Righteous Fur - Save Our Wetlands: Wear More Nutria

Marsh Dog!: Nutria dog biscuits hit the market

cree — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:04:14 +0000

When I first met Veni and Hansel Harlan late last August, my fellow BTNEP minigrant recipients were still perfecting their secret recipe for all-natural dog biscuits made from dehydrated nutria meat. (See “Marsh Dogs and gators and teeth, oh my!“) Six months later, the treats are ready to hit the market. Read all about it at the Marsh Dog website, which just went live and looks terrific!

Barataria Bites, the first Marsh Dog biscuits, make their debut at the Louisiana Earth Day Festival in Baton Rouge on April 22, and will soon be available at a store near you. To get free samples, and enroll your dog as an official taste tester, visit Marsh Dog’s Club de Goût (goût is French for “tasty”).

The same week that Marsh Dog launched, Pitre’s Fur & Alligator also went live. Designed by Josh Pitts of Sideways Designs, who created the Righteous Fur website, the site is owned and operated by Tab and Yvette Pitre, our nutria pelt suppliers in Galliano, Louisiana. You can now order nutria pelts directly from Pitre’s Fur online, along with nutria and gator jewelry and gator heads straight from the swamp. Be the first on your block to own a Alligator Head Lamp!

“Fur de Lis” Divas rock the Quarter for Mardi Gras!

cree — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:43:47 +0000

Righteous Fur designer Becky Owens, who hosted Nutria-palooza! on the Bayou at her Lafayette home, did a smashing job representing Righteous Fur at the annual Divas parade. “Divine Protectors of Endangered Pleasures,” Divas parade through the French Quarter the Friday before Fat Tuesday wearing fabulous handcrafted bustiers adorned with Mardi Gras beads. Becky’s “Fur de Lis” krewe embellished their bustiers with nutria fur, which was used to create the titular fleur de lis insets, as well as for accents and trim. The look was completed with nutria-fur hats, nutria-teeth earrings — and, in Becky’s case, a nutria tail! To help spread the word, the krewe handed out nutria swatches with the Righteous Fur FAQ. Geaux Divas! Scroll down for photos or click here to view the Facebook album.

Nutria fur walks Billy Reid’s runway at New York Fashion Week!

cree — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:41:37 +0000

We were excited to get a rush order for nutria pelts from Billy Reid just before New York Fashion Week. We were even more excited to see the runway shots from that show! Billy’s Fall-Winter 2012 Collection features sheared nutria pelts as lining and trim on several coats. He even jazzes up a couple pieces with natural nutria fur! View the New York Times slide show of the collection here, or scroll down for some fab Fashionisto shots:

Righteous Fur pelts to walk Billy Reid’s runway at New York Fashion Week

cree — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:36:19 +0000

As we speak, designer Billy Reid is putting the finishing touches on his 2012 Fall/Winter Collection, scheduled to be shown on February 10 during New York Fashion Week. Included in the collection: garments lined and trimmed with Righteous Fur nutria pelts! Billy placed an order for 50 sheared pelts after receiving the “surprise box” I sent to a dozen designers (pictured below). Designed by Loyola University student Vicky Tran, the box was the winning entry in a “Project Nutria” competition for graphic arts students in Daniela Marx’s classes. Times-Picayune fashion editor Susan Langenhennig just posted a fabulous piece about the Billy Reid order and the Righteous Fur boxes that tells the whole story. Thanks, Susan!

T-Boy the nutria declares winter over in New Orleans

cree — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:50:03 +0000

In most of the country, February 2 is Groundhog Day. In Louisiana, it’s Nutria Day. At the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, the annual event is staged as a theatrical spectacle worthy of Mardi Gras. This year, T-Boy assumed the role of weather forecaster, declaring winter over after emerging in grand style from a wedding cake – next to a cutout of Kim Kardashian. Read all about it here.

Nutria’s glamorous past as a luxury fur

cree — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:37:40 +0000

“2002: Waging war against Nutria,” part of an ongoing series in the Times-Picayune leading up to the paper’s 175th birthday, looks at nutria’s checkered past in today’s edition. Pegged to the year the Coastwide Nutria Control Program was introduced in Louisiana, the photo gallery features plenty of down-bayou trappers and Sheriff Harry Lee’s infamous sharpshooting squad. But it also unearths a couple marvelous vintage pictures from nutria’s heyday as a luxury fur:

Nutria jacket by Kreeger: Once treated, nutria furs can become a jacket costing hundreds of dollars. Pelts are also used in linings. May 13, 1962.

Wildlife and Fisheries secretary Linda Gregson apparently enjoys the feel of a finished nutria pelt. The skin originated in Louisiana but was sent to Europe for dressing and dying. March 10, 1972.

Let them eat (nutria) cake! Pastry artist whips up sugary coypu

cree — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:09:50 +0000

No nutria were harmed in the making of this cake. But it sure is a convincing-looking critter! Tara Graham of Tara’s Cakes in Hattiesburg, Missisippi, whipped it up out of sugar, spice and everything nice to serve as the groom’s cake for Bryan McGehee when he got hitched to his bride, Emily. Read all about it here. Needless to say, Schriever, LA native McGehee is a nutria-hunting man. Cue “$5 a tail“…….

Loyola students ace Righteous Fur finals with “surprise boxes” for top designers

cree — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:40:32 +0000

Surprise! Righteous Fur gift boxes will be landing on the desks of Marc Jacobs, Anna Sui, Alexander Wang and other top designers over the next couple weeks. Handcrafted by graphic design students at Loyola University, where professor Daniela Marx challenged her class to come up with the best design in a “Project Nutria” competition, the boxes are designed to pique designers’ interest in working with nutria pelts.

On December 23, when most Loyola students had long since left campus, the graphic design team was hard at work. After a security guard let us into the graphics lab in Monroe Hall, I helped winning box designer Vicky Tran and winning press-book designer Max McKenna put the finishing touches on the boxes by hand-binding the books in the Japanese style. I can’t show you what’s inside the boxes; don’t want to spoil the surprise! But I can give you a sneak preview of what designers will see before they open the boxes. Big shoutout to Daniela, Vicky, Max and the entire class for bringing this project to fruition! Stay tuned for updates on designer reactions………

Vicky Tran designed the winning box. Aren’t you curious to know what’s inside?

Max McKenna stitches up his winning design for the Righteous Fur press book.

Vicky and Max had some tough competition. “Project Nutria” runner-up Rachel Winters (above) based her design on emergency sewing kits given to soldiers in the field during World War II. The New York Times press clip at top is printed on fabric.

National Wildlife Federation gives thumbs up to Nutria-palooza on the Bayou

cree — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:53:54 +0000

Amanda Moore represented our friends at the National Wildlife Foundation at Nutria-palooza on the Bayou in Lafayette, where “eighteen designers dazzled the crowd of 100 with numerous one-of-a-kind furry ensembles.” Read all about it on a blog devoted to our favorite cause: Restore the Mississippi River Delta. She got some great photos as well, including this shot of Janine Hayes modeling designs by Julie Ebel.

Righteous Fur Holiday Sale! 12/16 @ Allways Lounge in New Orleans

cree — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:52:47 +0000

Righteous Fur Holiday Trunk Show & Sale
Friday, December 16 * 6 – 10 PM
Allways Lounge & Theatre
2240 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans

Buzz is building for this don’t-miss event, which got a big shoutout at Gambit and Nola.com and made the Times-Picayune’s holiday shopping list of best bets for fashionistas. Click here for photos of some of the fab merch that awaits you.

Handcrafted by 12+ local designers, every piece in the Righteous Fur collection of festive fashions, gifts and stocking stuffers is adorned with lustrous nutria fur — including the stockings themselves!

You’ll find nutria-trimmed tree ornaments, catnippy mice with cats-love-em nutria tails, along with a fabulous selection of furry bags, hats, hair accessories and clothing, from nutria-embellished cumberbunds, bow-ties and bustiers to stunning nutria wraps and one-of-a-kind couture pieces. Also on display: elegant nutria-teeth earrings and pendants set in Balinese silver and handcast sterling,

Models garbed in high nutria style will add to the fun of a worthy cause: part of all proceeds go to wetlands preservation.

Sneak preview below. Click here for more photos.