Today we’d like to introduce you to Noelle Whitley.
Noelle, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We adopted our little beagle doxie mix Maya in 2016, and I immediately wanted to buy her all the things! Everything I found in stores was either not my taste, or the sizing was crazy off. She was an 18-pound puppy, it felt strange buying larges and extra larges! I wanted her to have things in prints and colors I would wear myself, so I got a sewing machine and some fabric, and Bumble & Hound was born! Our bandanas run true to size, so small dogs wear smalls, and large dogs wear larges.
We started off with a very basic website and doing a few pop-ups here and there, and our business has grown as the pop-up market scene in the Triangle has grown. We’ve expanded our furry family to include another rescue beagle Minnie, and our product line to include rope leashes, grooming supplies, and pet parent gear, and we’ve even taken our business on the road to Virginia, DC, and Orlando. It’s been a fantastic journey!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not! I think a lot of people think that all you have to do as a maker is open an Etsy shop and start making sales, but there’s so much more than that. We’ve had to learn how to not only make our products the best way but also how to become our own marketing, social medial, customer service, shipping, accounting, and IT departments as well. I had to learn how to build a website, take product photos, and promote myself as well. There’s a learning curve for sure, but it’s been fun to learn some new skills and make new friends. The maker community is awesome, and everyone is always willing to help each other out, which is great.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We pride ourselves on making durable, handmade dog goods, and we are known for our awesome bandanas! Every single one is sewn in our home studio, and we curate each seasonal collection from the best patterns, prints, and fabrics we can find. We want to offer products that are stylish, classic, and durable, and that make people and their dogs happy! We’re proud of the little community following we’ve grown, it seriously makes our day every time someone is a repeat customer, or says they came to a pop-up because they saw us on Instagram.
Meeting adorable dogs is the best part of this job! The thing we’re most proud of though is that we’ve been able to give back to the community through donating to local rescues, and every single sale has enabled us to make those donations.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Make friends with other makers and small business owners! It doesn’t matter what they make or what they do, you can always learn something. We definitely owe a lot of our success to our maker friends and being able to bounce ideas off of them, ask questions about markets, and accounting, shipping, all kinds of stuff. We’ve met so many cool and talented people!
Contact Info:
- Email: bumbleandhound@gmail.com
- Website: www.bumbleandhound.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/bumbleandhound
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/bumbleandhound
