In the Beginning
Creature Clothes British handmade pet accessories were born from a childhood sparkle of doggy love.
Founded in 1999 by designer Cosima Pole, Creature Clothes was borne out of a collar Cosi made for Vodka her black Labrador out of an old necklace… every time Cosi and Vodka went anywhere, to the park, on the train, to the shops – people would ask where “that” collar came from and offer money to buy it there and then.
So Cosi went to Menorca to work with a traditionally skilled leather worker, and one apprenticeship in leathermaking later Creature Clothes was born.
It started with sharing some love
Greeting cards were the creative inspiration that swiftly led to the creation of Creature Clothes UK dog & cat accessories.
Cosi started working for herself aged 17, setting up her company Scrap Ltd after leaving school, designing and handmaking greeting cards out of the waste paper generated from her mother’s lampshade factory. Cosi’s first client was Liberty of London and she went on to work on commissions for Aveda, Virgin Records, The Royal Academy of Arts (making the merchandise for the Sensation Exhibition of YBA’s).
Her cards were even featured in an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum to celebrate the then emerging handmade greeting card market that Cosi had helped to create (see the poster promoting the exhibition on our press page). The V&A have also added Cosi’s cards to their permanent collection.
It all started with handmade in the UK leather dog collars & matching belts for the furry friend owners.
When Cosi’s dog collars came on the scene they swiftly took over from the cards with the buzz of excitement – nothing like this had been seen before. There was simply no one making cool collars for dogs in the UK at that time. Many of Cosi’s existing greeting card customers started stocking the small starter range of funky pet wear that Cosi had created – a capsule collection of 2 sizes of dog collar, a lead, a belt and a matching wrist cuff all in black saddle leather with silver stars, so you could accessorise your belt to your dogs collar.
We still make the black star collars and they are still our most popular collar to this day. Red leather was the next thing to be added, along with other sizes of collars so that all dogs could be included in this new cool pet wear movement.
Creature Clothes present day
Over the years Creature Clothes has evolved into the UK’s most recognised dog & cat accessories for quality & funky style.
Creature Clothes now make all sorts of crazy stuff for dogs and cats while still sticking to our original ethos of beautiful design, quality UK manufacture, and matching accessories for owners. We are still working with the Royal Academy of Arts, supplying them with an exclusive collection inspired by Craigie Aitchinsons Bedlington Terriers – his Dog in Red painting.
We have collaborated with the Imperial War Museum on their Animals of War exhibition, created exclusive Dog Dozas for Bonio competition winners, worked with Battersea Dogs Home and The PDSA, we have styled dogs for shoots and advertisements, collaborated with William Yeoward and several hotel chains, and most recently have created the Fogle & Pole Vintage Collection – a collaboration between Cosi Pole and explorer Ben Fogle, creating beautiful dog beds and accessories out of vintage materials.
creature clothes love for kids
As a family run business Creature Clothes now has groovy kids belts to match their best friends’ collar & lead.
Now 21 years on and Vodka and her puppies Stolli and Goose are all gone. But the cats Slinky Malinky and Pussidon are still going strong, awaiting a new canine companion to join their pack. Cosi and her husband Nick (who is the photographer behind all of the beautiful photography on our site & a Rolling Stone magazine cover photographer – www.picnick.co.uk) also have 3 young children, so naturally Creature Clothes has expanded out to meet their needs too and now have a kids collection too, so that kids can also have a belt that matches their dogs collar – super cool.