Did you know that every single one of our leads has been made by hand? In fact, all of our pet accessories are handmade, here in the UK! From start to finish, the making of our leads is a real labour of love. We wanted to share with you some facts about your handmade Hiro + Wolf lead that you might not realise...
1) FABRICS FULL OF LOVE
Did you know that we design all of our Hiro + Wolf Originals prints in house? Yes, really! Our co-founder, Amy, studied Accessories Design at London College of Fashion and is the creative mind behind not only our brand and marketing but also our original prints. Amy adores illustrating our colourful signature prints which she lovingly draws by hand. These designs are then digitally printed onto cotton fabric in the Lake District. For our other collections, our co-founder, Bee, scours the globe for the very finest, ethically sourced fabrics. Sourcing fabrics such as our Kente, Dakar, Shuka and Fireworks designs from her home continent of Africa. Bee worked as Events Manager at the Design Museum and has a history in retail and so has a keen eye for fine fabrics. She never fails to find something new and exciting on her travels!
2) SAFETY FIRST
We rigorously test all of our leads and collars on long walks through the muddy Kent countryside & sandy Margate beaches. For our pet accessories, we use only the highest quality buckles and solid D-rings, all secured by 2 strong rivets making them ideal for large dogs (and small strong ones!). We use high quality 'lobster claw' trigger snap hooks with a spring-close gate for extra security. Our vegan dog leads are backed onto super tough polyester webbing and we stitch them with durable nylon thread. We also make matching ID tags, fit one of these to your pet's collar to help keep them safe should they ever wander off.
3) EXPERT EXPERIENCE
Our dog leads are made by Jayne, an expert seamstress with a long family history in the pet accessories business. Working from her beautiful garden workshop in Staffordshire, Jayne was brought up in the pet trade working for her Mum and Dad's thriving pet accessory business before setting up on her own. Jayne is an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to production and often sends us messages late at night because she's thought up a more effective way to do things! After buying the equipment from her parents workshop when they retired, Jayne decided to downsize due to many companies choosing to have things made abroad instead. Jayne said; "In my opinion British is best, I take great pride in what I do and it's good to support your local makers. There's a great heritage of leather work in Staffordshire and there's so much skill here that has been passed down that is in danger of being lost as people move their production overseas. And just look at our current situation - I’m so proud that we’ve been able to maintain our production levels during a global pandemic by keeping things in the same country. I think more people will start to look closer to home after we are on the other side of these difficult times." We couldn't agree more, Jayne!
4) ONE-OF-A-KIND DESIGN
A lot of time and love go into designing and producing our unique dog leads - and you won't find them anywhere else! From our original prints to our ethically sourced signature styles, a Hiro + Wolf lead truly is one-of-a-kind. Not only are our designs unique, we can also offer custom orders so that your lead can be made especially for you. Interested in a custom order? Send us an email with your vision to orders@hiroandwolf.com and we will be more than happy to take you through the process! We take great pride in hand making leads to surprise and delight both our two and four legged customers.