Consumer Culture

Whether you’re looking for a $170 dog bed, a $325 kitty jungle gym, $60 doggie booties or cat kibble labeled duck or salmon “a la veg,” HIGHLAND PET SUPPLY offers a fine collection of both high-end and semireasonably priced goods for the discerning pet owner. The selection of organic and natural pet foods and treats — including a $22 stack of sweet-potato chews — is almost enticing enough to give us humans hunger pangs. There are also fancy pet carriers, “party collars” and a wall filled with toys, many of them made from hemp and other natural products. The store also offers a five-week off-site training program and do-it-yourself in-store grooming stations, complete with elevated tubs, shampoo and conditioner, tools, towel, and blow dryer. What next, doggie pedicures and kitty facials? less...

The cakes at HIGHLAND BAKERY aren’t like the ones you might find at those fancy cake makers, where towering layers impose in their perfection. Instead, there’s something comfortably homey, with a fair dose of bohemian chic, in the rows of cakes dressed with orange and yellow daisies and other unpretentious adornments. From carrot and coconut to traditional chocolate or yellow, the cakes’ ingredients are organic and as wholesome as can be without compromising taste. Or, as one fan puts it, she’d like to bathe in Highland Bakery’s buttercream frosting. The bakery’s sweet-potato pancakes are nothing to scoff at, either — and serve as the perfect excuse to pick up a special-occasion cake during breakfast hours. less...