One of the questions I'm asked from time to time is, "How do you come up with all of your collar names?"

The short answer is that I don't start with the name.

I start with an idea.

Every collar in the Fusion By Design collection begins somewhere long before leather is selected or crystals are laid out. Sometimes it's a place I've been. Sometimes it's a dog I've met. Sometimes it's something as simple as the way the light reflects off a lake or the colours in the sky at sunset.

The design always comes first. The name comes when the collar tells me what it wants to be.

Inspired by places

Some of my favourite designs are rooted in places that have left an impression on me.

Breckenridge is one example. The name immediately brings to mind mountain landscapes and a sense of adventure. Those ideas naturally found their way into the design.

Mini Mardi Gras couldn't have been called anything else. Its design and original colours capture the celebration, energy and vibrancy that inspired it from the very beginning.

Then there's Devon. That name is especially meaningful to me because it reaches back to my horse show roots. The Devon Horse Show is one of the most recognized names in the equestrian world, and naming one of our traditional plain padded collars after it felt like a fitting tribute. It's a classic design with timeless appeal, just like the event that inspired its name.

Inspired by remarkable dogs

Some collars exist because one special dog inspired them.

Designs like Dusk, Siri and Mia were originally created with a specific dog in mind. Their personalities, colours or overall presence shaped the design, and once the collar was finished, the name simply belonged to it.

Over the years, those collars have become favourites for many other dogs, but they'll always remind me of where they began.

I think that's one of the things I enjoy most about custom work. Every dog has its own personality, and sometimes that personality sparks an idea that grows into a design others fall in love with too.

Inspired by nature

Nature is probably my biggest source of inspiration.

The movement of water. The colours of changing leaves. A dramatic sky after a summer storm. The texture of rock formations. The way sunlight catches crystal from different angles.

Once you start paying attention, inspiration is everywhere.

Many of our designs borrow colours, movement or patterns from the natural world because those combinations already work beautifully together. My job is simply to translate them into leather and crystal.

More than just a name

Names matter because they give every design its own identity.

When someone tells me their dog wears a Wave, a Breckenridge or a Siri, I immediately know exactly which collar they're talking about. Each design has its own personality and its own story.

I hope that when you choose one, it becomes part of your own story too.

Whether it's the collar your dog wears at their first agility trial, on a favourite hiking trail, during family photos or every single day, it becomes more than a design I created. It becomes part of the memories you make together.

And that's the best part of all.

Do you have a favourite collar name in the collection, or one you've always wondered about? I'd love to hear from you. Sometimes those conversations become the inspiration for the next design.