Behind The (Dog) Brand With Fetch & Follow

Who else is a fan of Fetch & Follow dog accessories? We certainly are and we know we’re not alone with many London dogs having at least one stylish piece in their doggy wardrobe from this London born dog lifestyle brand – as featured in London’s doggy fashion diva Pop Sausage’s gift guide on the blog.

I’ve even had people come up to me to ask if Belinha was ‘wearing Fetch & Follow’, a sign of just how synonymous with classic London style Fetch & Follow dog accessories are these days.

So we thought it was about time we went behind the scenes to meet the two-legged and four-legged faces behind the brand and find out what makes them woof. Let’s dive in and go Behind the (Dog) Brand with Fetch and Follow…

Behind The (Dog) Brand With Fetch & Follow

The humans behind Fetch & Follow are Genesta and Taneale helped out of course by the four-legged members of the Fetch & Follow pack, George the Border Terrier (9), Lacy the rescue Staff x Whippet cross (also 9) and Frank the mini Schnauzer (the youngest at 7). Fetch & Follow were also recently featured in our ‘Brands that Give Back to Dogs | The Ultimate Guide‘ as they regularly give back to rescue charities which gets a big paws up from us.

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It seems these days having a Fetch & Follow item in your dog’s wardrobe is a must for London dogs but let’s go back to the beginning…how did the idea for Fetch & Follow come about and how did you get started?

Fetch & Follow launched back in 2013, which seems so long ago now. It came from the need for healthy dog treats, which at the time we felt were really hard to find. In addition to being healthy and tasty, it was important for our products to reflect the fun personalities of our dogs, so they made people smile in the same way dogs do. We achieved this through our packaging, which featured images of dogs and playful stories about the dogs the treats were designed for. Shortly after that we started designing our leather goods after never being able to find dog collars that were simple and classic in design and the brand has just expanded from there.

If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice when you were starting out what would it be?  

Genesta – I wouldn’t offer any, everything happens for a reason and the only way you are ever going to learn is by making mistakes (even if it does seem like the end of the world at the time!)

Taneale – it’s going to be fulfilling but it can be tough at times, so remember to enjoy the ups as well as the downs.

Behind every great dog brand there is usually a dog (or several). Please introduce us properly to the four-legged members of the Fetch & Follow crew…

We have George the extremely loyal and playful border terrier – he also happens to be a heart breaker due to his good looks; Lacy the whippet cross staff rescue who has the most youthful, loving and energetic personality and finally Frank our free-spirited, fun-loving and very unique mini Schnauzer.

Are you lucky enough to have a dog-friendly workplace?

Yes, our studio is in Gossamer Gardens in Hackney where dogs are really welcomed – in fact a lot of the businesses here have dogs. We are also only 10 minutes from Victoria Park and London Fields, so all members of the Fetch & Follow pack like break time.

What’s your best-selling product and why do you think it’s so popular?

It does changes throughout the year but probably the most consistently popular products are our collars and leads. Made from the finest vegetable tanned bridal leather, they have strong brass fitting, O-ring detailing and our collars are cut wider than most, so it’s easy to spot a Fetch & Follow dog in the park.

(That’s exactly why we love ours and yes, we have been spotted).

Your leads and collars are stunning (we have several) but as someone who likes bright colours too, we’ve always wondered if you ever plan to include brighter colours in the range?

The short answer is no. First and foremost, we only work with high quality leather, which does not support synthetic dyes. Plus, as individuals we’re not big on wearing lots of bright colours so we’re really select with the brighter hues we bring into our collections and these are seen mainly in our coat ranges.

Let’s talk bigger dogs, do you have any coats or clothes in the range to cater to them?

Yes, we have our size 5 and 6 jackets, which are made for the larger dog, along with our size 6 jersey.

What’s the one essential dog parent item you can’t do without? 

Taneale – a Black Kong Bone stuffed with cheese or peanut butter, almost indestructible and perfect for when I need to leave Lacy at home

Genesta – the boys’ collars and leads! Without them we wouldn’t be able to go out on our adventures and a brush for Frank, as he always brings the park/beach/woodland home with him in his fur!

We love the Fetch & Follow Stories series, how do you select people to be involved?

We are really lucky that running Fetch & Follow helps us meet so many amazing other small business and creativity individuals. Fetch & Follow stories are about people who have in someway inspired us and bringing these people to our community.

We’ve yet to make it to one of your Walk & Talk events…tell us what people can expect if they come along?

The idea behind the walks came from our community; We found that dog owners are always looking for information and tips. The Walk & Talk events bring dog owners together and give them the chance to ask an expert questions which they would normally not have the chance to do in a relaxed environment. We have been really lucky to be joined by some great experts so far and for 2019 our focus will be on health and wellbeing.

(The Walk & Talk events are always featured on The Dogvine London Dog Events Calendar so you can see what’s on.)

What’s next for Fetch & Follow and what can Fetch & Follow fans look forward to in 2019?

We have some great new products coming out in the next month along with a new collection for Autumn. In addition, we have some great events and partnerships, which will be announced (on The Dogvine) very soon.

Keep up with Fetch and Follow on Instagram & Facebook

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 We hope you enjoyed our Behind the (Dog) Brand with Fetch & Follow feature. If there are brands you would love to hear more about, let us know in the comments below!