Dog accessory brand Stocky & Dee harnessing rise in pet ownership

Luxury dog accessories firm Stocky & Dee is experiencing rapid growth, partly as a result of the surge in pet ownership during the pandemic – and is looking to extend its number of retail partners.

The firm was created in 2019 by husband-and-wife team Chris and Mairi Robb, and it has now moved into its dedicated studio in Leith, after it outgrew the first site it had moved to in Edinburgh when it had become too big to run from home.

The start-up now has four full-time staff, including a textile designer, and it has taken on a textile intern. The firm appointed Eddie Robb as chairman last year to harness his many years working with several start-ups in different sectors.

Stocky & Dee has sold more than 6,500 products and fulfilled 2,300 orders over the last year, with popular items including customisable collars, leads, harnesses and even bow ties for dogs.

All of the firm's products are handmade using UK-sourced yarn colours and patterns. Picture: contributed.

The business was the brainchild of textiles graduate Mairi, who studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee, who has expanded the firm during the pandemic with Chris, a professional golfer who was unable to focus on in his usual career as tournaments were cancelled and travel restricted.

Mairi was inspired to start designing dog collars while running a gift shop in Royal Deeside before moving to Edinburgh, and the brand name combines Stockbridge in the Scottish capital, where the family now lives, with Deeside, where they are from.

The business focuses on sustainability, and all products are handmade, using UK-sourced yarn colours and patterns. Its range is currently mainly sold through its own website, but also stocked in a small number of retail outlets in the UK, US, Norway and Belgium. The firm is looking to increase the number of retailers it works with, and it is currently finalising discussions with a major European brand.

The firm was created in 2019 by husband-and-wife team Chris and Mairi Robb. Picture: contributed.

Mairi said: “We started to grow before the pandemic hit, but demand has surged beyond our expectations as a result of the growth in dog-ownership over the past 18 months. There was clearly a gap in the market for high-quality, bespoke dog accessories and we have helped to fill that space.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.