About us

Our beginnings

The story of Dudiedog began in 2013 when I made the 'mistake' of refusing to buy a poor quality and over-priced dog bandana from a stand at a dog show. I explained to Flo that we could make a better one ourselves for our rescue Border Collie, Skye Blue.

Word spread and friends wanted bandanas for their dogs too. Flo was raising money for a Cello, so at weekends she would set off along the riverbank with a little wicker basket, selling bandanas to visitors walking their dogs. After having a little stall at the Grassington Dickensian Christmas Festival we realised that Dudiedog was becoming a real business. I put away my paints and canvases and bought more fabric!

That seems so long ago now - our bandanas sell all over the world! But we’re still the small & friendly cottage industry we started out as. All Dudiedog products are designed and made by me (along with fabric buying, embroidery, communications and social media) - I get REALLY busy sometimes! I'm a big fan of vintage sewing machines, and most orders are sewn on either Morag, Moira or Marlene...two Singer 201Ks, and a Singer 401 Slantomatic.  I've found these to sew more beautiful stitches and to be more reliable than modern machines. My aim, as always, is to make the most beautiful, highest quality accessories that are perfect for every dog, whatever his/her size or shape.  We try to do this in as sustainable a manner as possible.  Making high quality products that should have a long life, and producing to order, means that we create less waste. We are hopefully being the dog accessory  equivalent of slow fashion! 

The team

So there's me, Jan, who does all of the making, fabric selection, packing, communications, and anything else I haven't thought of! James has an important role too. He takes most of the product and modelling photos and also does some of the administration, as well as making lots of cups of tea! Flo, who was always our harshest critic, but had a keen eye for what was cool and what was not, has left the Dales and is following her dream in London. It's very quiet here without her.

Sadly we lost our beautiful boy, Skye Blue, in June this year. He always had just one purpose in life - to have the most fun possible while being the crazy, adorable supermodel and product tester that we all loved so much! Without Skye Blue there would have been no Dudiedog Bandanas! He was the inspiration for our beginnings, and the reason for our continuation over the past 10 years. Carrying on this journey without him is so hard every day, as he was the heart and soul of Dudiedog. 

Most importantly, I’d like to thank you guys - all of our lovely customers - for being on this exciting journey with us and helping to make the world a happier and more ‘Dudie’ place!

Jan x