Round up of 2025 and a look forward to 2026

What have we been up to?

First of all, apologies that this month’s newsletter is a little later than usual. We had a very hectic start to the month with various shows, as well as helping to organise our village Christmas fair. Now that we’re heading into the festive season, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on a fantastic 2025 and share what’s ahead for 2026.

Our aim at Hollibels has always been to be your go-to shop for all your canine needs — from treats and toys to grooming essentials and beautiful home accessories for your pooch.

Beds & Comfort

Our handmade Box and Pillow Beds have been a real winner this year. We’ll be carrying these forward into 2026 by introducing a new colour in our luxurious corduroy range.

We’ve also been working on a revised design for our travel beds/settle mats and hope to have these back in the shop early in 2026.

Many of you may remember that we used to make all our beds in the office at the back of the shop. Due to growing demand (and lack of space!), our beds are now lovingly made for us by a fabulous female team based in Derby. This means not only do we have a great relationship with our makers, but we can also offer a truly bespoke service — whether you need a bed for a specific space, a replacement cushion, or a second set of covers.

Treats: Pick & Mix Success

This year we made the move from boxed treats to a full pick & mix selection in the shop. It was a bit of a risk, but your response has been amazing — we couldn’t have asked for better support!

The dogs love it too, as it means they can try before they (or their humans!) buy. We’ll continue to expand this range in 2026, so keep popping in to see what new flavours are available.

Collars, Leads & Accessories

We introduced two new collar and lead styles this year:

The ‘Chester’ biothane range has been hugely popular — perfect for more rufty-tufty country dogs who enjoy swimming or rolling in things they probably shouldn’t! We’ll be adding some lovely Spring/Summer colours early in the new year.

The ‘Martha’ collar and lead set offers a more luxurious option — ideal for dogs who enjoy going out to lunch or dinner and like to look extra stylish while doing so.

Lisa also took over creating our beautiful tweed bandanas and bow ties and spent much of the year developing the range. We’ll be building on this in 2026 with new Spring/Summer colours. Lisa is always open to ideas, so please let us know if there’s something you’d love to see.

We even had orders for wedding bandanas and bow ties this year — so keep that in mind if your pooch has a special event coming up in 2026!

Team Update

We were delighted to welcome Heather full-time in 2025. Previously working on an ad-hoc basis, she has become an invaluable member of the Hollibels team. You’ll find Heather in the shop every weekend, taking great care of all your dogs’ needs.

Plans for 2026

• Introduce a new colour for our Holly & Bella Beds

• Launch our updated settle/travel beds

• Expand our pick & mix treat range

• Unveil new colour ranges for our Chester and Boris collars and leads

• Introduce new colours for our fleece blankets

Events & Walks

We’ll be hosting our annual dog walk, pet blessing, and coffee morning again in 2026. This has become such a lovely annual get-together for both two- and four-leggers. We meet for a walk and chat, followed by a pet blessing, then homemade cake, tea, and coffee.

The date is yet to be confirmed, but it’s likely to be late April or early May, so keep an eye out for updates.

We also run a monthly dog walking group, meeting on the third Saturday of every month. If you’d like to join, simply leave your name and phone number in the shop or email us, and Sam will add you to the group. It’s a great way to meet people and offers brilliant socialisation for the dogs.

Thank You

All that’s left to say is a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has shopped with us this year, shared feedback, popped in to say hello, and — most importantly — to all the fabulous dogs we’ve met along the way. It’s a real pleasure welcoming you into the shop, and we love seeing waggy tails and wet noses enjoying their treats. Martha (our shop dog) particularly enjoys it!

We wish you all a very happy Christmas and hope all the doggos receive plenty of treats and toys. We look forward to welcoming you in 2026 for what we believe will be a really positive year.

Love,
Sam, Lisa, Heather & Martha the Spaniel