A big part of our business model is art for pets. In reality, it's art for humans. For new pets, old pets and those that have crossed the rainbow bridge, having a custom piece of art to memorialize them is so special. Pets bring so much joy to a life, with so many people choosing pet ownership every day. 

Jamil had always been looking to create something that he can call his own, to give him a bigger purpose in life. Focusing his art skills to make pet portraits and creating a business out of it has truly been a blessing. There have been so many people who have thanked us for their painting - such a simple thing, really, but something that means so much to them. At the end of the day, we do this to celebrate pets and each one is so special to us.

The First Painting

It all started in 2021 when one person requested a 36x48" painting (yes, it was a huge canvas) of their pet dog, an English Bulldog named Leo. That painting led to another request for a dog named Deuce and at that time, we didn't realize the potential we had in our arsenal. Jamil had been pushing his art ability on different avenues: murals, celebrity portraits, music label art, and more with little traction. Creating kiwi & WILLOW brought pet portraits to the forefront for Jamil and now, we're fortunate to say it's something he does repeatedly. While we reduced the size of the canvas size to something more easy to ship and display in a home, we were also able to create a different product with our Pet Charms to expand our catalog.

Along with the canvas portraits, we also offered a pet portrait concept on a 1" acrylic circle tag. Originally called a Pet Portrait Tag (now we call them Pet Charms), the idea was to accessorize a pets' name tag - just a cute way to add art to pets. We had some that were pre-made printed and cut, but as we met people in markets, a lot of people wanted one of their own pet. Being able to provide custom art on a 1" circle was another a-ha! moment for us. What we learned: people love their pets and custom art together so we were a perfect team for a lot of people.

How Are We Different? 

• great quality at a great price
• fast turnaround - approx. 2.5 weeks* at time of publication
• 1 artist so the level of skill you see is what you get 

Offering pet portrait paintings was always a foundation for our company, since day one of creating this business. We believe art is a beautiful thing, and with so many talented artists, it is an honor to be among one of the talent in consideration. Our art style lies more in the realistic realm so the photo that you send us is the photo we will use. We do a solid background, and crop to give that portrait style look. Each pet has their own personality and we take great care to capture it in our paintings. Jamil is the artist and I critique it. 

Ultimately, the decision for picking which artist to choose from depends on how you feel. Look for someone whose style you resonate with. Art is subjective and as long as you resonate with the art, that's all that matters. 

*At time of publication; time may increase during high order amounts and/or holidays. Current time of production will always be listed on our website so please refer to that.