BTW AGM Raffle

Nikki is passionate about her products, the idea for which came from the frustration of trying to find something for her own dogs, "I was a bit fed up buying beds every two to three months" she says, "they just didn’t last and I couldn’t keep them clean.  So in 2015 I came up with the Nestie design, but never in a million years did I think to sell them, I literally made them for myself at my dining room table, then a friend asked me to do one for her dog and I thought, 'why not?'.  She was delighted with it and showed her friends, who also wanted one and it escalated from there.  We then made the decision to turn it into a small business and in 2016 we moved to Lincolnshire from London to set up, where we now have a workshop, cutting tables, a stuffing room and two industrial sewing machines.  My husband Ric and I make every element of them by hand, from start to finish, we absolutely love what we do and love seeing 1000’s of happy dogs!"

With so many happy customers, Nikki is understandably proud of the Nesties, however one of the most common comments she receives is about cost.  She explains, "I hear all the time that some people think Nesties are expensive, but we use the best materials on the market.  The stuffing is the highest grade possible, normally used in sofas, so it doesn’t degrade and the other materials we use are of similar robust quality; even the thread we use is bonded and rot proof.  It's a handmade product, we literally stuff each individual section - packing in as much as possible to ensure they don’t go flat; very time consuming but worth the effort, as we've found that blowing machines will only blow so much stuffing in, not packing the sections well enough."

"I have many customers that have had their Nesties for 5 years plus and they are still as good as new, which works out at about £25 per year so it is a good investment.  Nesties will withstand copious amounts of digging, ragging around the place in general and will not loose shape or go flat.  The wipe clean interior is great for bed wetters and puppies; just whip the cover off and machine wash, then wipe the interior down with a cloth and antibacterial spray."

Nikki does have just one word of caution though, in that she says Nesties are not chew proof.  Although, is there anything that can withstand the most determined Border Terrier chewer, that's what we'd like to know?!