Foebus, a very demanding Vizsla
Because Foebus destroyed all his cushions, Daniele and Eric set out to create a different kind of cushion.
After about twenty cushions destroyed by Foebus, Daniele and Eric, the creators of Clébard-Concept, decided not to invest in yet another "traditional" cushion. They were tired of finding foam, polyfil, or polystyrene beads all over the house. They were also fed up with the cushions becoming shriveled under the dog's weight when Foebus didn't destroy them immediately, not to mention the bad odors that only intensified after washing, to name just a few of the nuisances familiar to dog owners.
The First Prototypes
It was then that Daniele, a corporate lawyer with no prior inclination towards creating dog cushions, decided to dust off her sewing machine and make a cushion for Foebus herself. A cushion he wouldn't want to destroy, that would be more durable, maintain its appearance, and spare the dog and family from the unpleasantness (including odors!) of bacteria and various parasites.
They needed to understand why some dogs destroy their bedding. Their research highlighted the disruptive nature of all traditional filling solutions (foam, polyfil, polystyrene...), which are generally petroleum-based. Dogs, with their keen sense of smell, often do not tolerate these materials well. But the question remained: what to put inside? From the start, the creators set a condition: the cushion had to be as close to nature as possible. They envisioned all sorts of natural filling solutions.
The couple also noticed the dog's need to scratch and shape its bedding, which these conventional solutions did not allow.
Cork and Cedar: The Ideal Composition
Cork ultimately met these requirements. However, not all cork is the same—it varies based on origin, density, and granularity. At this initial stage, the granularity and density were not yet optimized, and cedar was absent from the composition, but Foebus did not destroy it. He already loved it...
An Immediate Success, Not Just for Foebus...
The future of Clébard-Concept was decided during a weekend in Paris. In 2014, Daniele and Eric had to leave Foebus with a couple of friends who also had a dog, a beautiful Brittany Spaniel named Phipps. To ensure Foebus slept comfortably and didn't encroach on his host's bed, they brought along his cushion. Upon their return, their friend, who had looked after Foebus, was eager to know where Eric and Daniele had bought the cushion: "It's fantastic! Phipps took over Foebus's cushion and didn't leave it all weekend; he never does that..." The rest, as they say, is history. If Phipps loved the cushion as much as Foebus did, then surely other dogs would appreciate it as well. This realization was a turning point, leading them to believe that their cushion could appeal to many dogs.
