It Started With a Dog

Hi, I'm Jim.

I drink a lot of coffee. I own a lot of mugs. And for a long time I couldn't find a single one worth buying.

Every mug I came across was either forgettable, generic, or looked like it had been designed by someone who had never met a human being. Inspirational quotes. Clip art. The word "coffee" written in a font that belongs on a chalk board outside a café that charges £6 for a flat white.

So I decided to make my own.

The inspiration came mostly from Lucy — my dachshund. Eight inches tall, zero self awareness, absolute authority over the entire household. Lucy has opinions. Lucy has presence. Lucy refuses to go out in drizzle despite being bred to hunt badgers underground. Lucy, it turns out, is excellent mug material.

Mugged Off started as a side project to make mugs I actually wanted to drink from. Funny ones. Honest ones. Mugs that say something without screaming it. Designed for dog owners, for people with opinions, for anyone who just wants a mug that feels like it belongs to them.

Then people started asking if we could do their pets too.

Dogs, cats, rabbits, birds — turns out everyone has an animal that deserves to be immortalised on a ceramic vessel. So now we do custom illustrated pet portraits on mugs, made one at a time, from photos you send us.

No filters. No AI. Just a proper hand illustration of your actual pet, on a mug you'll actually use.

Every order is personal to us. We see your pet, we draw your pet, we send you a preview before anything gets printed. If you don't love it, we don't print it.

That's the whole thing, really.

— Jim & Lucy 🐾