Our Mission
Bark + Shout is a people + pets lifestyle brand based in London, UK.
In November 2020, Bark + Shout was created by myself (Cameron) and my partner Alexandra with help from our new puppy - Ember the Staffy.
When searching for products in the pet store, I realised how cheap, flimsy and uninspired in design the pet accessory market is and decided to try my hand at creating some accessories for Ember. Borrowing my mother's sewing machine, I crafted the first few items - some Christmas Bows and Bandanas.
Alex and I decided to create a website and put these products online over the Christmas period. To our great surprise, and for the first time ever, we were selling products online and with great success!
The reality of pursuing a creative endeavour, such Bark + Shout, as a full-time career was a dream for me which was becoming more plausible and so, over the next 2 years, I have dedicated much of my time to learning as much as I could about the pet accessory market, the gear options available and various manufacturing processes as well as improving many of the skills necessary as a business-owner.
Over the past few years, I have handcrafted thousands of fashion-focused pet products but I have also learnt much about the sustainability and overconsumption issues surrounding consumer products including the pet accessory market. I decided that it was time to truly stand apart from other brands in the niche and to take on something more meaningful.
In January of 2022, we redefined Our Mission:
'To improve the lives of people and their pets by facilitating personal development through gear that helps you to break out of the comfort zone.'
To achieve this mission, we also outlined the following:
- Values: which we use to guide our approach.
- Projects: which are in place to help us to further implement our Values.
Our Values and their associated Projects are as follows:
- INNOVATIVE: we COMMIT to innovating continually to create the best solutions.
To achieve this, our In-House design and manufacturing is based locally in London which allows us to continually iterate and rapidly implement new designs.
feedBARK™ (Project): We will work with dog owners and specialty companies to ensure we have a well-tested solution.
- INCLUSIVE: we COMMIT to including all people and their pets
To achieve this, we will create a range of sizes, designs and customisation options which are suitable for all people and their pets
TAILored™ (Project): If our products do not meet your requirements, you can place a request for a specific design and, for a fee, we will do our best help you bring it to life.
- INTENTIONAL: we COMMIT to intentionally reducing our environmental impact.
To achieve this, we will use the most durable materials suitable and recycled / recyclable materials where appropriate whilst discouraging problematic consumption habits (e.g., fast-fashion)
RUFFed™ (Project): For a fee, customers can send in damaged items for repair. For free, customers can send in any of our products which are no longer needed to be Refurbished / Recycled.
With this new focus in mind, we set to designing a range of gear and after 3 months we released the first iteration of our AirTag compatible collars to great success.
Moving forward, we plan to continue creating innovative, inclusive and intentional products for people and their pets. With your support, we hope to achieve our mission of improving the lives of people and their pets!