Most people wouldn’t dream of hiking in the Lake District without good outdoor gear – so why do dogs often go without?
That’s the same question that Carolyn Harker, 46, who lives near Kirkby Stephen, asked herself before she came up with the idea to create technical performance wear for dogs.
Carolyn officially launched the Fell Dog brand just over a year ago after spending two years prior working on gear designs suitable for adventurous dogs and wet Lake District weather.
From fully waterproof collars and leads to functional, quick drying harnesses – Carolyn said she has sold to all kinds of dogs, from working sheepdogs to chihuahuas that get carried everywhere.
But it all started as a side-hustle idea Carolyn had in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic while working in her role as a high-flying freelance outdoor clothing designer for brands like Rab and Berghaus.
She said: “I worked full-time in the outdoor trade for 25 years and about two years before COVID happened I went freelance.
“I remember thinking this is great, I can go running in the afternoon and get work done in the morning and then when COVID happened it all became very stressful.
“Suddenly I had nobody to furlough me and all the people I had worked with were also furloughed and giving me no work.
“So I thought what am I going to do, If I sit here I’ll go mad. I think I had about five business plans in the works at the time, but I’ve always loved dogs, and I grew up with them, so I settled on my ideas for Fell Dog.
“It was really supposed to be a side-line to my freelance clothing design but it’s been so good it’s actually taken over and I’ve had to say no to clothing this year.
“But the dog stuff is way more fun, it’s taken me by surprise how much people love it!”
Carolyn’s initial design inspiration started with a wild and rainy day in the fells with her own dog, Tilly, a Tibetan terrier.
The pair got caught in heavy rain and while Carolyn was able to take off her gear and leave it to quickly dry after their walk, Tilly’s collar remained wet – and smelly – for over a day afterwards.
Carolyn said she immediately started to think about ways dog wear could be made better and more affordable.
She added: “I just thought there has got to be a better solution, so that’s when I designed the drench collar and lead.
“Both are waterproof and don’t get smelly and I designed all the prints for them too, I wanted something that looked nice and worked together colour-wise.
“Because of my career background, having dogs I’ve always noticed when I’d go and buy a coat for them and I’d think god, that’s terrible quality.
“You’d look on the inside and see metal rivet studs that would just sit on the dogs skin and you’d never see that in the outdoor clothing industry.
“There are some great brands for dog harnesses out there – but they can be expensive and a lot of them are American and difficult to get hold of easily in the UK.
“So the idea purely came from my career background and what I’m used to and how we would work. I wanted to transfer my skills from human design into dog design.”
Alongside her drench lead and collar range – Carolyn also offers the Helvellyn Harness, a quick dry harness that has a handle for owners to help dogs over stiles or get older dogs out of cars more easily.
Carolyn added: “Everything I do has a function, it’s all fit for purpose and it’s all about comfort as well. The rope leads I have are strong and versatile and the clip rotates 360 degrees to help prevent tangles.
“I’ve also created the crag bag which is essentially a waterproof, turbo-charged dry sack that is great for campers and the back of the car. Some people use them for kibble, they’re essentially a dog travel bag and I have a travel bowl to match it.
“But I do all the branding and the artwork myself. Not all clothing designers do designs, but I do both the technical and creative side.
“When it comes to designing dog wear it’s not the dog that chooses, it’s all about the owners.
“So when I’m designing I look at the customer, remove myself from it all and understand the consumer and what they’re into.”
Predominantly selling her dog wear online and at face to face markets – Carolyn said she credits word of mouth for helping her business grow.
She said: “I’ve been doing very well at markets and country shows but I have to admit I had to learn to create a website as I had no idea with that side of the business at first.
“I did my first market at Rheged over Christmas and I sold out in three hours – I actually had to get my partner to go home so we could restock.
“In my head I thought all my business would be online, but word of mouth through these kinds of events has been fantastic. I can see hits on my website after I’ve been to these places.”
Carolyn is also selling her products via wholesale across the county and the wider UK.
She added: “From being really young I’ve always thought right, what business can I do. I suppose I’ve always been entrepreneurial and wanting to do something.
“But I’ve now started to get some real diehard fans for Fell Dog, which is just fantastic.”
Carolyn is planning to move more into wholesale in the next few years.
She is also currently working with Lake District mountain rescue teams to recycle used climbing rope and transform it into dog toys.
