Review: A. Gato Designs
A. Gato Designs is a well established indie brand local to me. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the designer at several events, as well as at local meetups and I consider her a friend. So while this is not a sponsored review, I do want to be upfront about things.
Because the postal system is a bit out of sorts right now, and because I’m not opening my mail instantly, I’m not including a timeline, but the package got to me in a very reasonable amount of time. I paid $4.35 for shipping, which is also quite reasonable.
My Order came in a bubble mailer with each item carefully packaged inside, along with a cute little hand written note.
First item: Purple and Gold Bows – Clip Sets [shop link]
These bows are alligator clip style and have a really delicate sheen to them. The are well made, and the tails aren’t cut, they are doubled over as well, so they won’t fray. They are glued to the clip, but in this case, I think sewing wouldn’t have worked as well, so I don’t really count that as a negative. At just $5, they were way less expensive than I would expect for hand-made bows, and I look forward to pairing them with some of my tricky-to-match classic pieces.
Next up is the Cat on the Moon – Enamel Pin [Shop Link]
This enamel pin of the brand’s logo is one of several that A Gato Designs offers. Others feature little cats in bonnets and there are quite a few which are a bit more humorous. There is also a whole set of spoopy ones! But, that’s not really my personal style, so this one is my favorite. It really gives me a bit of a sailor moon vibe, you know? It was $12, and is quite nicely made.
Lastly, I ordered Cookie Cascade – Acrylic Pin [Shop Link]
I love this pin. It’s really hard to find indie items that are acrylic or plastic and are custom to that brand. I really like the art style and the colors of this, and the texture/ material is great for pairing with plastic sweet lolita jewelry. It’s comes in all the different card suits and it’s only $8. I want to try putting this on the side of a big AP head bow!
Lastly, a few small bows, a sticker and a handwritten note were tucked into the package
The bows aren’t listed online, but they are super cute, and the colors are great. The navy is a perfect match to a number of navy things I have and the pink-beige is the exact color of some of my pink-beige innocent world items. The sticker is not listed on the webshop, but is available to sticker club members on Patreon.
Speaking of which, A Gato Designs does have a patreon as well, which I’m a supporter of. The lowest tier is just $1, and allows you access to behind the scenes content and shop updates. At the $5 tier, you get the behind the scenes info, plus a high quality patreon exclusive sticker mailed to you every month.
The last tier is a very special tier. It’s $300 and it’s basically a way to buy a customized MTO dress from the designer. The designer posts patreon only designs and you can select the material and color, and it will be custom sized for you. There is only one past dress so far, but it’s an elegant confection of tiers of gathered ruffles which the designer would normally have sold for $500 retail.
I hope you enjoyed this little review, and I invite you to click the brand’s logo below to check out their website.
