Our Journey: From a Childhood Dream to Smiley Bark
Our story: from a childhood obsession to Smiley Bark
My love for dogs isn't something that happened overnight. Growing up, I spent countless hours with my grandfather's hunting dogs — watching their loyalty, their energy, and the uncomplicated joy they brought to everything. Even as a child, I knew dogs weren't just pets. They were family.
Meeting Ricky
In 2022, in Spain, I met Ricky — my first own dog, and the one who changed everything.
Ricky isn't just my companion; he's the reason Smiley Bark exists. Seeing the world through his eyes — his comfort, his needs, his happiness — made me want to build something better. Not gear that's merely functional. Gear that respects the animal wearing it, and fits naturally into the home you share.
Smiley Bark was founded for him. It's still made for dogs like him.
What we believe
You shouldn't have to choose between your home's aesthetic and your dog's comfort.
Most pet gear is designed to sit in a backyard or a kennel. We design for dogs who sleep on sofas, go to restaurants, and live alongside you — and for owners who think carefully about what they bring into their homes.
At our studio in Rotterdam, we work backwards: we start with the animal's anatomy, understand how they move and where pressure builds, then design around that. The result is gear that performs and looks exactly right.
How we make things
Every material we use is chosen for a reason. Vegetable-tanned Italian leather that softens with wear. Sustainable European hemp that breathes and sits gently against the skin. Stoneware bowls handcrafted by ceramicists and glazed with food-safe finishes.
We manufacture exclusively within the EU — not as a marketing claim, but because it's the only way we can stand behind what we sell. Every product meets EU REACH material safety standards and is inspected before it leaves.
We don't use synthetic fillers, cheap hardware, or materials we wouldn't put next to our own dog.
The name
"Smiley Bark" comes from something simple: the look on a dog's face when they're exactly where they want to be, doing exactly what they love. That's what we're here for.
Aykut & Ricky, founders — Rotterdam, Netherlands