As a kid, Josh always loved horses, but the closest he ever came to owning one was a Breyer unicorn from the JCPenny catalog. “I remember staring at the page for hours deciding which one I should choose,” he says. A few years later, his brother broke its horn off. "I still remember that first horse," Josh says. "Santa brought more horses that year and I was hooked. I've been collecting ever since!"
Fast forward 20 years and Josh bought a horse online that arrived terribly scratched. He sanded it down to the natural plastic, primed it and at a friend’s suggestion, covered it with chalkboard paint. At first he thought it was a strange idea, but it turned out pretty cool - it was a unique, sculptural piece of art that was both useful and functional.
Josh had heard of Etsy and thought it would be the perfect place to sell his horses. He bought a few more "bodies" and finished them with chalkboard paint. In April of 2010, he set up shop on Etsy under the name Houndstooth Design and Mercantile (www.etsy.com/shop/HoundstoothDesign). Why Houndstooth? "I love the look of the fabric," says Josh. "It was either that or something with herringbone. I have two great danes (the closest I will ever get to real horses), so houndstooth was my choice.
Josh's horses have been featured in the pages of Weddings Unveiled, among other publications and have been mailed all over the globe, to countries like Australia, Greece, the United Kingdom, Chile, Japan and Canada to name a few. We love to see them used in place settings, as table numbers, as place markers or in event decor. They also make great cake toppers! "I have my own collection of chalkboard horses started (20 strong)," says Josh. "I can't wait to see what the future holds for me, Houndstooth Design and my horses.
We've included images of some of our favorite horses from Houndstooth below, including a unicorn identical to Josh's first one. Be sure to check out the Houndstooth Design and Mercantile Etsy shop to find your favorite. In addition, Weddings Unveiled readers will receive a special discount of 15% off their entire purchase through February 14th, 2102!! Just enter the code WEDDINGS15 at checkout.
