Sunday, February 27th
Hello fabulous world!
Have you ever been into a store and fallen madly in love? One of my very first jobs was at Nordstrom as a "dump" girl where I removed the clothes people had tried on from the floor of the dressing room and returned them to their hangers. It was on the floor of Nordstrom that I figured out that customer service started from the ground up and ever since, I have been a die hard "Nordi" girl. It is the one store that I miss the most here in Canada- the piano playing in the back ground, the talented sales people who are at your service, and a makeup department that can show you how to take five pounds off just with the magic of blush. Nordstrom was my inspiration when I created Fabulous Furballs. I wanted pet owners to have that same devotion and passion for a retail experience- to fall madly in love with the ambiance, the friendly sales people, and to show you just how good your pet could have it. In our team, we call this devotion to our stores the "fabulous fever". Once you experience how fabulous your pet can be treated, you just want to go out and spread the news- tell your neighbor, tell your co worker, tell the stranger on the street about this magical place that worships the four legs of your furball.

Just this past week I had Shannon Tyler from the new 99.3 radio station (they're the Up! feel good station that's new in the Edmonton area) into the Sherwood Park store to talk about promotions and advertising for our company. Honestly, I had never listened to 99.3 before, but Shannon's enthusiasm for our store, our concept, and our crazy founder won me right over. After almost two hours in the store watching what we do, Shannon caught the fabulous fever and had to tell the people around her. Well, wouldn't you know it, the very next day Shannon's coworker walked into their office with the tiniest little chihuahua she had just adopted! Jennifer brought Mr. Enzo the chihuahua in on Saturday and, as you can see from the photos, we had a grand time trying on everything that would fit. I am a newly devoted Up! 99.3 listener (try it- you'll love it) and Enzo is the newest Fabulous Furball on the block.

- Muah, Krista

Sunday, February 20th
Hello fabulous world!
During the first twenty four months of starting our company, I was pregnant for 18 months. It was a huge challenge- being new to a country, opening a new business, and being a new mommy, but it has been the best combination of things my husband and I have ever done. It was my oldest daughter's third birthday weekend this weekend and we spent some time at West Edmonton Mall. I had never been to the West Edmonton Mall waterpark, so off to the slides we went. The locker rooms were less than appealing, but the slides were fun and Bella could not get enough of the wave pool. After a few hours of water fun, we headed to Boston Pizza for some birthday lunch and- as you can see from the photo- little sister Mia had a delicious time enjoying the worms in dirt dessert. After all of that, it was time for the girls to build a bear at the "Build a Bear" workshop- a first for them and I. What an amazing experience! In a stormy sea of chaotic parents and children, the bear attendant we had (Alisha) was calm, cool, and impressively connected to each and every child. The one on one attention was exactly why I created Fabulous Furballs- to give each pet owner and their pet the kind of customer service that leaves you in awe- thoroughly impressed at the care you were treated with.

At Fabulous Furballs, you will hear our staff talk a lot about first class customer service experiences, but what is that? It's not a big leather seat at the front of the airplane and it doesn't mean we're perfect, but it does mean that every day, with every pet owner that comes through our doors, we are putting our whole heart into impressing you with how much we care. I've stunned some of our older regular clients because I remember the names of their kids, grandkids, and what was going on in their lives a few months prior. The art of customer service and feeling like we are connected to a community of like minded people can get lost in our daily hustle and bustle, but we try to slow it down and get back to the kind of service we all remember as kids. Have you had a fabulous experience? Please share! Nothing warms my heart more than to know that our clients are being treated like members of our fabulous family. Oh- and Alisha at Build a Bear- you've always got a job with us should that bear building gig not work out.

- Muah, Krista

Sunday, February 13th
Aloha! Welcome to the maiden voyage of the fabulous founder blog by Fabulous Furballs founder, Krista Castellarin. I am so happy to share with you an insider's view of our
fabulous pet loving village!

I just returned from a business and personal trip to visit family, friends, and our newest franchisee in Hawaii last Thursday. Yes- you read that correctly! Fabulous Furballs is coming to the United States and our first location is none other than fabulous Hawaii Kai, just outside of Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. The first week was spent finalizing lease details, meeting with our fabulous lawyers, and making sure everything would go smoothly for any of our Canadian staff that would need work visas to bring the fabulous to the state of Aloha, but the second week was spent relaxing in Kauai with my 80 year old grandfather, extended family, and an old friend. New locations- especially a solid 8 hours of flying time away from my home in Sherwood Park- are always nerve racking, but the energy that new franchisees bring to our team gets me fired back up to the day I started my fabulous little pet loving company.