OUR STORY
Some businesses begin with a business plan. Ours began with a friendship, a Chihuahua called Barry, and a shared love of doing things a little differently.
More than four decades of friendship. A lifetime of memories. And the story behind DesignerPets
Gill & Kitty in the early days of a friendship that would last more than four decades.
BEFORE DESIGNERPETS…
Their friendship began more than four decades ago, when they were both still teenagers. Kitty had left Wales and found a live-in job near London. Not long afterwards, Gill joined her there, beginning a friendship that would shape both their lives.
What started as two young women finding their feet away from home became something much bigger. Over the years they shared homes, jobs, adventures, difficult times and, inevitably, a growing collection of animals.
Somewhere along the way, friendship became family.
THEN CAME BARRY…
Years later, a tiny Chihuahua named Barry would become part of their family — and, without anyone knowing it at the time, part of the inspiration for what came next.
Back then, finding something a little different for a small dog wasn’t nearly as easy as it is today. The glamorous collars, unusual accessories and stylish little outfits that were becoming popular in America were much harder to find here in the UK.
Kitty spotted the gap. With a love for Barry, an eye for something different and a feeling that perhaps it was time for a change, an idea began to take shape.
That idea would become DesignerPets.
Barry — the little dog who helped inspire what came next.
Gill & Kitty in 2003 — more than twenty years of friendship behind them, with DesignerPets still ahead.
AN IDEA BECOMES DESIGNERPETS
By around 2003, the idea was beginning to become something real. Finding glamorous collars, stylish clothes and unusual accessories for dogs in the UK was still surprisingly difficult, particularly compared with the choice available in America.
DesignerPets began to take shape around that gap in the market — creating distinctive pieces for people who wanted more personality, individuality and choice for their pets.
Before long, the business had a physical shop of its own. Kitty & Gill had left office work behind to help make the venture work, and Barry came too, spending his days sitting on the counter and quietly watching customers — and plenty of four-legged visitors — come and go.
At the same time, online shopping was changing rapidly. eBay became an important part of DesignerPets and gave the business an audience far beyond the shop. With relatively few UK sellers offering the same sort of products, what had started as an idea was finding its place.
DesignerPets had gone from a possibility to a business.
A TURNING POINT
Like many small businesses, the journey wasn’t always straightforward. Eventually the time came to close the shop, bringing one chapter of DesignerPets to an end.
It was a difficult period for Gill and Kitty too. After years of building a life and a business together, circumstances pulled them in different directions and tested a friendship that had already survived decades of change.
But some things are worth fighting for.
They regrouped, rebuilt and found a different way forward. Kitty returned to her previous career, while Gill continued to develop DesignerPets beyond the traditional shop — keeping alive the creativity and individuality that had been there from the beginning.
The shop had closed. The story hadn’t.
One chapter closed. DesignerPets found another way forward
Still happiest making something — with an idea taking shape
FINDING A NEW WAY
Without the shop, DesignerPets began to evolve. Gill continued doing what she loves most — creating. Over time, the business became increasingly shaped by her own personality: a little bit of sparkle, quite a lot of pink, the occasional bow and a determination that nothing leaves her hands unless she’s completely happy with it.
Upcycling became another part of that creativity. Old denim could become something completely new; an ordinary accessory could be transformed with rhinestones, embellishments or an idea that hadn’t existed until Gill sat down to make it.
Markets and dog shows also became an important part of DesignerPets. They offered something the internet couldn’t: meeting customers and their dogs face to face, seeing a dog leave wearing something Gill had made, and sometimes meeting those same customers again years later.
The business had changed, but the reason for doing it hadn’t.
BACK WHERE THEY BELONG
DesignerPets may have left the high street, but it certainly didn’t disappear from view.
Markets and dog shows became a natural home for the business. Instead of waiting behind a shop counter, Gill could take DesignerPets directly to the people — and, more importantly, the dogs — it was created for.
Over time, Kitty became part of the DesignerPets story again too. More than forty years after they first met, the two friends can still be found together at markets and events, surrounded by pink, pet clothes, Snuggle Sacks and an impressive number of four-legged customers.
For Gill, those face-to-face moments remain one of the best parts of the job. A website can show you a product; a market lets you see a Chihuahua climb into a new Snuggle Sack and apparently decide it has no intention of ever coming out.
Some things, it seems, find their way back to where they belong.
Gill & Kitty together at one of the many dog shows that have become part of the DesignerPets story.
DESIGNERPETS TODAY
More than 2 decades after it began, DesignerPets continues to evolve.
Today you’ll find Gill online, at markets and dog shows, and creating new pieces from home — from much-loved Snuggle Sacks and pet clothing to bespoke and upcycled designs. Some things are sourced because they’re simply too fabulous to leave behind; others begin with fabric, an idea and Gill’s sewing machine.
But behind everything is the same small, independent business that started all those years ago: personal, a little unconventional and never particularly interested in looking like everybody else.
And somewhere at the heart of it all are two friends, a tiny Chihuahua who helped start something neither could have predicted, and rather a lot of pink.
Here’s to well-turned-out pets everywhere.
Gill & Kitty — more than four decades after their story began.
