I was kindly invited to Crufts 2023, along with my black working cocker spaniel Woody, by one of my recent clients Eden Holistic Pet Foods. We attended on the Friday and spent all afternoon looking round, chatting with clients and seeing my work on display on a number of Crufts stands. Here’s a quick rundown of what we got up to when we visited the UK’s (and arguably the world’s) largest dog show!

We arrived at Birmingham NEC in the early afternoon and headed straight to the Eden Pet Foods stand. We were greeted by the friendly Eden team and Woody headed straight to the free food samples on display. I worked with Eden Pet Foods on a project specifically for Crufts. They were launching their new range of Gourmet Sausages and Training Treats at this year’s show. I was really excited to see the final images displayed on the treat bins and was thrilled to see so many happy customers and their dogs trying them out for themselves. Eden Holistic Pet Foods later went on to win the 2023 Trade Stand Competition for their category at Crufts!

Next we headed over to JR Pet Products, a client I have been working with for a few years now. Woody swiftly made his way to the pick and mix area, where he may have shoplifted an Ostrich treat. Thankfully the JR team forgave him and let him keep the contraband! Meanwhile I spotted two photographs of our other dog Cally, which I’d taken last spring for JR. She was proudly posing on their banners, which were seen throughout the JR Stand at this year’s Crufts.

TastyBone were the final stand displaying my work. I created these portraits in September 2022, as part of a lifestyle and studio project for the brand. The aim of this project was to showcase the various sizes TastyBone offers and the corresponding dogs they’re recommended for. The images of each dog are displayed below the different sizes of toys. I thought it was a really clever decision to display the portraits at dog level. Not only to make the most of negative space on the stand but also to encourage more interaction from visiting dogs. I’m sure these images provided plenty of photo opportunities on the stand too over the Crufts weekend.

Woody and I thoroughly enjoyed our first Crufts experience. it was far busier than we could have imagined. Nevertheless, we both had a great time and Woody definitely made the most of all the free samples! If you’d like to see more from our visit, check out the video I created of our trip below.

Have you visited Crufts before? What was your favourite part of the show?