A small shop, run by curl people.
We started Curlpup in Porto after our first Cavapoo arrived and every product we tried either didn’t fit, flattened the coat, or fell apart in three washes. We tested obsessively. Nine in ten things we tried got returned. The ones that survived are on the shelves.
How it started
In 2019, Inês and Tomás Ferreira brought home a Cavapoo puppy named Fig from a small breeder in Setúbal. Within a week they had three harnesses that bruised her chest, a brush that yanked her curls, and a shampoo that smelled like artificial peach and left her coat stiff for four days.
The problem, they quickly realised, wasn’t the market. It was that nobody was testing these products specifically on dogs with tight, dense curls — the coat type most prone to matting, the chest shape most likely to be pinched by a standard H-harness, the fur most vulnerable to the wrong pH in a shampoo. Generic “small dog” goods kept ignoring the curl.
So Inês, a former textile designer, started borrowing testing notes from their groomer Marta. Tomás, who runs operations, built a spreadsheet that tracked fit trials across breed and weight. By 2021 they had a short list of products they would confidently hand to a stranger at the dog park. That list became Curlpup.
The testing obsession
Every product that reaches the storefront has been worn or used by real dogs — not modelled in a photo studio. We run fit trials in Porto, partner with three independent groomers in Bilbao, Amsterdam and Edinburgh, and only stock a product once every tester agrees the curl pattern is undamaged, the sizing is predictable and the materials hold up to at least thirty washes. About nine in ten candidates fail on one of those counts.
That’s a slow way to run a shop. We restock in small batches and go out of stock regularly. We think that’s fine — you can join a waitlist and we’ll tell you when it’s back.
Four things we don't
compromise on.
Easy to say on an about page. We try to build these into the actual buying experience — the returns policy, the restock cadence, the way we price.
Tested on real curls
Every item is trialled by at least 12 dogs across three coat types before it earns shelf space. We document the results and publish the numbers — not because we have to, but because you should be able to check our work.
Slow restocks
We buy from makers in small runs. That means more waitlists and fewer impulse-buy deals. It also means the harness you ordered in March is the same harness that cleared 84 Toy Poodle fit trials — not a substitute sourced to hit a quarter deadline.
Groomer-made
Marta Roldão, our lead groomer, has a direct line to every product category. If she wouldn't recommend it to a client with a Bichon booked in for a show groom, it doesn't make the cut — full stop.
Honest pricing
No inflated "compare at" prices, no fake sale countdowns. We charge what the item costs to test, pack and ship from Porto or our US partner warehouse. If that feels too expensive, we'll tell you the free version instead.
We keep score so you don't
have to take our word for it. Every stat is real.
Four humans, six dogs
between them.
A founder who tests too much, a groomer who knows when to say no, a product obsessive, and the person who actually answers your DMs at 11pm on a Sunday.
Inês Ferreira
Former textile designer. Started Curlpup after failing to find a harness that didn’t flatten Fig’s chest curls. Personally approves every restock.
Marta Roldão
12 years grooming small dogs in Porto and Cascais. Runs our studio and the product testing protocol. Will veto anything that damages a curl under pressure.
Tomás Ferreira
Runs the fit-trial spreadsheet, the EU warehouse and the slow restock schedule. Has a Cavapoo named Fig and a Maltipoo named Crumb who both sit in on product sessions.
Saara Leinonen
Handles every support message personally — no ticket queue, no canned replies. Replies same day, usually in under two hours. Owns a Bichon named Hiisi who approves the shampoo range.
Goods we'd hand to a stranger
at the dog park.
Every harness, brush and bath product that cleared our testing protocol — sized for dogs under 14 lbs with curly, dense or wavy coats.
Have a question about your
specific dog's coat?
Saara or Marta will read it and reply properly — not with a link to the FAQ. Especially useful if you’re unsure about sizing or have a mixed-breed that’s hard to fit.