POTEKLUBBEN
At XIII we believe an essential ingredient for our community is having shared interests, opinions, and beliefs about clothing. I recently met up with “Poteklubben Fuglebakken” (the Paw Club) for conversation about this dog community in Frederiksberg. Several members of the Paw Club participated in our focus group in February, and again in June when they attended our opening event in our atelier in Copenhagen. The dynamics of one community meeting another community evolved and we shared a lot of interests, fashion being one of them. We had a long chat about clothes, sizing, fit and style, and they had lots of fun trying on clothes supporting one another’s choices and giving each other styling advice whilst asking for our honest opinions.
How did this Paw Club get started?
We are a group of dog owners who meet up every morning at 8am on the lawns at the junction of Egernvej and Vagtelvej in Frederiksberg (Copenhagen) to walk our dogs and exchange the latest local news. We are on average between 5 to15 people who meet up every day except weekends. The club has been in existence for 9 years and our Facebook group consists of 74 members. Members has gone, because they moved out of then area or their dog passed away, at the same time new members join every year. The bond in our community is strong, we have 2 members who lost their dogs last year and they still come every morning.
Did you guys also meet up under Covid?
Yes, of course! It was great, as it forced us to get out of our homes. We tried our best to maintain the social distancing rules, but I can remember one morning where we were 7 people with our dogs having a chat. Unfortunately, one of the neighbours called the Police as we were only supposed to be 5 people, when the Police arrived, they were extremely kind and just reminded us about the rules (maximum 5 people).
What exactly does it mean to be a member of the Paw Club?
We all know that a dog is a (wo)man's best friend is a common phrase, referring to their millennia-long history of close relations, loyalty, friendship, and they are also a loving companion. We also think that there are many health benefits of owning a dog as it forces you to go outside and socialise.
Many of us have made lifelong friendships through our Paw Club, supporting each other, for example, going to film premiers as there is a film producer in our group or attending the XIII launch in June. If one of the regulars has not turned up one of us will call the person to make sure everything is OK. Everyone is welcome, rain or shine – 8am and there are some people who meet in the evening 8/9pm. No membership fees, just an open mind and an interest.
Many thanks for your support of XIII
Best regards
Team XIII