Leo the corgi leads dog toy maker to huge success

IT’S ALL EXPLAINED IN THIS MORNING’S MAIDEN MASS. GRAB THIS END. OKAY. AND REALLY PULL AT KNOTS FOR FUN IN FRAMINGHAM IT’S ALWAYS PLAYTIME. NO, NOT FOR DOUG, BUT FOR DOGS. WE MAKE POLARTEC POLAR FLEECE DOG TOYS. LISA KAMER STARTED HER DOG TOY COMPANY BACK IN 2016, AFTER SHE WAS, IN HER WORDS, CYCLED OUT OF CORPORATE AMERICA. IT WAS ALSO PART HAPPENSTANCE. YOU SEE HER BELOVED CORGI, LEO WAS A BIT OF A RAMBUNCTIOUS FELLOW WHO WOULD NIBBLE AND CHEW ON ALMOST ANYTHING AROUND THE HOUSE, EXCEPT WHEN IT CAME TO MATERIALS THAT WERE SOFT. HE WOULD MOUTH BLANKETS, HE WOULD MOUTH SOCKS. HE WOULD MOUTH THE BOTTOM OF THE CURTAINS, BUT NOT DESTROY IT. THAT GOT LISA THINKING, SO SHE MADE LEO A TOY OUT OF WOVEN FLEECE MATERIAL. LITTLE DID SHE AND LEO KNOW THAT A BUSINESS WAS ABOUT TO BE BORN. HE PLAYED WITH THIS TOY, PLAYED WITH THIS TOY, AND TO THIS DAY, HE STILL HAS THAT TOY. LISA THEN MOVED ON TO MAKING POLARTEC FLEECE DOG TOYS FOR SCHOOL KIDS. FUNDRAISING KITS. SO I BROUGHT THIS IDEA TO THE PERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND, AND I DIDN’T KNOW AT THE TIME HOW IMPACTFUL THAT THAT WOULD BE. AND ALMOST OVERNIGHT, HER TOUGH PLUSH DOG TOYS BECAME AN INSTANT HIT AND SHE COULDN’T MAKE THEM FAST ENOUGH. IT’S DURABLE. IT’S MACHINE WASHABLE, IT FLOATS, IT CAN BE FROZEN, AND IT HAS THE OKEY TEX FABRIC. SAFETY CERTIFICATION. WHEN DEMAND FOR THE TOYS GOT SO LARGE, SHE REACHED OUT TO THORNDIKE, MILLS AND PALMER FOR HELP. THEY REALLY TOOK A CHANCE WITH ME AND I’M FOREVER GRATEFUL BECAUSE THEY STARTED BRAIDING MY TOYS AND IT JUST WAS A WONDERFUL WORKING RELATIONSHIP. A RUG COMPANY IN NORTH CAROLINA, ALSO ASSISTING IN THE LARGER MANUFACTURING PROCESS. NOW BAGS AND BAGS OF TOYS ARRIVE AT HER HEADQUARTERS FOR THE FINAL HANDCRAFTED TOUCHES BEFORE BEING SENT OUT TO RETAILERS NATIONWIDE. ANY IDEA HOW MANY OF THESE YOU’VE MADE? OH, GIVE ME A GUESSTIMATE. I DON’T KNOW THAT I. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS. WOW. YEAH. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS. YEAH. LISA SAYS HER GOAL FOR THE COMPANY IS THE SAME AS IT WAS FROM THE START. THAT IS, TO CREATE AN IRRESISTIBLE AND NEARLY INDESTRUCTIBLE TOY THAT IS MADE FOR MORE THAN JUST PLAYTIME. THESE ARE NOT TOYS THAT YOU TOSS IN THE CRATE AND SAY, GO HAVE FUN. GO HAVE FUN. THESE ARE MEANT FOR YOU TO USE TO BOND WITH YOUR DOG, TO TRAIN YOUR DOG, AND TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION WITH YOUR PET BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THEY WANT. AND YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED ANOTHER WOMAN IN OUR STORY HELPING LISA WITH PRODUCTION. THAT’S DARIA FROM THE LEARNING CENTER FOR THE DEAF AND FRAMINGHAM KNOTS OFTEN TEAMS UP WITH THE CENTER TO PROVIDE VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR ITS STUDENTS, AND IN LISA WORDS, IN LISA’S WORDS, DARIA HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE SUPERSTAR. SO IN SOME IN MANY CASES, THEY’RE ALSO HANDMADE. BUT ONCE SHE GOT TO THE POINT WHERE SHE WAS GETTING OVERWHELMED BECAUSE THE DEMAND WAS SO BIG, SHE HAD TO LOOK FOR THE FOLKS OUT IN WESTERN MASS TO HELP OUT. AND IT’S BEEN A HUGE SUCCESS AND TESTED BY THREE DOGS, LARRY BIRD, CASHEW AND LINCOLN DOUG BROUGHT SOME FOR U

Updated: 10:42 AM CDT Mar 17, 2025

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Leo the corgi leads dog toy maker to huge success

Updated: 10:42 AM CDT Mar 17, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Did you know that the pet toy industry is big business? By some estimates, global sales are expected to surpass $3.5 billion this year. A Massachusetts dog toy entrepreneur is seeing success in this growing market, and she said it’s all thanks to her beloved pup, Leo. "He’s been described as spirited, enthusiastic. He was called a ruffian. He was just a challenging, challenging puppy," Leo’s dog mom, Lisa Kamer, said. Kamer is also the owner and founder of Knots of Fun Dog Toys.Shortly after bringing Leo, a corgi puppy, home, Kamer said Leo would nibble and chew on almost anything around the house. That was except for things that were soft. "He would mouth blankets and would mouth socks. He would mouth the bottoms of the curtains but would not destroy it," Kamer said. That behavior got Leo's dog mom thinking. She constructed a play toy out of woven Polartec fleece material she had lying around the house — the same Polartec fleece you find in rugged outdoor apparel for humans. In doing so, little did Kamer or Leo know that a business was about to be born. "He played with this toy, (and) played with this toy. And to this day, he still has that toy," Kamer said. Kamer moved on to making fleece toys for other dogs, which then led her to design toy-making kits for area schoolchildren's fundraising efforts. Almost overnight, her tough, plush dog toys became an instant hit, and she found she couldn’t make them fast enough. "It’s durable, it’s machine washable, it floats, it can be frozen and it has the important OEKO-TEX safety, fabric safe certification," Kamer said. When demand for the toys grew, making them all by hand was no longer feasible, so she reached out to Thorndike Mills in Palmer for help. "They really took a chance with me, and I’m forever grateful because they started braiding my toys and it just was a wonderful working relationship," Kamer said. A rug company in North Carolina also stepped in to assist with the larger manufacturing process. Now, bags and bags of toys arrive at her global headquarters for the final handcrafted touches before being sent out to retailers nationwide. Since 2016, Kamer has sold several thousand of her dog toys locally and around the world. She said the goal for her company is the same as it was with the first toy — to create an irresistible and nearly indestructible toy that is made for more than just playtime. "These are not toys that you toss in the crate and say go have fun. These are meant for you to use to bond with your dog, to train your dog and to make that connection with your pet because that’s what they want," Kamer said.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. —

Did you know that the pet toy industry is big business? By , global sales are expected to surpass $3.5 billion this year.

A Massachusetts dog toy entrepreneur is seeing success in this growing market, and she said it’s all thanks to her beloved pup, Leo.

"He’s been described as spirited, enthusiastic. He was called a ruffian. He was just a challenging, challenging puppy," Leo’s dog mom, Lisa Kamer, said.

Kamer is also the owner and founder of .

Shortly after bringing Leo, a corgi puppy, home, Kamer said Leo would nibble and chew on almost anything around the house. That was except for things that were soft.

"He would mouth blankets and would mouth socks. He would mouth the bottoms of the curtains but would not destroy it," Kamer said.

That behavior got Leo's dog mom thinking. She constructed a play toy out of woven Polartec fleece material she had lying around the house — the same Polartec fleece you find in rugged outdoor apparel for humans.

In doing so, little did Kamer or Leo know that a business was about to be born.

"He played with this toy, (and) played with this toy. And to this day, he still has that toy," Kamer said.

Kamer moved on to making fleece toys for other dogs, which then led her to design toy-making kits for area schoolchildren's fundraising efforts.

Almost overnight, her tough, plush dog toys became an instant hit, and she found she couldn’t make them fast enough.

"It’s durable, it’s machine washable, it floats, it can be frozen and it has the important OEKO-TEX safety, fabric safe certification," Kamer said.

When demand for the toys grew, making them all by hand was no longer feasible, so she reached out to Thorndike Mills in Palmer for help.

"They really took a chance with me, and I’m forever grateful because they started braiding my toys and it just was a wonderful working relationship," Kamer said.

A rug company in North Carolina also stepped in to assist with the larger manufacturing process.

Now, bags and bags of toys arrive at her global headquarters for the final handcrafted touches before being sent out to retailers nationwide.

Since 2016, Kamer has sold several thousand of her dog toys locally and around the world. She said the goal for her company is the same as it was with the first toy — to create an irresistible and nearly indestructible toy that is made for more than just playtime.

"These are not toys that you toss in the crate and say go have fun. These are meant for you to use to bond with your dog, to train your dog and to make that connection with your pet because that’s what they want," Kamer said.

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