The Dog Room: An Award-Winning Kennel Designed by Michael Ong and Built for Good
The Dog Room, a living space for man’s best friend is an award-winning pet kennel created in partnership with Melbourne architect Michael Ong. The kennel is locally made here in Australia with consideration for its social, economic, and environmental good.
The production of the Dog Room is in partnership with Help Manufacturing. HELP is a social enterprise committed to enhancing the lifestyle, independence and ambitions of people with disability. The manufacturing arm of HELP provides meaningful employment opportunities for people with disability so that they can develop new skills and reach their goals, all in a supported work environment.
To learn more about Jackson’s story and the positive impact of working at HELP watch here
PEN + HELP
In the last two years, we’ve spent a lot of time re-evaluating our manufacturing process. We have sought out the best manufacturing professionals to make our homewares and objects in a way that fits best into our company ethos. When the opportunity arose to work with HELP Enterprises’ manufacturing division we leapt at the chance. Instead of a simple re-release through this partnership, we could now re-work our popular pet kennel to be Australian made.
Workshop Supervisor Trevyn, and supported employees Kenny and Jackson have been working together to bring The Dog Room to life. They each contribute to a different part of the production process to ensure all products are made and assembled to the highest standard. Unanimously, the team said they are proud to be making these products. The skills they are learning, and the meaningful impact of the work is changing their lives.
Trevyn has been working at HELP for over 6 years and plays a vital role in upskilling and developing new team members. He said that though it may take a little more time to train someone with a disability, their dedication and passion is unmatched.
“For many of our team members having a job means much more than just a pay check, its about learning, gaining confidence and making important connections. When brands like Made by Pen choose HELP, they’re not just getting a quality product, they’re providing meaningful opportunities for people with disability.” Trevyn, Help’s Workshop Supervisor
For production workers Jackson and Kenny employment within the manufacturing division has enabled them to learn a large variety of skills, including hard skills such as forklift training and welding, and the opportunity to learn soft skills that help them in their everyday lives, such as communication and problem-solving.
Importantly, Kenny and Jackson are given the opportunity to work as a team, projects such as the Dog Room allow the team to stay connected and work together for the same goal. For Kenny, seeing what he’s accomplished in the final product is the best part.
Good Products, Good People
Our partnership with HELP reflects many of our beliefs and values at Pen – we believe that the process of how we provide our product must be just as good as our product.We recognise that value is more than just the tangible costs of the product. We want the worth of our products to come through from the start of the research and design through to the manufacturing and shipping.
At Pen, our goal is to make the places we work, live, and play all more functional and beautiful. This is just one part of a more extensive process of partnering with Australia’s most innovative and inspiring designers, and architects for each of our products.
By maintaining our company ethos through every step of the manufacturing process, we hope to be respecting people while breaking barriers. The Dog Room partnership is just the beginning of our relationship with HELP, and our journey to create products that change lives.
