Meet Jessica Lee | Woman-Owned, AAPI Owned, Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Lee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, how does your business help the community?
The community Litto Howler has created is something we’re most proud about as small business owners. You see, our customers first came for the high quality dog leashes we offer, but at the end of the day, they stayed because of the community. Our small but mighty community, #LittoFam, is a group of like-minded dog owners who work together to make changes in the dog community. Whether that’s pushing the limits and using our platforms to talk about the uncomfortable, but important topics like fighting racism, being kind, normalizing the talks of mental health, or making it a safe space for handlers to train the dog in front of them, we’re community strong. We offer a safe space for ALL, making sure we’re inclusive, and always stand proud knowing the authenticity behind our brand.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We’re a small business of handmade dog leashes and gear. All of our leashes are carefully hand crafted here in our small HQ in Los Angeles, CA. Our leashes are the safest dog leashes in the world. They’re made of real climbing rope that’s invented to save lives on the big rocks every single day. We also offer auto-locking carabiners on all our leashes. This means that your dogs cannot get out of the leash on accident. Before starting this small business, my partner Isak (who makes the leashes by hand) and I met at our local climbing gym. I was working in the fashion industry as a creative director and Isak was working a 9-5 and hitting the rocks every weekend to climb his heart out. He’s been a climber for over 15 years and has much knowledge on safety regarding gear. We put our knowledge or branding and safety in climbing and created Litto Howler for all pt owners to be reassured that their dogs are safe in our durable leashes.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’d probably take them out to K-Town here in Los Angeles. We’ve got the best Korean food and the night life’s a lot of fun. If not the city, we’d take them to our favorite camping spots down the 395 or up in the San Bernardino Mountains!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a shout-out to #LittoFam. Litto Howler is built upon this community and we’d be nothing but a dog leash brand without it. But we all know we’re far more than that. Together we’ve run campaigns and raised awareness, and made $10,000 worth of donations to non-profits. As much as I’d love to say that we’re “self-made”, we’re nothing more than community-made.

Website: www.littohowler.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/littohowler

Image Credits
https://www.instagram.com/mr.ace_hole/ https://www.instagram.com/ichigoandnatsu/ https://www.instagram.com/ohrocketdog/