no vegan designers Dahlia and I said, well, I
don't know what you mean, because I'm not doing leather
and I'm not doing fur. And she'd said, yeah, but
you can't do silk either, because then she explained how
silk is made, which is actually quite sad because we're
killing now the silkworm and the process as well. So
(07:59):
that really helped to kind of motivate me to look
into it further and say, and I like challenges. So
for me it was like, okay, how can I create
materials that look like silk, that feel like silk but
aren't silk? And so that kind of, you know, was
the motivational factor. But then at that time it wasn't
the cool thing to do, so we didn't tell people.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Oh my witness, you were keeping that wonderful thing a secret.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Look, the main thing is that you exact change, and
I think you do it however you can. Right, So
at that time, people heard vegan and they thought burlap.
They thought, you know, potato sass on models. So for me,
it was like, they're not going to get it, and
they may actually not buy it because of that, but
we're doing something good. So I kind of did the
(08:44):
back door entrance, which was, here's this beautiful collection. Everyone
wants it. And then we would start telling some celebrities
or people that were vegan. By the way, it's vegan.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Well again going back to the model you live by
and what you're known for. Could tour with a conscience.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Right right, And so for example, I started something recently
and I found the same pushback. So during COVID I
was I started. I went from evening gowns to hospital
gowns very quickly and was producing gowns for the hospitals.
And you know, I think we all were kind of
where do you need me type of thing because it
was such an emergency and I'd read in a wallllet
(09:23):
that disinfects kN ninety five masks. But I started speaking
with the hospitals and asking what they needed, and even
something simple like one of the hospitals needed these fanny
pass to carry the ppe for the nurses. And as
I was producing them, I got into thinking and I said, well,
where are they wearing these fanny packs and of course
(09:45):
the wearing them like just out of the waist or
below the waist, so basically over the reproductive organs. And
I'd said how many people are putting in their phones
in these ppe at paths, and of course the answer was,
well almost everyone. I I have been playing around with
this faradaye type material that blocks cell phone radiation and
(10:06):
you can actually measure it with an EMF reader, so
it blocks like up to eighty five percent of the radiation,
but you can still get a phone call, which it's
you know, in text messages, which is great. No one
really was interested that. I think it's like, we use
our phones every day, so it's things that we don't
really want to think about, and so I just put
it in there. I was like, I'm not even going
(10:26):
to ask. I'm just going to do that and be
that resistance. If, for example, I'm making you know, atletic
heads and it's like, oh, by the way, the pockets
are lined with you know, radiation blocking material, people don't
care so much, and so it's more like, let's just
do it because it's a good thing to do, and
then maybe when they catch up at some point we'll start,
(10:47):
you know, letting them know.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
That is so incredible. I want to buy a whole
suit to wear designed by you when I go on
an airplane. What about all the radiation we'rek supposed to
when we're flying.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I have to sleep for a full day after you're flying.
That's how sensitive I am. So I agree with you.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Well, you are so ahead of your time. I mean,
the medical community should know about you, Dahlia. Are they
aware of what you've created and the benefits?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Well, you know, thanks to some of the work that
I've done. A lot more do know. But I mean,
let's get the word out for sure. I worked with
Children's National Hospital as well during COVID and they asked
me to do a new tape on the isolation gown. So,
like it said, I like a problem solving.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Wow, I want to partner with you on this. I
think you're really onto something great. And what's amazing, your
designs are so good looking. I know the Toronto Sun
referred to you as the it girl in the design world.
It's one thing to create something that has purpose and
meaning and safety, but to be beautiful also. You just
(11:50):
had the knack of creating these amazing designs, which is
what it's all about. We want to feel great when
we put something on.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Yeah, I mean that's what Batchen is really right. I
call it the Superwoman cape, you know. That's the idea
is that we're taking a length that's inside and shining
in it outside. It doesn't really matter what you're wearing
as long as it makes you feel at your optimum.
But of course, I mean I always want to make
it as beautiful as possible.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
What were you some of your inspirations? Who did you
look up to in the design world? And then I
want to hear who you've worked with in terms of
celebrities and people of influence.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Oh my gosh, there's so many as far as designers.
I think Valentino and Oscar Dilarental a lot for the
gown world.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Absolutely interview Oscar de la Renta a few times that.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Wow, how was that?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Oh? The most classy, lovely, wonderful person. And you know,
I started out as a fashion reporter in my career. Yes,
that's right, Cisco decades ago and got to sit down
with all the greats, including Carl Lagerfeld and Halston Oh
I got yeah, and Ralph Lauren I credit to kickstarting
(12:59):
my career. He really gave me the exclusive one on
one interview which catapulted me into my first job. He
really got me the job by giving me the interview.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yes, well and may and also a little bit of
symmetry there with the worst connection.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Oh absolutely, I mean, and he's all about America and
the animals and the beauty of the West. And you
can see I love the Southwest. And I'm wearing a
squash bloss of necklace now and I live in a
log cabin. And what about what you've done for animals?
Talk about your philanthropic work and how you've given back
and how much you care, and you're an accomplished a question.
(13:37):
But you've also created something for horses that is truly
life saving. And I've got to get from you for
my horses.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Yes. So you know my my worst wolfie who's out
in California and a couple of years he's fine. First
of all, we'll start with that. But a few years ago,
Calabasas was on fire and I was out of town,
and I remember or a friend of mine who's a
news reporter. You always get to the news first, textes
me and says it is wolf the okay, so I
(14:06):
of course I follow rap, I go, what do you
what do you mean? It's WOLFEO okay, what are you
talking about?
Speaker 1 (14:09):
What a horrible message to get right?
Speaker 2 (14:12):
This is well, Calabasasa is on fire. And so I
remembered I called the stables and I'd said, oh my gosh,
what's going on? And it is the worst feeling when
you're out of town, right, yes, I said, what's going on?
And they said that the fire is getting really close.
It's starting to you know, the stables are minually starting
to catch on fire. And I just said, well, where
(14:32):
are the evacuation trailers because we always have a plan
for these things. And they said, the fire department won't
let them through. And this this is common, by the way,
this happens a lot.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Yes, in California, the wildfires, said, one of the most
frightening things.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Right, So this happens often. So they said, we're hoping
that they find a back road to get through. But
in the meantime, we're here and the fire department is here,
and they're saying, host the horses down, so they burn
slower or set and loose.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Oh your heart must have been on the floor at
that point.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Yeah, it was. It was really heart wrenching. Thankfully, the
evacuation trailers somehow found a back road and then got in,
so all the horses were evacuated just in time. My
horse was the last one. He didn't leave, I think,
as he thought he was leaving me somehow, so he
was the last one to get on. But you know,
that's when the seed was planted a little bit. As
(15:27):
they say, necessity is the mother of all invention. And
then a year later was the Lilac Fire in San
Diego where hundreds of horses had to be set loose
because fires were raging. I think it was the Delmar area,
and horses were killed. Other horses were severely burned and
it took months to recuperate.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
And here you go, a clothing designer, at that point,
when your baby, your fur angel, could have been, you know,
in a life threatening situation. Wasn't a life threatening situation.
Thank God made it. But that's what created that's what
went off the light bulb in your head.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Yeah, I had personal friends on Facebook who were posting,
have you seen Mike rs? Because the horses now I'm missing.
And as you and I know about a lot of
public don't know the horses that then are set loose.
It's not just trying to find them in their safety
and everything else. There are bad people out there that
then pick them up and sell them to the auction
houses to be set to be slought water.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So I remember I was on the phone with a
front of mine and I said, how come no one's
created a fully fire retired horse blanket with GPS. And
there was a pause and she goes, well, why don't you.
That's when I created the Acqua Safe Blanket, which is
a fully fire retarded horse blanket with built in GPS.
It's been endorsed by the Fire Chief of California and
(16:43):
the Fire Captain of LA and it's carried by Smartpack.
I actually got them to order it by I flow
Out and they said, we love this, we heard all
about it. We know it was on the front of NBC,
but we don't have room for nude brands right now.
And I'd said, no problem. I've brought up blow torch.
Do you want to watch me blow towards the fabric
over my arm?
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Unbelievable? Now, I hate to ask you. It's one of
those things where You've created the most important thing, but
you never want to see it put to use.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Has it actually been put to use and saved a horse?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Not that I know of.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
That's good because we don't want to hear about those situations.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Right exactly. So, I mean I think you only ever
hear sometimes about the bad stories, right.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Right.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
It's been purchased all over the country, and I do
know various people that have contacted me saying I put
it on my worse when we put him in the
evacuation trailer, which is also another use for it, right,
because this is in a worst case scenario where you
have to set your worse loose. But it's also in
scenarios where the worst is being put in a trailer
(17:45):
and they're being evacuated because they could be burned from
falling embers. There's also second and third degree burns that
can occur from close proximity to heat.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
So it's not just a blanket. You actually have a
hood that covers the neck and the head, every thing.
It's a full body.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Yeah, and someone came up with a cheeky you know,
there's always people that kind of come out and you know,
try to poopoo ideas and saw I said, well, how
come you haven't done it, you know, for all the legs,
And I said, well, first of all, I have that.
You know, we could do the legs, but I spoke
with enough that's and saw enough from prior circumstances of
(18:23):
where the areas that the worst has the most pain
when they're burnt and take the longest to recuperate, and
constantly came back with like the flanks, the top of
the back, the neck, and so it was most important
to me to create that first. I have something for
the legs as well. But you know, sometimes in an emergency,
all you can do is throw a blanket on and
(18:44):
anything is better than nothing.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Well what about you know, I know firemen have it,
but what about just in our own homes? Should we
have that protective gear for humans as well? And are
you developing that as we speak?
Speaker 2 (18:56):
I definitely think so. So by creating the blanket, one
of the important things to me was to make it affordable,
and I made it very affordable. It's also environmentally friendly.
So in creating the solution to make it fire retardant
and environmentally friendly, I accidentally created something that can be
used as a fire retardant in the home, so ins.
(19:18):
It's one of my next products that I'm releasing. It's
called Burnout and it's a new take on the fire extinguisher.
So if I asked you how to use a fire extinguisher,
chances are you may know about.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Well, forget it. That's what's so scary. So I want
to hear about this in emergency.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
You know, there's so many things to think about. They
have to be maintained. So this fits in something that
looks like water bottle and that breaks on impact, but
it doesn't charred. And so all you have to know
how to.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Do is throw that. I can do that. I'm good at.
Wait a second, when are you coming out with this?
And when are you sending me samples?
Speaker 2 (19:54):
I'm going to send you samples of everything. Don't you worry.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
I just love that. You know. First of all, what
you're doing is it's just you know, the old V eight,
the commercial. I should have had a V eight. It's
the same idea. Why didn't I think of this?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Right?
Speaker 1 (20:07):
These are such important, wonderful IDAs.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Dahlia, thank you well to me. This was really also
just to have something that is non toxic. But you know,
It's funny because during COVID I actually had some necessities
delivered to me by a drone. There was a company
doing this right, and so it was the craziest thing,
and I was like, I got to see how this works.
This is crazy. How did you know? How did they
(20:31):
get the permission to do this and everything? And as
they get closer and they're like two minutes away, they
tell you to go outside and then you're on your
cell phone and they're like, is it over you? Is
it over you? Is it over?
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Okay, it's over me. Okay, And they hit a button
and the bag drops and you catch it. And immediately
I was like, wait a second. We could take burnout
and when it enlarge bottles and send drones out into
wildfires and drop it. So that's my big dream is
to just figure out solutions for the wildfires.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I'm chatting with some of the powers that be to
see if that is something that we should start testing
and move forward with.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
And it seems like, I mean, obviously fashion is first
in your life, but it seems like you're really going
in this direction of life saving products because that seems
to be where your heart is, what you can do
to really make a difference, to save lives.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
To save lives, and of course being an animal lover,
to improve animals lives, save animals lives, and to improve
their lives. You know, I look at everything that we
have for humans and how far we've come with technology,
and my thought always is, why don't we make this
for an animal? You know, like they can't speak, and
they give it us so much. So that's, you know,
(21:45):
one of my number one missions.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Well, tell me about the animals in your life. I
know about your beloved horse, and I know you're very
involved with the wonderful campaign that I also have partakeed
in called Seeing through Horses. Tell me all about your commitment,
your compassion to all animals.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
I have a new rescue now. Her name is Lily
and she's a Border Collie mix.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
I saw a picture Lily is beautiful.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
And so prior to Lily, I had my dog Daisy.
She actually looked identical to her. So the story of
how I got Lily is just kind of crazy. She
just appeared out of nowhere. I don't think there's any accidents.
I think our animals find us.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
That's right, they really do it each one when you
see the personality the ones that I've rescued, I think
to myself, they could have only ended up with me.
It's just a match made in heaven for both of us.
And I totally agree with that. But you know, the
more you're talking about how much you love your dogs
and your horse, is this something that would be a
full time profession for you down the road where you
(22:48):
maybe design clothing for animals, not just safety clothing.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Absolutely. I already had a second division under Dallia McFee
and it's all for pets and great. There's already products
that have been released, and there are a lot more
products to look forward to. Some of the products that
have been released are I came out with a dog
version of the fire retardant blanket that's been released. It's
called the Pet Safe Fire Retardant Jacket for dogs with
(23:14):
GPS because we can't forget about them in wild fighters.
And then I also have a heated puff jacket for dogs,
so it looks beautiful, very fashionable. It's a puff jacket,
but it has eight hours of heat and wireless so
you can throw it in the washing machine. The only
wire is the one that connects to the battery, so
there's no wires, so gay no EMF running through the
(23:36):
whole dog's body, which is great. And I have a
heated bed for dogs. I have a bed that has
air conditioning for dogs.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Oh my gosh, I did not know this, but I'm
getting all your products an air conditioned bed.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Just my dam a list of all the samples she
wants right now.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
When I have seen this as an online, the air
conditioned bed and the heated dog code.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
This is a little bit stealth, to be honest with you,
So I'm giving you kind of first hand info, but
it's to be released.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
I would have thought, oh, I didn't do my homework
because I haven't seen that stuff anywhere, Dahlia.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
No, not yet. What I call the down in products,
which are just more fashionable jackets and things like that
you may have seen. I've already released a lot of those.
But the more innovative this is you're kind of getting firsthand.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Well, I'll tell you, you are blowing me away with your intelligence,
your creativity and your knowledge and the ability to come
up not only with these ideas but to actually create them.
And you know they're making a difference for our for angels,
which is so important. I'll tell you, I want to
work with you on all of these things. You are
(24:48):
truly incredible. Yeah, you know, because again I'm all about
rescue and adoption, and I see what's going on in
the world right now. It is so dire and anyway
we can help them. Any product, any message, any clothing,
any story. We have to get the message out there
to raise awareness so people know to get out there
(25:09):
now and take an animal home.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Well, you know, it's so funny that you'd send that,
because I have a news piece coming up and they
wanted to chat about the moon landing and just you know,
spring fashion and whatnot, and of course I'm trying to
tie in animals any way I can. And I'd said,
you know what, Mother's Day, why don't we do a
rescue pops looking for their mom and we'll dress my
(25:33):
models in my dresses or I now have a pajama collection,
so we'll dress them in something that is current, and
we'll dress the adoptable dog in something matching and try
to get these animals homes for Mother's Day. Because you know,
every opportunity that we have to do something, let's do it.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
That is such a great idea, just reaching out for
their next mom.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
You know, well, I remember reading this story about this
cute little kid who started creating bow ties.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Sir Darius Brown. Yes, he's my friend and he's been
on the podcast I put him on my show and
Dog Bowl. I've known him since he was very very
young and was a little boy and now he's over
six feet tall.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
That's so great. Yeah, great, you meant to do that.
It reminds you right like you look at that and
you go, yeah, like, there's so many amazing dogs that
don't have homes. Try when you can, even if you're
looking for a pure bread, try to just put it
out there to find one in the shelters, because I
guarantee whatever you're looking for is out there or better
(26:36):
than what you're looking for. But there's so many animals
that need homes, so.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Many, and I try to create my own products. My
toy Shelter Shake, which has been featured on National TV.
Dogs love it, and again it's the messaging, you know,
it's shelter Shake. Anytime. I have a line of leashes
and collars with all rescue and adoption mindful sayings, because
you know, people when they rescue and adopt. They did
it out of the goodness of their heart, they say
(27:00):
the life in turn they've been saying. But the best
thing about it. You and I both know that people
like to have bragging rights, you know. They like to say,
I rescue that dog. I made a difference. It makes
you feel good. And so my leashas have sayings like
I'm a heart melter from a shelter, I'm a pound pooch,
bless you for my rescue that SUPs letter. So they're
(27:22):
sporting mindful messages and people are proud to display them.
They're for a good cause. Proceeds go back to helping
animals and need. But I have to tell you, Dahlia,
of all my guests, in terms of creativity, you are
just blowing me away. You are amazing.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Can I get it a SoundBite?
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I'll take you, you can use it quoted by me. Yes,
and what you've created in the fashion world that that
wasn't enough, And then what I read about you and
heard all that you're doing for animals in need, and
how big your heart is for our four legged friends,
I just knew that we would be bonded for life.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
I agree, Yeah, I know, and I think we need
to create something together.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Oh absolutely, As they say in the business, we'll talk
after this podcast. We will talk. But I'm so happy
to have you here. You are incredible what you've done,
what you're doing, and really just an inspiration for not
only all designers out there, but all young people listening
(28:26):
to this, knowing what you can do, what you can create,
because in the end, it's one thing to be talented
and successful, but isn't it about what we leave behind
and what we do for others?
Speaker 2 (28:38):
One hundred percent I agree, and you.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Are really leaving your mark. Let me tell you, thank you,
Dahlia McPhee, thank you so much for being on Rapaport
to the Rescue. I have learned so much. I cannot
wait to see and get all of these products for
my own for angels, and really it was a pleasure.
And thank you to all of you who have tuned
in today to wrap Aford to the Rescue. Let's Talk
(29:03):
Pets every week on demand only on petlight Radio dot com.
Live.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
This is Pet Life Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Let's talk Pets.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Rapaport to the Rescue with award winning animal advocate, best
selling author, journalist and pet product creator Jill Rappafort.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Welcome to rap Aford to the Rescue. I'm Jill Rappaford.
My guest today is Dahlia McPhee. Now. Dahlia is the
founder of Dahlia McFee clothing brand and entertainment. Tonight has
called this brand coutur with a conscious. She's been featured
in Beau the Loore, Marie Clare and each season. Her
focus is making beautiful pieces and affordable prices for women
(00:45):
of all sizes. Gotta love that. And the reason I
couldn't wait to get her on the show is she
is such an incredible animal advocate, an accomplished requestriant who
is also part of this incredible campaign that I am
involved with every year called Seen Through Horses, a nationwide
fundraising effort that really makes a huge difference. And wait
(01:08):
until you hear what she has designed for horses. She's
really amazing and her work is influenced by the motto
changing the world One gown at the time. Designer Dallia
McFee when we come back.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Take a bite out of your competition, advertiser and business
with an ad in pet Life Radio podcasts and radio shows,
there is no other pet related media that is as
large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than
pet Life Radio, with over seven million monthly listeners. Pet
Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms,
(01:46):
and our live radio stream goes out to over two
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can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network,
visit Petlifradio dot com slash advertised today.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Thanks, let's talk past me, Let's done, pet pet Life Radio, Hetline.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Radio, petlight Radio dot com.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Welcome back to Rappaport to the Rescue. I'm Joe Rappaport,
and certainly one of the greatest gifts that Vancouver has
given us are the designs of this amazing woman, Dahlia McPhee.
And Dahlia, I'm so happy that you're joining us today.
You have done such incredible work in your career, and
what I love most about your beautiful fashions is affordable
(02:41):
for women of all ages and really can appeal to
anybody of any lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Hi, thank you for having me by the way. I
love what you do.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Oh, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Means a lot to take the time out today and chat.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Well. You are so creative, and when I heard about
you and I started reading about you, you're so much
more than just a designer creating amazing fashion. That is
one skill and one talent in itself, but you take
it to a whole different level, da' you.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Well, creation is creation, It's all the same, you know,
as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I was cracking up reading your bio because you started
out as a young child thinking you might have had
this talent. But others didn't think you did, did they.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Oh you're speaking about missus Stewart.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, what a nightmare, right?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
That was? When I was in school, it was mandatory
to take a home economics class and the all season
with sewing, and then the spring summer season was cooking.
And she's threatened to fail me because I was useless
with the sewing machine at the time, and we had
this school project and it was to sew this blouse
(03:53):
that was the most ugly blouse you'd ever seen in
your life, and the was you had to sow this
blouse in the wretched fabric and the most wretched color,
and then you were going to model it in front
of the entire school. And so I learned early on
that if you're not motivated, you can't do anything right.
So I just wasn't motivated and was not doing well
(04:15):
in school, and so she made me stay after school
because I was, I guess, remedial with the sewing machine,
and my memory there was trying to sew this blouse
and her being very stern with me and accidentally running
over her nail, so her nails now caught in the
sewing machine as she paused, and she just looked at
(04:36):
me and said, I suggest you never pursue a career
in fashion.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
And hello, fast forward. Did you ever get back to
that lovely lady and let her know hello here, I
am right.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I wish she'd said, I suggest, you know, her pursue
a you know, a cure for cancer, because we might
have that now I to prove her wrong?
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Did you ever for wrong? And what is it about
your designs that it's so important to you to make
them appeal to everybody? Well?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I think I was a little bit lucky in that
I grew up in the business, but on the resales side,
my parents had some clothing stores in Canada, and I
was pretty much at that time. I hated it because
I was forced after school was really spent in the stores,
and vacations were spent a company mom and dad on
overseas trips and whatnot. But I always remember watching my
(05:31):
mom selling to women, and at a young age, seeing
women of all ages and all sizes, and literally witnessing
them being transformed with clothing and understanding. I think it
was always just drilled in my head. Make sure you
design for people. You know, sixty two percent of American
women are oversized twelve. It makes sense. The fashion is
(05:54):
for everyone, so it's really important that we make it
for everyone well.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
And it's so great today that we embrace people of
all sizes and we welcome seeing women of all sizes.
You know, there used to be a time, you know,
the thinner, the better you know, And now people are
so happy and so thrilled that beauty comes in all
shapes and sizes, And thank goodness for designers like you
(06:18):
that appreciate that and understand that and have always designed
for women of all sizes.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Thank you. Yeah, we've evault quite a bit. And I
think it's always hard when you're in the renegade and
the pioneer for something. I was, you know, one of
the first mainstream designers to go all vegan, way before
it was the cool thing to do. But now look
at how the industry has changed. I don't think we
would have ever thought that some of the old school,
(06:46):
iconic household names would be going vegan, would be getting
rid of fur, And we just don't need to anymore
with what we're able to create, you know, we're not
living in caves.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
And by the way, the vegan fashions are so beautiful
and I love thechine to the vegan pants. I mean
they're just so great looking and so fashioned forward. And
I think it's so wonderful that you were so ahead
of your time. How did you know back then, Dahlia,
when you started, Why was it so important to you
to go vegan?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Well, the basics were always motivational for me, so obviously
I never wanted to do fur, and ever did for
I never wanted to do you know, ostriche or any
of those things that were quite apparent. But I remember
Chatting was a friend of mine in New York who
was fully vegan and really spent time in a lot
(07:38):
of the vegan circles. And she had said, you know,
there's no vegan designers Dahlia and I said, well, I
don't know what you mean, because I'm not doing leather
and I'm not doing fur. And she'd said, yeah, but
you can't do silk either, because then she explained how
silk is made, which is actually quite sad because we're
killing now the silkworm and the process as well. So
(07:59):
that really helped to kind of motivate me to look
into it further and say, and I like challenges. So
for me it was like, okay, how can I create
materials that look like silk, that feel like silk but
aren't silk? And so that kind of, you know, was
the motivational factor. But then at that time it wasn't
the cool thing to do, so we didn't tell people.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Oh my witness, you were keeping that wonderful thing a secret.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Look, the main thing is that you exact change, and
I think you do it however you can. Right, So
at that time, people heard vegan and they thought burlap.
They thought, you know, potato sass on models. So for me,
it was like, they're not going to get it, and
they may actually not buy it because of that, but
we're doing something good. So I kind of did the
(08:44):
back door entrance, which was, here's this beautiful collection. Everyone
wants it. And then we would start telling some celebrities
or people that were vegan. By the way, it's vegan.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Well again going back to the model you live by
and what you're known for. Could tour with a conscience.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Right right, And so for example, I started something recently
and I found the same pushback. So during COVID I
was I started. I went from evening gowns to hospital
gowns very quickly and was producing gowns for the hospitals.
And you know, I think we all were kind of
where do you need me type of thing because it
was such an emergency and I'd read in a wallllet
(09:23):
that disinfects kN ninety five masks. But I started speaking
with the hospitals and asking what they needed, and even
something simple like one of the hospitals needed these fanny
pass to carry the ppe for the nurses. And as
I was producing them, I got into thinking and I said, well,
where are they wearing these fanny packs and of course
(09:45):
the wearing them like just out of the waist or
below the waist, so basically over the reproductive organs. And
I'd said how many people are putting in their phones
in these ppe at paths, and of course the answer was,
well almost everyone. I I have been playing around with
this faradaye type material that blocks cell phone radiation and
(10:06):
you can actually measure it with an EMF reader, so
it blocks like up to eighty five percent of the radiation,
but you can still get a phone call, which it's
you know, in text messages, which is great. No one
really was interested that. I think it's like, we use
our phones every day, so it's things that we don't
really want to think about, and so I just put
it in there. I was like, I'm not even going
(10:26):
to ask. I'm just going to do that and be
that resistance. If, for example, I'm making you know, atletic
heads and it's like, oh, by the way, the pockets
are lined with you know, radiation blocking material, people don't
care so much, and so it's more like, let's just
do it because it's a good thing to do, and
then maybe when they catch up at some point we'll start,
(10:47):
you know, letting them know.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
That is so incredible. I want to buy a whole
suit to wear designed by you when I go on
an airplane. What about all the radiation we'rek supposed to
when we're flying.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I have to sleep for a full day after you're flying.
That's how sensitive I am. So I agree with you.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Well, you are so ahead of your time. I mean,
the medical community should know about you, Dahlia. Are they
aware of what you've created and the benefits?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Well, you know, thanks to some of the work that
I've done. A lot more do know. But I mean,
let's get the word out for sure. I worked with
Children's National Hospital as well during COVID and they asked
me to do a new tape on the isolation gown. So,
like it said, I like a problem solving.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Wow, I want to partner with you on this. I
think you're really onto something great. And what's amazing, your
designs are so good looking. I know the Toronto Sun
referred to you as the it girl in the design world.
It's one thing to create something that has purpose and
meaning and safety, but to be beautiful also. You just
(11:50):
had the knack of creating these amazing designs, which is
what it's all about. We want to feel great when
we put something on.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Yeah, I mean that's what Batchen is really right. I
call it the Superwoman cape, you know. That's the idea
is that we're taking a length that's inside and shining
in it outside. It doesn't really matter what you're wearing
as long as it makes you feel at your optimum.
But of course, I mean I always want to make
it as beautiful as possible.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
What were you some of your inspirations? Who did you
look up to in the design world? And then I
want to hear who you've worked with in terms of
celebrities and people of influence.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Oh my gosh, there's so many as far as designers.
I think Valentino and Oscar Dilarental a lot for the
gown world.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Absolutely interview Oscar de la Renta a few times that.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Wow, how was that?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Oh? The most classy, lovely, wonderful person. And you know,
I started out as a fashion reporter in my career. Yes,
that's right, Cisco decades ago and got to sit down
with all the greats, including Carl Lagerfeld and Halston Oh
I got yeah, and Ralph Lauren I credit to kickstarting
(12:59):
my career. He really gave me the exclusive one on
one interview which catapulted me into my first job. He
really got me the job by giving me the interview.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yes, well and may and also a little bit of
symmetry there with the worst connection.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Oh absolutely, I mean, and he's all about America and
the animals and the beauty of the West. And you
can see I love the Southwest. And I'm wearing a
squash bloss of necklace now and I live in a
log cabin. And what about what you've done for animals?
Talk about your philanthropic work and how you've given back
and how much you care, and you're an accomplished a question.
(13:37):
But you've also created something for horses that is truly
life saving. And I've got to get from you for
my horses.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Yes. So you know my my worst wolfie who's out
in California and a couple of years he's fine. First
of all, we'll start with that. But a few years ago,
Calabasas was on fire and I was out of town,
and I remember or a friend of mine who's a
news reporter. You always get to the news first, textes
me and says it is wolf the okay, so I
(14:06):
of course I follow rap, I go, what do you
what do you mean? It's WOLFEO okay, what are you
talking about?
Speaker 1 (14:09):
What a horrible message to get right?
Speaker 2 (14:12):
This is well, Calabasasa is on fire. And so I
remembered I called the stables and I'd said, oh my gosh,
what's going on? And it is the worst feeling when
you're out of town, right, yes, I said, what's going on?
And they said that the fire is getting really close.
It's starting to you know, the stables are minually starting
to catch on fire. And I just said, well, where
(14:32):
are the evacuation trailers because we always have a plan
for these things. And they said, the fire department won't
let them through. And this this is common, by the way,
this happens a lot.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Yes, in California, the wildfires, said, one of the most
frightening things.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Right, So this happens often. So they said, we're hoping
that they find a back road to get through. But
in the meantime, we're here and the fire department is here,
and they're saying, host the horses down, so they burn
slower or set and loose.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Oh your heart must have been on the floor at
that point.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Yeah, it was. It was really heart wrenching. Thankfully, the
evacuation trailers somehow found a back road and then got in,
so all the horses were evacuated just in time. My
horse was the last one. He didn't leave, I think,
as he thought he was leaving me somehow, so he
was the last one to get on. But you know,
that's when the seed was planted a little bit. As
(15:27):
they say, necessity is the mother of all invention. And
then a year later was the Lilac Fire in San
Diego where hundreds of horses had to be set loose
because fires were raging. I think it was the Delmar area,
and horses were killed. Other horses were severely burned and
it took months to recuperate.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
And here you go, a clothing designer, at that point,
when your baby, your fur angel, could have been, you know,
in a life threatening situation. Wasn't a life threatening situation.
Thank God made it. But that's what created that's what
went off the light bulb in your head.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Yeah, I had personal friends on Facebook who were posting,
have you seen Mike rs? Because the horses now I'm missing.
And as you and I know about a lot of
public don't know the horses that then are set loose.
It's not just trying to find them in their safety
and everything else. There are bad people out there that
then pick them up and sell them to the auction
houses to be set to be slought water.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So I remember I was on the phone with a
front of mine and I said, how come no one's
created a fully fire retired horse blanket with GPS. And
there was a pause and she goes, well, why don't you.
That's when I created the Acqua Safe Blanket, which is
a fully fire retarded horse blanket with built in GPS.
It's been endorsed by the Fire Chief of California and
(16:43):
the Fire Captain of LA and it's carried by Smartpack.
I actually got them to order it by I flow
Out and they said, we love this, we heard all
about it. We know it was on the front of NBC,
but we don't have room for nude brands right now.
And I'd said, no problem. I've brought up blow torch.
Do you want to watch me blow towards the fabric
over my arm?
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Unbelievable? Now, I hate to ask you. It's one of
those things where You've created the most important thing, but
you never want to see it put to use.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Has it actually been put to use and saved a horse?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Not that I know of.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
That's good because we don't want to hear about those situations.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Right exactly. So, I mean I think you only ever
hear sometimes about the bad stories, right.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Right.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
It's been purchased all over the country, and I do
know various people that have contacted me saying I put
it on my worse when we put him in the
evacuation trailer, which is also another use for it, right,
because this is in a worst case scenario where you
have to set your worse loose. But it's also in
scenarios where the worst is being put in a trailer
(17:45):
and they're being evacuated because they could be burned from
falling embers. There's also second and third degree burns that
can occur from close proximity to heat.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
So it's not just a blanket. You actually have a
hood that covers the neck and the head, every thing.
It's a full body.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Yeah, and someone came up with a cheeky you know,
there's always people that kind of come out and you know,
try to poopoo ideas and saw I said, well, how
come you haven't done it, you know, for all the legs,
And I said, well, first of all, I have that.
You know, we could do the legs, but I spoke
with enough that's and saw enough from prior circumstances of
(18:23):
where the areas that the worst has the most pain
when they're burnt and take the longest to recuperate, and
constantly came back with like the flanks, the top of
the back, the neck, and so it was most important
to me to create that first. I have something for
the legs as well. But you know, sometimes in an emergency,
all you can do is throw a blanket on and
(18:44):
anything is better than nothing.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Well what about you know, I know firemen have it,
but what about just in our own homes? Should we
have that protective gear for humans as well? And are
you developing that as we speak?
Speaker 2 (18:56):
I definitely think so. So by creating the blanket, one
of the important things to me was to make it affordable,
and I made it very affordable. It's also environmentally friendly.
So in creating the solution to make it fire retardant
and environmentally friendly, I accidentally created something that can be
used as a fire retardant in the home, so ins.
(19:18):
It's one of my next products that I'm releasing. It's
called Burnout and it's a new take on the fire extinguisher.
So if I asked you how to use a fire extinguisher,
chances are you may know about.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Well, forget it. That's what's so scary. So I want
to hear about this in emergency.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
You know, there's so many things to think about. They
have to be maintained. So this fits in something that
looks like water bottle and that breaks on impact, but
it doesn't charred. And so all you have to know
how to.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Do is throw that. I can do that. I'm good at.
Wait a second, when are you coming out with this?
And when are you sending me samples?
Speaker 2 (19:54):
I'm going to send you samples of everything. Don't you worry.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
I just love that. You know. First of all, what
you're doing is it's just you know, the old V eight,
the commercial. I should have had a V eight. It's
the same idea. Why didn't I think of this?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Right?
Speaker 1 (20:07):
These are such important, wonderful IDAs.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Dahlia, thank you well to me. This was really also
just to have something that is non toxic. But you know,
It's funny because during COVID I actually had some necessities
delivered to me by a drone. There was a company
doing this right, and so it was the craziest thing,
and I was like, I got to see how this works.
This is crazy. How did you know? How did they
(20:31):
get the permission to do this and everything? And as
they get closer and they're like two minutes away, they
tell you to go outside and then you're on your
cell phone and they're like, is it over you? Is
it over you? Is it over?
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Okay, it's over me. Okay, And they hit a button
and the bag drops and you catch it. And immediately
I was like, wait a second. We could take burnout
and when it enlarge bottles and send drones out into
wildfires and drop it. So that's my big dream is
to just figure out solutions for the wildfires.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I'm chatting with some of the powers that be to
see if that is something that we should start testing
and move forward with.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
And it seems like, I mean, obviously fashion is first
in your life, but it seems like you're really going
in this direction of life saving products because that seems
to be where your heart is, what you can do
to really make a difference, to save lives.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
To save lives, and of course being an animal lover,
to improve animals lives, save animals lives, and to improve
their lives. You know, I look at everything that we
have for humans and how far we've come with technology,
and my thought always is, why don't we make this
for an animal? You know, like they can't speak, and
they give it us so much. So that's, you know,
(21:45):
one of my number one missions.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Well, tell me about the animals in your life. I
know about your beloved horse, and I know you're very
involved with the wonderful campaign that I also have partakeed
in called Seeing through Horses. Tell me all about your commitment,
your compassion to all animals.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
I have a new rescue now. Her name is Lily
and she's a Border Collie mix.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
I saw a picture Lily is beautiful.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
And so prior to Lily, I had my dog Daisy.
She actually looked identical to her. So the story of
how I got Lily is just kind of crazy. She
just appeared out of nowhere. I don't think there's any accidents.
I think our animals find us.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
That's right, they really do it each one when you
see the personality the ones that I've rescued, I think
to myself, they could have only ended up with me.
It's just a match made in heaven for both of us.
And I totally agree with that. But you know, the
more you're talking about how much you love your dogs
and your horse, is this something that would be a
full time profession for you down the road where you
(22:48):
maybe design clothing for animals, not just safety clothing.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Absolutely. I already had a second division under Dallia McFee
and it's all for pets and great. There's already products
that have been released, and there are a lot more
products to look forward to. Some of the products that
have been released are I came out with a dog
version of the fire retardant blanket that's been released. It's
called the Pet Safe Fire Retardant Jacket for dogs with
(23:14):
GPS because we can't forget about them in wild fighters.
And then I also have a heated puff jacket for dogs,
so it looks beautiful, very fashionable. It's a puff jacket,
but it has eight hours of heat and wireless so
you can throw it in the washing machine. The only
wire is the one that connects to the battery, so
there's no wires, so gay no EMF running through the
(23:36):
whole dog's body, which is great. And I have a
heated bed for dogs. I have a bed that has
air conditioning for dogs.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Oh my gosh, I did not know this, but I'm
getting all your products an air conditioned bed.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Just my dam a list of all the samples she
wants right now.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
When I have seen this as an online, the air
conditioned bed and the heated dog code.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
This is a little bit stealth, to be honest with you,
So I'm giving you kind of first hand info, but
it's to be released.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
I would have thought, oh, I didn't do my homework
because I haven't seen that stuff anywhere, Dahlia.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
No, not yet. What I call the down in products,
which are just more fashionable jackets and things like that
you may have seen. I've already released a lot of those.
But the more innovative this is you're kind of getting firsthand.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Well, I'll tell you, you are blowing me away with your intelligence,
your creativity and your knowledge and the ability to come
up not only with these ideas but to actually create them.
And you know they're making a difference for our for angels,
which is so important. I'll tell you, I want to
work with you on all of these things. You are
(24:48):
truly incredible. Yeah, you know, because again I'm all about
rescue and adoption, and I see what's going on in
the world right now. It is so dire and anyway
we can help them. Any product, any message, any clothing,
any story. We have to get the message out there
to raise awareness so people know to get out there
(25:09):
now and take an animal home.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Well, you know, it's so funny that you'd send that,
because I have a news piece coming up and they
wanted to chat about the moon landing and just you know,
spring fashion and whatnot, and of course I'm trying to
tie in animals any way I can. And I'd said,
you know what, Mother's Day, why don't we do a
rescue pops looking for their mom and we'll dress my
(25:33):
models in my dresses or I now have a pajama collection,
so we'll dress them in something that is current, and
we'll dress the adoptable dog in something matching and try
to get these animals homes for Mother's Day. Because you know,
every opportunity that we have to do something, let's do it.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
That is such a great idea, just reaching out for
their next mom.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
You know, well, I remember reading this story about this
cute little kid who started creating bow ties.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Sir Darius Brown. Yes, he's my friend and he's been
on the podcast I put him on my show and
Dog Bowl. I've known him since he was very very
young and was a little boy and now he's over
six feet tall.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
That's so great. Yeah, great, you meant to do that.
It reminds you right like you look at that and
you go, yeah, like, there's so many amazing dogs that
don't have homes. Try when you can, even if you're
looking for a pure bread, try to just put it
out there to find one in the shelters, because I
guarantee whatever you're looking for is out there or better
(26:36):
than what you're looking for. But there's so many animals
that need homes, so.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Many, and I try to create my own products. My
toy Shelter Shake, which has been featured on National TV.
Dogs love it, and again it's the messaging, you know,
it's shelter Shake. Anytime. I have a line of leashes
and collars with all rescue and adoption mindful sayings, because
you know, people when they rescue and adopt. They did
it out of the goodness of their heart, they say
(27:00):
the life in turn they've been saying. But the best
thing about it. You and I both know that people
like to have bragging rights, you know. They like to say,
I rescue that dog. I made a difference. It makes
you feel good. And so my leashas have sayings like
I'm a heart melter from a shelter, I'm a pound pooch,
bless you for my rescue that SUPs letter. So they're
(27:22):
sporting mindful messages and people are proud to display them.
They're for a good cause. Proceeds go back to helping
animals and need. But I have to tell you, Dahlia,
of all my guests, in terms of creativity, you are
just blowing me away. You are amazing.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Can I get it a SoundBite?
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I'll take you, you can use it quoted by me. Yes,
and what you've created in the fashion world that that
wasn't enough, And then what I read about you and
heard all that you're doing for animals in need, and
how big your heart is for our four legged friends,
I just knew that we would be bonded for life.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
I agree, Yeah, I know, and I think we need
to create something together.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Oh absolutely, As they say in the business, we'll talk
after this podcast. We will talk. But I'm so happy
to have you here. You are incredible what you've done,
what you're doing, and really just an inspiration for not
only all designers out there, but all young people listening
(28:26):
to this, knowing what you can do, what you can create,
because in the end, it's one thing to be talented
and successful, but isn't it about what we leave behind
and what we do for others?
Speaker 2 (28:38):
One hundred percent I agree, and you.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Are really leaving your mark. Let me tell you, thank you,
Dahlia McPhee, thank you so much for being on Rapaport
to the Rescue. I have learned so much. I cannot
wait to see and get all of these products for
my own for angels, and really it was a pleasure.
And thank you to all of you who have tuned
in today to wrap Aford to the Rescue. Let's Talk
(29:03):
Pets every week on demand only on petlight Radio dot com.
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