I've been asked a few times recently where our pet beds actually come from and how they're made. So I thought I'd sit down and write it all out properly, because it's a story I love telling.
The short version: our beds are made from grass and wool. From plants and sheep. From two of the oldest materials humans have ever worked with, in two parts of the world where the skill of working them has been passed down through generations. Here's the longer version.
The Ghanaian beds: woven from elephant grass
Our Ghanaian pet beds come from the Bolga region in the upper east of the country — a place with a weaving tradition that stretches back centuries. The material is called elephant grass locally (also known as veta vera or kinkahe), and it grows tall and strong through the rainy season on the savannah.
The process starts in the fields. The grass is harvested by hand, then split lengthways into thin strands and left to dry in the sun. Once dry, it's rolled between the palms — a technique that twists two strands together into a single, stronger cord. Only then is it ready to be woven. If the weavers want colour, the cord is dipped into natural or fibre-reactive dyes before weaving begins.
Every bed in our collection is woven by hand, from the base up. There are no machines involved at any stage. A single cave-style bed takes several days to complete. The dome shape is built by tension alone — the weaver working the grass tighter and looser in different places to create the structure. When it's finished, it holds its form for years.
Every bed is woven by hand, from the base up. There are no machines involved at any stage.
What I love about working with the Bolga weavers is that this is a genuinely living tradition. It isn't a heritage craft being preserved for the sake of it — it's an active livelihood, and one that's particularly important for women in the region, who make up the majority of the weavers.
Why elephant grass works for pets
Practically speaking, elephant grass is a lovely material for a pet bed. It's naturally strong. It breathes, so it doesn't trap heat which matters for animals who like to curl up in one spot for hours at a time and it doesn't hold onto smells.
The cave-style dome is the piece that surprises people. It looks like it's designed for a cat (and cats love them), but small dogs adore them too. Bobbi, my colleague Valerie's chihuahua, has one and it's his favourite thing in the house. He goes in, turns around three times, and disappears for the afternoon.
The Nepalese cat caves: felted from wool
Our felted cat caves come from a workshop in Nepal that uses one of the oldest textile techniques on earth - wet felting. The wool itself is pure New Zealand wool, which we chose specifically for its length, springiness, and the way it takes colour.
Wet felting is deceptively simple to describe: wool, warm water, and soap, worked by hand until the fibres bind together into a solid, durable fabric. In practice it's incredibly skilled work. The wool is laid out in careful layers, with the direction of each layer crucial to giving the finished piece its strength. Then it's soaked, agitated, and rolled by hand for hours. As the fibres tangle and lock, the fabric shrinks and thickens.
The result is remarkable. Wet-felted wool is naturally water-resistant. It's warm in winter and breathable in summer. It's antimicrobial. It doesn't need any glue, stitching, or synthetic binding, the fibres literally hold themselves together through friction.
Why New Zealand wool
New Zealand wool has a specific quality that makes it ideal for felting: the fibres are long, coarse, and full of natural crimp. That crimp is what allows the fibres to interlock so tightly during the felting process. Softer wools would produce a limper, less durable product.
It's also a beautifully sustainable material which is renewable, biodegradable and endlessly warm. Which is really its own reward when a small creature is curled up inside it looking pleased with themselves.
Two materials. Two techniques. Both older than industry, both still done the way they've always been done.
Beds worth curling up in
Here's the truth about why I love making these beds. They're beautiful, they sit in the corner of a room and they look like something you chose, not something you had to buy. They hold your favourite creature at their most peaceful and I sincerely hope they're the kind of thing you might still have in ten years' time and be pleased about.
That's really it. Made with care by skilled people, using natural materials and ending up in homes where animals genuinely love them. That's a good chain of events in my mind.
Shop our pet bed collection. Our hand-woven Ghanaian beds and hand-felted Nepalese cat caves are handmade with care and designed to be curled up in. Shop pet beds →
If you have questions about any of this, or want to know more about a specific piece, I'd love to hear from you.
Amy x