The High5dogs Story
“Dogs are a man’s best friend” could not better describe me and my dog, Gizmo. If I could, I would take him everywhere with me. As a designer, working from home granted me a lot of time with Giz, and whenever I would leave the house, it broke my heart to see his puppy eyes stare back at me, as if to say “take me with you” when I closed the door. To be honest, he was right. Small errands were the perfect and fun reasons to take him with me. So I asked myself, “why didn’t I take him?”. I had always let the stress of needing my hands to be free keep me from bringing him along. The ah-ha moment came when my wife said, “You’re a designer, why don’t you just fix it?” And so I did. I solved the problem in the most simple and elegant way by integrating a carabiner with the leash itself. After experimenting with the first prototypes, I realised that I’ve created something that could spark joy to many dogs and their human companions around the world. And so Gizmo and I embarked on this new adventure into making High5dogs something that brings humans and their best friends closer together.
With High5dogs, I want to add value to your life by creating convenience. This is how High5dogs distinguishes itself on the market: with simple and elegant solutions for you and your dog.
We hope you enjoy your High5dogs products.
Danny & Gizmo
Before High5dogs
I studied design in Holland, where I was born and raised. When I was 31, I made the impulsive decision to leave a high level job and pack up and go on adventure: I moved to Hong Kong with the aim to set up a product design company to support Asian manufacturers with western design thinking and concepts. With the motto ‘Create Love, Not More’ my company Fang Studio was quite successful in consulting manufacturers and brands on product strategy and design. But I maybe was even more successful with the design for charity projects I was asked so often for.When I met the woman who I later married (and sadly divorced as well) I also met Gizmo. The two of them inspired me to stop focusing on only consultancy jobs and pushed me to learn to sell my own products and I am eternal grateful for their support and believe in me. This website and this brand is the result.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Below is some of my old work. Enjoy!
