We are a small family run independent business. A pet company that designs and creates apparel from unwanted or damaged designer items for your pet. It’s no surprise that more designers are now embracing upcycling, considering the pandemic has led to an eye-watering £125 billion to £142 billion worth of excess inventory from spring/summer 2020 collections – more than double the average. Why not extend the trend for upcycling to our beloved pets and also do our bit for the environment?

Where we began

Like a lot of other people we decided to add to our family during lockdown and Poppy-Rose the West Highland Terrier joined us.

It was a dream come true initially however after a few weeks we noticed that she was very quiet and subdued and we took her to the vets. We were devastated to be told that she had something called ‘westie-jaw’ (Craniomandibular Osteopathy) a painful condition that restricts the movement of the jaw. Poppy needed to be kept in overnight and placed on a drip to keep her alive. Following this she had several poorly periods and we were told to expect the worst and to start thinking about possibly putting her to sleep which was utterly devastating. We were told if she could grow to maturity then she would recover as her bones would stop growing at this point. One of the side effects of this condition was that Poppy could not tolerate anything going over her head and was clearly uncomfortable with anything rigid touching her such as a traditional collar or harness. We started to make bespoke soft collars and coats for her to overcome this and this was the inspiration for Tailormade.Dog. Thankfully Poppy reached maturity with a few ups and downs and lots of medication and she is now 14 months old, a happy treasured member of the family. The creative urge was roused however and we continued to make coats for Poppy and friends and family but also wanted to find a way to do this in a sustainable and ethical way. We started to research unwanted and damaged designer clothing and to look at how these could be upcycled into fashionable and comfortable items.  

Our Vision

Our aim is to create bespoke, sustainable, styling for your dog. Every pet product featured in our ‘Tailor Made By Us’ section of the website is upcycled from items of clothing that are no longer wanted, outgrown or damaged. Rather than these items going to landfill we create beautiful, unique, sustainable products for your precious pet that are formulated from genuine designer items and handmade in the UK.  Why is this concept sustainable? Well, over 5% of the UK’s total annual carbon and water footprints result from clothing consumption, so buying upcycled clothes instead of new could make a huge environmental difference by reducing clothing waste.

We are not aiming to imitate other designer products our aim is to create something unique from a sustainable source that will look beautiful on your dog,

The future

We would like to extend the range of upcycled products available for pet owners this has many advantages, a greater range of beautiful handmade products for your pet being more widely available.

Furthermore it is also beneficial to our planet and the environment. The overproduction and overconsumption of cheaply made clothing causes a lot of harm to the planet, people, and animals living on it. The textile and apparel industry is one of the largest polluters globally. Upcycling clothing has a huge positive impact on the environment and animals indirectly and directly.

Thank you for looking

We hope you enjoy looking at our upcycled products in our ‘Tailor Made By Us’ section we are adding products all the time so keep coming back to see our new creations. Each item we make has been handcrafted into something aesthetically unique, and each is a memoir – a collection of memories of a preloved item. With this in mind we are happy to upcycle items of clothing that may have a special meaning to you to create an item for your K9 companion that they can then wear on a daily basis whilst also reminding you of someone special.

We have a mailing list so that you can keep up to date with all our new products and we will also update our social media accounts with the latest items.

Sue and Poppy 🙂