When California-based Michelle Page first visited Nepal, she was struck by the very personable canines featured on gate signs. For many years Nepali artisans have painted these signs by hand, each with a picture of the actual dog in question.
In 2007, Page noticed that these hand-painted signs were being replaced by generic vinyl signs and decided to start a fair trade project through which people back in California could order customised "Danger Dog" portraits of their pets from Nepal.
“Nepali sign painters have seen their hand-painted art disappear over the last few years,” said Page in an email to Scroll.in. "Their sons are all doing Photoshop and digital work rather than hand painting. There's more than animal and message in these painted signs. It isn't just dogs ‒ the painters get orders for cats, chickens, cows and peacocks too and these animals may be happy, enlightened, or even have superpowers.
Each customer sends Page a photo of his or her pet and gets three versions of a Danger Dog sign. The customer keeps one while the other two are sent to art boutiques or museums. Page, a film editor by profession, has been running Danger Dogs as a side business for seven years now. She has hired 61 painters in this time, many of whom have since left Nepal to find work in the Middle East and South Korea.
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In 2007, Page noticed that these hand-painted signs were being replaced by generic vinyl signs and decided to start a fair trade project through which people back in California could order customised "Danger Dog" portraits of their pets from Nepal.
“Nepali sign painters have seen their hand-painted art disappear over the last few years,” said Page in an email to Scroll.in. "Their sons are all doing Photoshop and digital work rather than hand painting. There's more than animal and message in these painted signs. It isn't just dogs ‒ the painters get orders for cats, chickens, cows and peacocks too and these animals may be happy, enlightened, or even have superpowers.
Each customer sends Page a photo of his or her pet and gets three versions of a Danger Dog sign. The customer keeps one while the other two are sent to art boutiques or museums. Page, a film editor by profession, has been running Danger Dogs as a side business for seven years now. She has hired 61 painters in this time, many of whom have since left Nepal to find work in the Middle East and South Korea.