Sweary bow ties and not caring what people think with Kerry Whitney from Franky’s Bowtique

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When Kerry Whitney split up with her boyfriend, lost her dad and had to move back home to her mum’s, it led to her starting her dream business.

It was back in 2015, and she’d just started an Instagram account for her Pug Frank, and started making him fun bow ties as a way of coping with her grief and the upheaval she’d experienced.

Things grew, she started sending out her products to other dog owners, and decided to make it into a business.

Then she added in some sweary bow ties to stand out, and it took off.

From viral posts with the C-bomb, being featured in the Daily Sport dressed as a giant penis, getting her products in Pets At Home, experiencing burnout and taking a year for herself and coping with trolls, Kerry has seen it, done it and got the Dogs Not Sprogs t-shirt.

We talk about so much here – there’s a bit of oversharing from me, and Kerry announces her dream new range, sweary harnesses which will be on sale from March 2026.

Kerry is a friend who I value so much, she’s supported me through a lot, and I’m so pleased to share this podcast. I hope you love what she has to say.

You can listen in on the player link below or read the key points as a blog post.

How did Franky’s Boutique begin?

“I moved to London when I was 18 to pursue music. I ended up working in bars, restaurants and then in schools for nine years.

“In 2015, I met a partner and we got Frank, a pug. I very quickly started an Instagram account for him because I was learning the craft of social media without the noise and pressure.

“Then, at the end of 2015, I lost my dad. I was off work sick and getting myself into a really dark place, sat on the sofa doing nothing.

“I wasn’t ready to go back to work but I needed to do something to take my mind off it. I decided to start making bow ties for Frank.

“I got a sewing machine, had never had one before, and within a day I taught myself the basics. I had no idea this was going to be a business. It was just a hobby, something I loved doing.

“Very quickly Frank’s account went to 10,000 followers. I started gifting the bow ties out to people and other dogs were posting pictures wearing them.

“People asked where they got them from, and it kind of snowballed. Then I opened a little Etsy shop, not because I had a grand business plan, but because it seemed like a nice thing to do.

“Then, my relationship broke down and I had to pack everything up. I’d been in London for 16 years. My mum came down and got me.

“I took over the entire dining room table with my sewing machine and all the fabric. My poor mum, but she was like, ‘don’t worry, we’ll just work around it.'”

How did things move on from there?

“I had to find other jobs working in hotels, hotel management. The business was already there underneath. It was always there. I was coming home from work doing bow ties because by this point it just kept growing.

“I didn’t really have any competition. There wasn’t really anyone challenging me. I think that’s a good thing because it gave me the chance to learn my craft.

“In 2019 I made the decision to make a sweary range of it because nobody was really doing it.

“It was shocking. But everyone loved it. It was either going to go one way or the other. People were not going to like it or they were going to love it. And they loved it.

Kerry and her range for the Euros in 2024 at Pets At Home

Franky’s Bowtique is a proper community now, how did that grow?

“I’ve got brand reps who have been with me for years. Some have been buying off me for years and I still don’t believe it. I think people buy from people, not brands.

“Once I started showing up on screen and being silly and dancing and showing that I don’t care what people think, that helped bring in my community – people like authenticity.”

“Someone messaged me the other day and said, ‘I don’t even have a dog but I just come on every day because you make me laugh.’

“They might not buy from me but they engage and support. When people leave nasty comments on my posts, my community just chimes in and takes on the haters.

“Either they’ll be funny about it or they’ll jump on it. It’s never done in a nasty way. But I think if people want to dish it out, then I just think it’s really funny.”

The sweary stuff means you go viral, what’s that like?

“I never sit down and think I’m going to go viral. When it happens, it’s happening naturally and organically. It’s like when you post, it’s like buying a lottery ticket.

“There’s just all these orders coming in and you’re like, oh my God, this is crazy. Just absolutely insane.

“It is chaos but we are okay to get all those products out. What happens is balls get dropped elsewhere. I probably won’t be able to keep on top of my social media.

“That’s where my reps come in because if they post something and invite me as a collaborator, that acts as a post for me. So it looks like I’m still posting while I’m running around trying to get all these orders out.”

“DJ Fat Tony posted a picture of a dog wearing my bandana and that just went off. It went absolutely insane.

“And because of him doing that, we had Gemma Atkinson buy a bandana from me. She didn’t ask for it, she just bought it.”

Working with her brand rep Cooper the Cockapoo to launch her harnesses

What was the hardest thing you’ve dealt with?

“At the beginning, during lockdown, when everyone started bringing their own businesses online, that was when I first got my taste of people copying what I do.

“When you’re new, that’s very hard to accept. You take it personally. I’ve learned that now it’s different. I’ve learned to be worried when someone’s not copying you.”

“It’s frustrating if someone copied something from me word for word or design for design. But I can’t stop people from putting a badge on a bow tie. I’ve learned to use it to be better.

“Quite a few people came along and copied what I did but it just fired me to be better, to be stronger. People can’t copy you as a person. The way you deliver something – that’s completely unique.”

“I’ve seen it get really ugly on Instagram. There was a harness company and somebody started making very similar ones. The first lady kept posting about it publicly. She just would not let it go and it got nasty.

“You just have to get over it and up your game. What matters is that there’s a person and a brand and personality behind what you do. You can’t copy that.”

Tell me about your decision to have some time out in 2025

“I think I burnt myself out a little bit. Not that I wanted to admit that. I was still posting, I was still doing it. But I didn’t do anything new design wise. I just brought out all designs from the year before.

“I remember I won a Small Business Sunday award. It was such a big deal for me getting that picture because that’s why we all want to win, right?

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh God, I need to lose some weight because that picture is going to be something I’m going to proudly show off.’

“I looked at the pictures and I was so unhappy. I just put on a front. I was so massive and I knew but I just didn’t do anything about it.”

“December 2024, going into 2025, I was like, ‘Right, I’m going to do something about it. ‘It was a few days before New Year’s Eve because I hate waiting for a Monday.

“I just start. I started walking. It was absolutely freezing, dark, cold and I just started. I can’t run Frankie’s if I’m not feeling myself. I stopped drinking.

“I dedicated the whole of the last year just to make myself feel and look better so that now, going into this year, I’m a completely different person. I feel ready to give my business the kick up the backside that it needs.”

With Theo Paphitis in 2024 as a Small Business Sunday winner

Kerry looking so happy and healthy at SBS in 2026 with Katie Piper

How has looking after yourself changed things?

“My biggest strength is resilience. It takes a lot to knock me down. What makes me so proud of myself is that my business was strong enough for me to not give it my 100 per cent.

“I decided to get a part time job working in a wedding venue doing three shifts a week. A year ago I would not have been able to do this job. I’m running around lifting tables.

“It couldn’t be any more different from Frankie’s Boutique but because I’ve been taking care of myself, I feel like a completely different person. I’m so much happier, I’ve loads of energy and I’m sleeping.

“It just means I’m in a better frame of mind. How am I going to create new happy, exciting designs if I’m not feeling happy?”

A year on from starting on her wellbeing mission

What’s making the biggest difference?

“I don’t check my phone first thing in the morning. I take the dogs out and get natural sunlight and fresh air in the first thirty minutes of my day. If I see something negative on my phone first thing, that’s it.

“That’s my day ruined. So now I sort the dogs out, get myself ready, get in a happy and positive mood and then whatever comes my way I can deal with it.

“The minute I start focusing on what somebody else is doing I go down a hole. But the minute I stop looking and just look at me and Frankie’s Boutique and not worry about anybody else, that’s when I’m the best.

“I have rules now in place. Phone off, computer off, get outside. Put the phone down and remember that what you see on social media is not the full picture.”

Out and about getting her steps in on her health mission

Tell us about what’s next and your harness range?

“I’ve always wanted to do dog harnesses. I didn’t want to just do harnesses for the sake of it. And I didn’t want to do them with cute patterns on. I didn’t want to be safe with it.

There’s so many dog brands out there now doing harnesses and lots of people said don’t do it. But I don’t do what people tell me not to do. At least let me try. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.

“The business needed something new. Last year we did some big sweary blankets and they sold out within a day. So I already knew that doing a higher price product would work.

“I spoke to my designer and got the pattern designed. Then I found a manufacturer, which itself is a job and it’s scary because everything is UK handmade. I’ve always been passionate about UK handmade.”

“Then in the middle of last year I came home and there was a letter from a company looking for a next of kin to my dad’s estate. My dad died at the end of 2015 and there was money that was left over.

“I called them up and it was all legit. Between me and my brother we got a lump sum. I was able to pay off personal debt and then I paid for the harnesses.

“I started this business as a way of coping with the death of my dad. Ten years and this money comes in? It just seemed like the perfect scenario and I’m so excited about the harness launch.”

Kerry’s dream of a harness range is now REAL!

What would your dad think if he could see you now?

“My dad had a passion for being an artist. He was a painter. I think he would like what I’m doing from the design perspective. I think he would be proud. I know my mum is.”