ARISTOCATS, ARISTODOGS, ARISTOHORSES

ARISTOCATS, ARISTODOGS, ARISTOHORSES

“There is nothing simpler than living with a dog. When he comes home, all you have to do is listen to the sound of his paws clicking on the wooden floor, breathe in his scent that, in its wake, subtly permeates the hallway of the house, and watch the days go by between the tufts of his fur that he leaves everywhere”, writes Cédric Sapin-Defour in “Ubac and me” on the unbreakable bond between him and Ubac, his Bernese Mountain dog. This novel was an extraordinary success, much like Colette’s classic “The Cat” in its time, proving the universality of this unconditional love for pets be it a cat, a dog, a horse, or even a hamster.

The Officine Universelle Buly is devoted to restoring lustre to a tender and timeless ritual: the brushing of our companions’ coats. With a collection designed for animals that includes a cat brush, two dog brushes, and a brand-new large horse comb that is very useful in this season of springtime shedding.A perfect opportunity to take a long meandering walk through the history of art and cinema in the company of these life companions: from the dogs of divas to the cats of writers, from unique muses to the cherished pets of the most eccentric celebrities, and all the way to the horses of Hollywood stars.

Dogs of Divas, always and forever

Billie Holiday, a jazz singer with an enchanting voice, also known as “Lady Day”, navigated through the chaos of her life as best she could. The only lights in the darkness that surrounded her were her music and her many dogs, including two Chihuahuas, Chiquita and Pepe, and a Great Dane, Gypsy. Her friend Lena Horne said of her: “The thing I remember talking to her about most were her dogs; her animals were really her only trusted friends.” One dog in particular, Mister, a boxer, protected her from the world. He followed her step for step, from backstage at concerts to the shadowy bars of Harlem, never hesitating to lunge at those who threatened her. She knitted jumpers for him, wrapped him in her furs, and sang to him. In turn, the dog looked up at her with adoration each time she took the stage.

Billie Holiday and Mister in 1947

Cats of Artists, velvet Paws

In keeping with his surrealist tastes, Salvador Dali adopted the most unexpected animals: an anteater named Toro, which he walked on a lead in the underground, a swan named Gala in honour of his wife, and a cat called Babou, his favourite. During the 1960’s, Dali paraded this photogenic little ocelot through the grand hotels of the world, paying handsomely for its ravages on the velvets of drapes and other brocades.

Dalì puts on a show with Babou

“In a fire, between a Rembrandt and a cat, I would save the cat.”

Alberto Giacometti

Feline companions of writers or purring muses

War correspondent, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and great traveller, Ernest Hemingway is not the kind of man who likes to gaze at his cats in adoration while feeding them fresh salmon. And yet he did. His homes in Florida and Cuba were often home to more than fifty cats, felines with evocative names - Princess Six-Toes, Clark Gable, Furhouse, or Snowball–sprawling across beds, his writing desk or even the dining tables, to the great dismay of his guests. But why? Their honesty and wild independence fascinated the man who wrote:“No animal has more liberty than the cat.”

Ernest Hemingway

Obsessed with jazz and cats, before becoming a writer, Haruki Murakami combined his two great passions by opening “Peter Cat” at the age of twenty, a jazz bar in Kokubunji, then in Sendagaya, Tokyo. Peter, the cat Murakami shared with his wife, gave the place its name and even served as a purring heater during their most difficult times. Those years allowed his remarkable literary talent to blossom in complete freedom, and he continued to let cats with strange powers appear, here and there, throughout his stories.

Haruki Murakami

“I collect records. And cats. I don't have any cats right now. But if I'm taking a walk and I see a cat, I'm happy.”

Haruki Murakami

Two free spirits and their wild animals…

Endlessly suffering from multiple injuries and confined to a corset, painter Frida Kahlo built an imaginary world around herself, not only in her paintings but also within the walls of her “Casa Azul” in Coyoacán, Mexico. With her husband Diego Rivera, she created a veritable Noah’s Ark there: a flock of Mexican hairless dogs, parrots, an eagle, chickens, a fawnand, above all, two monkeys named Fulang Chang (a gift from Diego) and Caimito de Guayabal, whom she adored above anything else. Of her 143 paintings, 55 self-portraits depict her with her black, slender spider monkeys, their gentle eyes casting mystical shadows.

“Self-Portrait with Monkeys” (1943), Frida Kahlo

TIPPI AND HER WILD CATS

Though she famously battled against hundreds of crows in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, actressTippi Hedren harboured a far greater passionfor very big cats: lions, tigers, and leopards. Today, she runs the Shambala Preserve in California. But in 1971, in preparation for a film, she embarked on an audacious (and dangerous) experiment: sharing her family home with a lion called Neil, a beast weighing several hundred kilos, who lived alongside her husband Noel Marshall and their teenage daughter, Melanie Griffith. Tippi Hedren has since admitted it was “stupid beyond belief” to have risked the lives of her loved ones by bringing a wild animal of that size into their home. There are still some extraordinary images taken for Life magazine by Michael Rougier, of Neil napping in the living room, checking the fridge, or playfully nibbling at the children...

Actress Tippi Hedren with her lion Neil in 1971

Muses, full-Time

In 1966, caught in the whirlwind of Beatlemania, Paul McCartney adopted a big ball of fluff: Martha, an adorable young Old English Sheepdog with a great fondness for cuddles. She was his first pet, the first in a long line to come. He composed the song “Martha, My Dear”, with a double meaning that alluded to his breakup with Jane Asher. “Really,”he joked, “it’s just a song. It’s me singing to my dog.”

Paul McCartney, in June 1967, on the day of his 25th birthday with Martha

It is impossible to know what breed Bobby, Christian Dior's favourite dog, was, but we do know that the great couturier chose to name a skirt suit from his autumn-winter 1953 collection after his little companion.In 1952, he also designed a Miss Dior perfume bottle in his image: a little crystal dog proudly wearing the label “J'appartiens à Miss Dior” around his neck.

Christian Dior and Bobby

Andy Warhol began by drawing cats, those of his mother Julia, all called Sam. But in the 1970s he and his boyfriend, antique dealer Jed Johnson, adopted a short-haired dachshund called Archie. He turned this sociable little dog into a superstar of the Factory, silk-screening his image endlessly. For Archie, it was a life of luxury: a Tiffany's medal, bowls of caviar, art openings and restaurants. For the last few years of his life, Warhol hid from view in his exquisitely decorated apartment building, with only Archie and Amos for company, his two “little sausage dogs”.

Andy Warhol and Archie

Horses of Stars, A thirst for freedom...

Just like Robert Redford, who has loved horses since he was a child. The actor devoted a film to their mystery, “The Horse Whisperer”, in 1998, and played a rebellious rodeo champion in a neon suit in “The Electric Horseman” by Sydney Pollackin 1979. He later created a sanctuary to protect horses, the “Horse Whisper Ranch” near Sundance, Utah.

Robert Redford in 1970 in Utah

From an early age, Elizabeth Taylor embraced her acting career alongside animals: a dog in “Lassie Come Homein 1944 and a racehorse in “National Velvet” in 1944. She was 11 years old and trained hard to play a champion. Though a fall left her with lifelong injuries, she asked studio magnate Louis B. Mayer to buy her King Charles, the horse she rode in the film and for whom she had fallen in love at first sight. He gave him to her for her 13th birthday. She would later say:“I learned to jump before 'National Velvet' because I just loved the feeling of flying. It was the closest thing to being Pegasus and flying next to God. It’s the most liberating freedom-making feeling in the world.”

Elizabeth Taylor in 1944 with King Charles

Cat Brush

24,17 €

An efficient accessory to shine your beloved pet’s coat.

Cat Brush

Cat grooming is an art that requires the finest of accessories. The cat brush of the Officine polishes and enhances the coat, while ridding your...

24,17 €

METAL PIN DOG BRUSH

29,17 €

A double-sided robust tool for the complete care of your beloved pet’s coat.

METAL PIN DOG BRUSH

Double-sided brush with handle to detangle, lighten and shine the coat of all dogs, regardless of their size, their type of coat and… their character.

29,17 €

Horsehair Dog Brush

65,83 €

A double-sided robust tool for the complete care of your beloved pet’s coat.

Horsehair Dog Brush

Double-sided brush with handle to detangle, lighten and shine the coat of all dogs, regardless of their size, their type of coat and… their character.

65,83 €

The Horse Rider

166,67 €

Horsehair comb in acetate

The Horse Rider

This majestic acetate comb is the ideal companion for any horse in search of an impeccable mane, and for their master aiming for perfection. Robust...

166,67 €