" 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.
Founded by Interior designer Caroline Bate, the inspiration behind creating Hugo & Otto came from our love of dogs and a meander in the Cotswold hills in 2008 with clients, their 2 stunning Pointers and Drum our gorgeous Choccie Labrador.
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. I was then persuaded to work with our upholsterers to make a comfortable dog bed with removable washable covers, a couple of spare covers and, the seed was sewn.
It took several years of planning, pulling together savings, business plans, branding, stock and finding the right retail space to then fitting out, point of display, gearing up to sell products over the counter to customers is a huge learning curve in itself. Far removed from the glossy interior design world and my previous career at British Airways and all the while bringing up my very young son.
A little fellow called Finnbar MacBrigadoon a gorgeous miniature wire haired dachshund full of character he joined our little family 6 months before I opened the doors to Hugo & Otto and was a hit at our launch lifestyle photography shoots and was head of Customer experience in store, he insisted on the meet, greet and love me love my store attitude. My wee Scottish boy became my constant and my muse for all things Hugo & Otto.
We introduced globally renowned multi-award winning dog beds and dog products from Germany, New York, California and London including the Red Dot for Best Product design for the Letto Day Bed.
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
In 2018 we launched our first collections of British Made luxury dog beds 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 and test them before launching them online. Together we offer you over 39 years of design and specialist British dog bed manufacturing to offer you high quality and the best of British Made. We source everything in England from the cotton threads, packaging, fabrics and specialist hypoallergenic mattresses.
In 2019 we launched Dog Company to offer a more varied dog bed product and won accreditation by 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 with a 2 page write up in the business section of The Times Newspaper.
We are constantly designing new dog beds and bedding products, testing the market, researching new technical fabrics to offer you the very best of British Made and design for your dog's comfort.
Caroline
In memorandum of a wee fellow.
Finnbar MacBrigadoon
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 29 January 2023, 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)
Whitehall, Dover & Dartmouth Bolster Collections
HUGO & OTTO SIGNATURE DOG BED COLLECTIONS Speciality Med-Large Dog Breeds. Bolster Dog Beds deep filled 4 individual side bolsters & base mattress, embroidered, pinch piping, zipped, removable covers. Standard Polyester or Memory Foam Mattresses. Provenance: Prestitigious Textiles Fibregaurd® & Warwick Fabrics Easyclean® Fabrics, Ian Mankin Linen & Linen Blend Coastal Collections. Unregistered design rights Hugo & Otto 2018 ©
Launch November 2018 daylesford organic farm
Louis Velour & Harewood Pillow Cushion Collections
HUGO & OTTO TINY PAWS DOG BED COLLECTION Speciality small-med dog breeds. Deep filled pillow cushions. self piped, emboidered, zipped, removable covers. Standard Polyester Mattresses. Provenance: Louis: In the Style of Hugenot, Prestigious Textiles & Warwick Fabrics Plush Velvet. Harewood accompanied the Portreath Double Rattan Raised Dog Beds fabric Abraham Moon Pure Wools Basket weave rom their archives collection. Unregistered design rights Hugo & Otto 2018 ©
LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2018 DAYLESFORD ORGANIC FARM
Stretton & Shoreditch Memory Foam Box Bed Collections
HUGO & OTTO MEMORY FOAM COLLECTIONS Speciality easy step in/out for all breeds, stable non tip mattress, especially short legged dogs, elderly, sight impared, surgery recovery, growing puppies, Canine Arthritis pain management. Removable covers. 4 individual polyester side bolsters, removable & flip over Visco 50 Memory Foam Mattress. Provenance: Presitigious Textiles Fibreguard® & Warwick Fabrics Easyclean®, Plush Velvets & Luxury Faux fur. Unregistered design rights Hugo & Otto 2019 ©
LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2019 DAYLESFORD ORGANIC FARM
Gstaad Snuggle Pocket Dog Bed Collections
HUGO & OTTO LUXURY FAUX FUR COLLECTIONS Speciality small-med dog breeds, favoured by sight & scent hound breeds. Pocket sleeping bed style with outer and inner layer of luxury faux fur within outer layers of velvets, choice of internal mattress linings of standard polyester vertical fibre or Visco 50 memory foam. Provenance: Presitigious Textiles & Warwick Fabrics plush velvets & Luxury Faux Fur Unregistered design rights Hugo & Otto 2019 ©
LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2019 DAYLESFORD ORGANIC FARM
York Sitting Pretty & Lincoln As Nice As Pie Memory Foam Crumb Collections
HUGO & OTT MEMORY FOAM COLLECTIONS Speciality med-large breeds, relaxed style, high sided deep filled dog bed, easy to lounge, spread out. Hugo & Otto unique design internal 2 tier mattress system, polyester vertical fibre layer with memory foam crumb layer. Antiqued velour, self piping, removable covers. Provenance: Warwick Fabrics Easyclean® fabric. Unregistered design rights Hugo & Otto 2019 ©
LAUNCH APRIL 2020 online lockdown
Dog Company Launch
DOG COMPANY BABY SISTER NEW BRAND & BRAND WEBSITE LAUNCH DECEMBER 2020. Dog Company or DogCo for short was created as a new brand look British dog bed company offering dog beds from our design and British makers studios utilising small British fabric suppliers with smaller margins to offer you our fabulous style, designs and creations at a lower an affordable price point. Bucking the trend for fast throw away cheap market imports whilst encouraging creative makers, local employment and British manufacturing. And a little free reign with wowsy colours and glorious "style it your way" with mix & match designs.
www.dogco.uk
"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!"
