Paco Collars, the Shattuck Avenue shop whose marquee once read, “Yes, a store just for dog collars,” has said farewell to Berkeley and relocated across the country to Tennessee, where its founder, Ana Poe, recently moved. The new location will put the company closer to the lucrative East Coast dog competitions and trade shows. The Berkeley store closed on May 15.
Two of Paco’s Bay Area employees will continue working for the company remotely. And locals can still buy collars on the Paco’s website, though custom orders are on hold until July due to the move.
Paco Collars was founded in 2002 and had been based in Berkeley since 2009. The company is known for its custom handmade leather collars, often studded with multicolored gems and metal charms.
But the collars, which cost hundreds of dollars each, “have to work first and look good second,” said Poe. Each collar has a lifetime guarantee and, according to Poe, they “get better with age.”
“People really have an emotional attachment to their Pacos,” they said. “We even have a service where, if your dog dies, we will turn it into a memorial bracelet for you for free.”
The collars are well-known beyond Berkeley and widely worn by dogs who compete in agility competitions across the country, according to Poe. The bulk of the company’s sales take place at trade shows outside of California.
”Everybody thinks that we’re just this rinky-dink little business,” Poe said. “But we’re actually quite popular.”
Poe has been visiting Tennessee for years, drawn to the “huge and thriving queer community” outside of Nashville and moving there was always part of their “retirement plan.” But a couple years ago, while in the area for a trade show, Poe and their partner, Rath Skallion, realized it would be the perfect spot to set up shop.
The couple bought a house on six acres in Murfreesboro last year and moved across the country with their dogs, Cornbread and Chapulín, and goats, Lemon and Lettuce. They built a metal barn on the property which will serve as Paco Collars HQ, complete with in-person retail sales. Initially they were going to keep the Berkeley storefront, but as plans progressed they realized it made more sense to have the entire business “under one roof.”
It all started with Paco the pitbull
Paco Collars was founded almost by accident, after Poe went searching for the perfect collar for their 1-year-old pitbull, Paco.
“ I wanted a sturdy leather collar and I went to almost every single pet store in the Bay Area and I could not find anything that looked good,” said Poe. “This was back in 2002; the pet industry isn’t what it is today.”
At the time Poe was working at a dog daycare in Emeryville and had learned how to make a leather leash as part of their training. Poe’s mentor suggested that they make their own collar. Poe, a craftsperson at their “core,” who majored in art at UC Berkeley, got to work and soon had a finished collar, complete with the name “Paco” spelled out in studs.
When Poe brought the finished collar into work, their boss loved it and encouraged them to make more and even offered a display case at the daycare.
“It was a larger dog daycare, so I basically had 120 dogs at my disposal to do stats,” said Poe. “Weight and neck size and breeds and what looks good on what dogs. And to see my designs fall apart because I didn’t know what I was doing yet.”
All that research and development paid off, and Paco Collars soon moved from a side gig to Poe’s full-time job. Paco operated out of various locales in the East Bay including a “Burning Man warehouse,” a shipping container, Poe’s home basement and a marble factory in Oakland, before moving to Shattuck Avenue in 2009.
The move to Berkeley was bittersweet, as Poe heard they got the space one day after Paco suddenly died after cutting his neck on a fence at home.
“So I literally locked myself in here for days and painted it and revamped it and just cried and put my heart and soul in this,” said Poe.
After 10 years, the store relocated to Fifth Street, forced to move because of a business insurance snafu. This was right before the COVID-19 lockdowns and many of Paco’s customers thought the business had closed because of the pandemic.
But when their Fifth Street lease was set to expire, Poe began searching for a new place to land, and learned that the old Shattuck Avenue space was available. And more importantly they found an insurance company that would give them the proper policy for the space.
Paco Collars reopened on Shattuck Avenue in 2023, a place that has always “felt like home,” according to Poe.
“I love this spot,” said Poe. “If it wasn’t for just realizing that we need to have everything under one roof and that the East Coast is a better market for us, we would be here forever.”
Paco Collars, 2905 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. Connect via Instagram and Facebook.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.