Meet Barbara Cameron Wilson | Pet Collar and Accessories Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Barbara Cameron Wilson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Barbara, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I’ve been creative my entire life. Growing up I was the kid who created a variety of games the neighborhood kids could play. When I was small my mother taught me to sew and cook. I continue to search for recipes and love cooking new dishes for my family. I have sewed a wide variety of things; aprons, curtains, clothing I even made my own wedding dress. When I had children I made them clothes, Halloween costumes and I sewed items to decorate their rooms. I majored in Computer Science at Texas A&M from there I worked as a programmer in the Telecom industry. Programming is a creative career, each assignment is similar to solving a puzzle. Programmers attempt to solve each assignment in the most efficient way with the least amount of wasted time or complexity. After my children grew up and moved away I had extra time on my hands. I was looking online for gifts one day and noticed unusual collars, collars you can not find in the local pet store. I realized I could easily make these and at the same time I was able to spend time shopping for fun fabrics. I had a customer request a flower to match a collar I had sold her so that launched the other side of my business; flowers and bow ties to add to the collars. I spend hours creating the flowers I sell, and I love every minute.
I believe if you were born with the creative gene, you have to create.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Most of my career was in Telecom. I started out as a software engineer in the Telecom field. I worked at a number of companies including Ericsson Network Systems, Bell Northern Research, Nortel, and MCI. I rose through the ranks at these companies. When my children were born I took a few years off to stay home and focus on them. It was a very rewarding time even though I missed the day to day work environment. When my kids started leaving home I once again started a software engineer job at Selerix Systems. This was a wonderful company and I stayed there very happily until my husband retired so I decided to join him.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Day 1: Downtown Dallas Start the day with breakfast at a local favorite, such as Waffle House.
Head to the Dallas Arts District and visit the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.
Lunch at Chuy’s at Knox and Henderson.
Explore Deep Ellum, known for its vibrant street art, live music, and one of the best breweries Deep Ellum Brewing.

Day 2: Fort Worth
Visit the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Have a Tex-Mex lunch at Joe T. Garcia’s which has the best environment and margaritas in all DFW.
Spend the afternoon at the Fort Worth Zoo.

Day 3: Downtown Dallas again
Start the day with a visit to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
Explore the Dallas World Aquarium then dinner and drinks at the Katy Trail Ice House.

Day 4:
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden with a picnic.
Shop Bishop Arts District.

Day 5:
Explore the Dallas Farmers Market.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my mother, who taught me outlets for my creativeness and to McKinney Farmer’s Market at Chestnut Square for providing one of the best farmers markets to sell my products.

Website: CrittersCollars.ETSY.com

Instagram: CrittersCollars

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrittersCollars