I’m excited to introduce you to Bucky, the newest member of the NOTCOT empire, a highly-curated family of websites founded by Jean Aw. The two main sites (NOTCOT.com and NOTCOT.org) have become daily sources of inspiration for creatives everywhere, fighting the good fight against “creative block” since 2005 with visually stunning imagery, the latest in international trends, and a passion for all things well-designed. Jean, along with Shawn Sims (who heads up NOTlabs, the experimental, real-world space of NOTCOT — and the Instagram home of Bucky), recently welcomed a wiggly bundle of puppy energy into their lives. Let’s meet this pooch, shall we?
Name? Buckminster, The NOTpuppy of NOTCOT
Nickname? Bucky
Age? 8 months
Breed? American Labrador Retriever
What’s “The Scoop”? Shawn and I had been thinking about getting a dog for some time. Having yard space but traveling far too much the last few years, it wasn’t until we started to cut back on travel and spend more time in LA, that it was finally time to find the perfect puppy! From talking to breeders, shelters, friends, and more… we lucked out when we found a super sweet family with a litter of American Lab pups! And when we first met Bucky, he picked us when he came and sat right down, wide eyed, in front of Shawn!
Favorite Toy? Oh this is so hard. He’s become quiet the product reviewer for NOTCOT, and we constantly go through SO many toys and experiments with him. With his hardcore chewing and focused need to gut fluffy ones until stuffing is everywhere, we definitely go through a lot of toys, and re-purpose and recombine them until they are no longer useable. He also adores the Chuck-It Kick Fetch which he’s grown in to and managed to keep playing with since he was a tiny puppy. He gets giddy racing through the play tunnel! And he can’t get enough of the fluffiness of West Paw’s Spring Chickens, though the eyes always get ripped off first.
Favorite Food? Fish! He loves fresh sashimi grade deliciousness (salmon/tuna especially) but also will do just about anything for fishy treats – especially Polka Dog Cod Sticks (that look like magic wands)
Favorite place to sleep? Spread out on his Kuranda bed… probably splayed out upside down.
Pet Peeves? High pitched small children and super soakers. You just so much as pick up the super soaker if he’s being bad outside, and he’ll head straight to the door to go in.
Best Trick? Seaweed hunting! He LOVES chasing moths at night… and he will snatch any random pieces of paper you miss (receipts especially), so when we realized he loves dried SEAWEED (which is both paper like and low cal), we laser cut some into various shapes from those helicopter leaf/seed pods that flutter and spiral to California (Jean’s home state) and Tennessee (Shawn’s home state) and it’s AMAZING — you flick them into the air and they spin and fly around and he goes leaping after them for ages! See the full album/making of madness here.
Gear? He’s usually decked out in: Ruff Wear Headwater Collar (stink proof/waterproof/reflective!), Nite-ize Spotlit LED Collar Lite (he’s so dark, that when he runs around outside, he disappears without his LED!), EzyDog Convert Harness and Zero Shock Leash (you can velcro anything on him, and the puppy handle is so helpful. Also, bungee leashes have saved my arms!) And I couldn’t handle him without a Furminator — few times a day keeps the floor far cleaner!
If your dog were another animal what animal would that be? Tough one! I think he’s definitely still learning to be a dog…
You regularly travel the globe, immersing yourself in different cultures and seeking out the best in cutting-edge design. Does Bucky share a similar passion for new experiences, places, and meeting new people? YES! he loves new things — I think he may even start to expect all the random packages that arrive for NOTCOT to be things for him to play with (sometimes they are chicken and waffles Torani syrup goodies or a laser cutter experimental puppy platters). He’s always ready to go exploring… and he still can’t stop getting ridiculously excited when new people (and big dogs) come play with him. Oh, and he’s always had a love for design… quickly curling up under the Panton chair as a pup…
Thanks Jean, Shawn, and Bucky!
