" designers first our British Made dog bed products offer quality to last, outstanding comfort & affordability without compromise "
- Caroline & Nathaniel Bate

We are a family business
Hi, we are Caroline & son Nathaniel Bate and share our lives with Hunter (Big Yellow Dog) Ottilie Lettuce and her 5 puppies. We are dedicated to designing and making beautiful luxury dog beds that last from our makers studios are in the West Midlands.
For The Love of Dog.
The inspiration behind creating Hugo & Otto came from our love of dogs and a meander in the Cotswold hills with clients, their 2 stunning Pointers and Drum our gorgeous Choccie Labrador way back in 2008.
The conversation soon turned from fabric window treatments and accent colours to how difficult it was to source good quality dog beds that would stand the test of time and more than a few machine washes.
All of us who share our lives with dogs understand this, whether your home is an Uber City pad, Country Cottage or next to the beach, returning home in the car and coming through your door is always a challenge to minimise wet steamy dogs. At the Cottage we had cleverly appointed their boot room with a floor level dog shower, sounds over the top but if you have plenty of space they are great for muddy dogs, wellies and to let soggy coats dry off on pegs. I agreed to work with our upholsterers to make a comfortable bed each with removable washable covers, a couple of spare covers and memory foam mattresses, they worked and they had 2 very happy dogs, the seed was sewn.
It took a while (several years) to pull together savings, business plans, branding, stock, finding the right retail space and fitting out and opened the doors to the Hugo & Otto's beautiful high street boutique for dogs in Cheshire in 2014. A little fellow called Finnbar MacBrigadoon had joined our family 8 months before, a beautiful miniature wirehaired dachshund, my Scottish boy became my constant and my muse for all things Hugo & Otto.
Dachshund coats and jumpers are a thing because, they simply they are known as low riders and their coats get stripped of their condition through mud and grit. They are particular to what type of dog beds they will sleep in, they love dark, cosy, layers, faux fur pocket beds are the ultimate favourite favoured by all hounds and a low donut dog bed. I often sat on a chair and would get a squeak to find him behind the cushions. Dachshund beds, coats and jumpers became a must have and a note to self, always check underneath a cushion or sofa throw before sitting down! And so I had to ensure that Dachshund coats were stocked in abundance, the best I have found are simply made by Equafleece easy to wash and quick to dry and pop on when in a hurry to go out in search of the ever illusive furball in a bush.
We introducing globally renowned multi-award winning dog beds and dog products from Germany including the Red Dot for Best Product design for the Letto Day Bed, hand turned leather collars and leads and bespoke leather dog jackets from New York and California.
All the way through the journey of creating Hugo & Otto from opening the doors to standing in muddy fields in our branded gazebo's or at Excel, Olympia next to me was Finnbar MacBrigadoon. He was so small I could sweep him up in my arms and into dog carriers, he was my wing dog and slept in many an Air BnB's and he was head of meet, greet and sniff in our high street boutique, snoozing in the window waiting for the next customer.
The inaugural launch of our first collections of British Made luxury dog beds was at Daylesford Organic Farm in the Cotswolds, appropriately right back to where the seed was sewn some 10 years earlier.
I create and design our dog bed products, source the fabrics and, together with Richard's expertise in the studio we make our samples, try and test them with the Studio's 2 labradors Otis and Luca and our happy tribe at home. We bring to you over 38 years of combined specialist British dog bed manufacturing and design.
We joined Joules on their Friends of Joules platform and the wonderful Alexandra from Chelsea Dogs.
We were accredited by and, became members of Made in Britain® in May 2020. Robert Lea, the respected Industrial Editor of The Times travelled to the Studio's to interview us post lockdown. And, we launched a new dog bedding brand Dog Company to offer a varied collection of dog bedding from essentials and waterproof travel beds to wowsy mix and match luxury dog beds.
We are constantly designing new dog beds with the introduction of dog crate sets in 2020. I had never before crated a puppy or adult dog and so big research ensued as we were expecting Ottilie Lettuce to arrive as soon as we were given the all clear to travel by Boris. She was born in lock down and I was advised by her breeder to buy a dog crate as all her puppies had to be crated in pairs as lock down was extended. The breeder had 11 puppies born 3 weeks apart to her 2 dachshund girls and come 7 weeks of age they start to run to every corner and hide in bushes. I got it, talked with as many suppliers as I could and launched our first dog crate collections and then got to work on dressing them in our own designs and styling.
We are designers first our British Made dog bed products offer quality to last, outstanding comfort & affordability without compromise and for that VaVaWoof styling we style it in oodles of bundles.
Thank you for reading our little journey,
Caroline
In memorandum of a wee fellow.
I lost Finnbar MacBrigadoon to his rainbow bridge on a freezing cold lockdown January day in 2021, it was a huge shock, every day I know he still plods alongside me. We are now a family of 2 humans Caroline and my son Nathaniel, Hunter, a gorgeous Labrador, (we call him Big Yellow Dog) & our little Ottilie Lettuce and her 5 puppies, their names...
Hugo Finnbar, Otto Finnbar, Harris Finnbar, Lettuce, Beatrix Strettonstar
Caroline Bate is qualified in interior design and decoration
Alumni: KLC School Of Design 2004/5 Chelsea, London. Certificate in Design & Decoration, Distinction.
Fellow of the RSA
Accredited Member of Made in Britain®
www.hugoandotto.com
Updated 01 August 2022 Copyright & All rights reserved

Four feet
I have done mostly what most men do,
And pushed it out of my mind;
But I can’t forget, if I wanted to,
Four-Feet trotting behind.
Day after day, the whole day through
Wherever my road inclined
Four-Feet said, ‘I am coming with you!’
And trotted along behind.
Now I must go by some other round,
Which I shall never find
Somewhere that does not carry the sound
Of Four-Feet trotting behind.
- Rudyard Kipling

Slow MADE GOODS & change for good
The Slow philosophy is not about doing everything at a snail’s pace. It’s about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Savoring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them. Doing everything as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible. It’s about quality over quantity in everything that we do.
In terms of making and manufacturing goods, it taps into a way of production that spans centuries and working in a collaborative way with smaller suppliers.
* We focus on low production
* Encouraging young British designers and craftspeople
* Creating Local employment with an output that promotes quality over quantity
* Working in a collaborative way with smaller British makers suppliers to understand our supply chain
* We work with ethical employers and suppliers who recycle and re-use their off cuts from production lines
* Working towards Carbon neutral
* We are followers of B.Corp since 2019 and we back the mantra Change For Good.

fabulous fabrics & 100% faux fur
We know and understand upholstery fabrics and the supply chain. We look for durable, robust fabrics, quality and washability first and then colourways. I would always try to select a technical fabric which offers outstanding martingale rub tests and stain resistant technology but they come at a price of which the fabric suppliers expect your to pay and this is why some of our products have a higher price tag simply because of the cost per meter. Our XL dog beds for instance will take upwards of 5 meters to make but then you can pop in several dachshunds and a few spaniels into the XL.
When we are talking Luxury Faux Fur the very way they manufacture it which is on a round knitting machine and then shipped from Belgium or further afield in 15 meter rolls the cost to buy at trade is eye wateringly astronomical. Our faux fur are supplied by the Industry best it is not a fast turnaround cheap mass market product.
Dogs adore sleeping on and within layers of faux fur, it is both calming and comfortable. I have a personal view, not based on science nor data that the feel of faux fur reminds your dog of their mothers when they are born and those first vital few weeks of sleeping on their mother.
Our faux fur is an ideal substitute for real fur and fleece that tends to "felt" down with weight. A cruelty-free product guaranteed to be free from harmful chemical. All our faux fur dog beds and products are 100% fake fur. Our fabrics undergo full composition testing by the manufacturers and our British suppliers ensuring that no animal fibres are present.
The standards and quality of luxury faux fur is outstanding, we are passionate about all animals and have a cruelty-free ethos. We belive that it is unjust to keep animals in captivity for them to suffer appalling abuse before being inhumaely killed for their fur especially when the standards of luxury faux fur offers calming for dogs, a beautiful pile, feel, warmth and look.

MADE IN ENGLAND
All our luxury dog beds and dog products are made by hand at our studios in the West Midlands by Richard and the busy sewing bees that work hard to produce the very best of quality handmade dog beds. They are longest established specialist British dog bed manufacturer, together we bring to you over 38 years of combined expertise in design and British Manufacturing. By manufacturing in our own studio, we make according to demand, thus minimising over production and reducing waste.
Bespoke service we go above and beyond to make your dog the best in comfort and quality and style for your lifestyle. We can work with you to change the size of your dog bed and change fabric choices within our stock ranges. (excluding luxury dog crate sets)
"The faux fur was one of the deciding factors with my purchase. The previous donut bed we had was made from a fleece material so I knew they favoured the softness of that material for snoozing. The fur is really a huge step up in luxury for them. I honestly can’t get over how much they’ve taken to it. I’d estimate that Archie’s spent around 80% of his time in the new bed since it arrived. I’m already thinking of which of the old beds to replace next 🤣"
"Ada loves her dog crate & set she will not use her old day bed at all. Great write up in the Times by the way, love the commitment to make quality products in the UK and use local skills. Keep up the good work!"