Mimi Kvinge + Wolfgang --- MountainHome

When we approached Mimi Kvinge to discuss a collaboration, we saw a talented artist with a great story, a unique, inspirational style, and a loyal, four-legged friend. Mimi’s rich depictions of the world around us, and her especially moody mountain-scapes, do more than communicate the physical attributes of a scene…they drive a primal emotional response by tapping deep in to the minds of those viewing her work. This is a rare talent, and one with which we wanted to align.

Lola is Mimi’s rescue dog…a pretty special rescue dog, it turns out. She was rescued by Mimi’s family as a pup from the streets of Mexico. Finally landing in Seattle with Mimi, and integrating as a beloved family member, Lola brought all the special things to the family that only a dog can bring, and maybe a bit more.

Together with Mimi, we set to work on what would become the MountainHome product series. Through a process of Mimi’s artistic refinement, we developed the print to fit the unique format required for application to our leashes and collars. We couldn’t be happier with the results.

As we prepared to launch the series, we started work on a video to help tell Mimi & Lola’s story, and to further inspire others. Mimi and her team began writing and filming, and a wonderful story was being documented.

But sometimes life throws us curveballs.

Lola’s hind leg had been badly broken when she was a puppy in Mexico, and had never really healed properly. Having grown healthy in most ways, and accompanying her person-family on most adventures, the poorly healed leg was now causing a lot of pain and making those adventures much more difficult.

As it turns out, Lola could not have been grafted into a better family to deal with this unique condition…funny how that works. After surgery and cancer treatment as an adolescent, Mimi was also left to struggle with chronic pain and limited mobility in her affected leg. Of all the people on Earth with whom Lola could have been paired, she ended up with Mimi. And Mimi with her.

Amputation of Lola’s injured leg was floated early on as a possible treatment. Although it seemed possible they would dodge that bullet, and after another failed surgery, it became apparent that amputation was, in fact, the best course of action. And so it went. In heroic fashion, Lola hopped out of the doggy hospital with seventy-five percent of the legs she had limped in on, and never looked back.

In this video you’ll see a dog with three legs and a girl with beautifully mis-matched eyes, both moving forward in life bearing scars. You’ll see bravery, talent, kindness, friendship, and an awful lot of love.