Hiro + Wolf are known for their fabrics and designer craftsmanship. THE GOOD PET HOME exclusively stocks the brand in New Zealand and we caught up with the founders Amy Fleuriot and Bee Friedman to learn more about the brand.
How did the idea of Hiro + Wolf come about? And where did the name come from?
Bee Friedmann and I first met in 2011 while walking our dogs in London Fields Park in Hackney, London. We quickly discovered a common love for design, animals, and sustainability, and almost as quickly converted our shared passions into an accessories brand named after our two dogs, Hiro and Wolf.
Hiro and Wolf are the centre of what we do. Everything is designed with dogs, cats and their owners busy routines in mind. We’re not about dressing up our pets or treating them like commodities – it’s about the animals’ needs and ways of making all our lives easier, more efficient and beautiful.
What is unique about Hiro + Wolf products?
We want our products to celebrate the joy of having pets - so while everything is really carefully and thoughtfully designed we want each piece to be joyful!
Nothing in our collection is designed by numbers. We started off making everything ourselves in-house on my industrial sewing machines. In the early days, we were working 7 days a week often staying until midnight in the run-up to busy periods with Bee ironing and me stitching and finishing. This gave us a really thorough understanding and appreciation of everything that goes into our products. This quality and mindfulness is part of why our products last as long as they do.
How have you incorporated sustainability within the business?
Sustainability is one of our brands core values. Because we understand the whole process to its bones and have such a close relationship with our production teams we have been able to think carefully about how to be as efficient as possible with the materials and processes we use.
We’re always looking for ways that we can become more environmentally friendly, from our materials to our packaging. All of our packaging is 100% plastic-free and our cute little illustrated envelopes are screen printed at a lovely socially conscious workshop we found in India onto recycled paper. We’re also in the process of developing a vegan range, which is very important to us.
Where do you get your inspiration from for your products?
Design-wise it's all about our pets. Pattern- wise, from the outset, when Bee and I took our first trip to Kenya together, we have always been inspired by Africa. Our design signature is based on eclectic cultures, travel and exotic climes so we will often have striking geometrics and of course the exciting bright colours that you see across Africa.
What's new and on the horizon for Hiro + Wolf?
We are expanding the range - developing our lovely dog and cat beds with the team in Ghana that Bee sourced initially for our sister brand Artisans & Adventurers. There’s a new range of pet toys in the pipeline in addition to a vegan collection and an all-leather collection, so there's something for everyone!
Hiro + Wolf is exclusively available at THE GOOD PET HOME. You can shop the collection now.
