Core Team
The People Behind The Coathook
The CoatHook core team consists of talented and experienced product developers, designers, branding specialists, and business builders. We've worked together at large companies and collaborated on projects as individual contractors.
We all love animals, and we share a deep respect for each other's talents and skills that contribute to the creation of The CoatHook.
Lisa Perkins
Communications, Web and Social Media, Product Development
Lisa came up with the idea for The CoatHook while handcrafting with her senior cat, Cosmo, curled on her lap (that's him in the black-and-white coat). She found that very small crochet hooks worked well to remove loose fur in areas of Cosmo’s coat that he could no longer reach to groom due to his age. She envisioned a comb with a full array of small hooks and appealed to her husband Sheldon, a product developer, to create it for her.
Lisa has a diverse background in developing all forms of communications. She was a product copy writer for L.L.Bean, and has developed and produced online and print messaging for a broad range of clients in her role as freelance communications specialist.
Lisa is an avid animal welfare advocate and rescuer. She has served on the boards of numerous dog and cat rescue groups and has led successful searches for a number of lost dogs. She has fostered many dogs and cats in her home and at her office.
Sheldon Perkins
Business Development, Product Development, Marketing and Design
Sheldon is a self-proclaimed Jack of all trades who has split his career between product development and marketing.
He spent nine years designing active outdoor products for outdoor industry giant, L.L.Bean, where he earned numerous industry awards for outstanding product design and merchandising strategies. And he has spent the last ten years developing new business and marketing strategies for leading advertising agencies in the Portland area.
Sheldon is an avid animal welfare advocate and is always ready to help Lisa out with her lost-dog search efforts, whether that’s hauling and setting live traps in the field or grilling aromatic sausages to draw in temporarily feral dogs. He has developed branding, messaging, and collateral for several dog and cat rescue groups and has fostered many dogs and cats in his home and office.
Alex Morouse
Product Design and Development
Alex and Sheldon met while working together in Product Development at the outdoor industry leader, L.L.Bean. Alex has an uncommon background in industrial design and sculpture. He blends the best ideas from both sides of his brain to create products that are functional, beautiful and a pleasure to use. He’s designed hardgoods products and footwear for the outdoor, athletic, urban, and student markets — and now pet products! Alex is responsible for the beautiful look and ergonomics of The CoatHook.
Alex and his family share their home with their beloved rescued cat, Tinka.
Henry Bliss
Product Design and Engineering
Henry is an experienced industrial designer with a penchant for blue-sky thinking tempered with a healthy dose of pragmatism. He has designed and developed products in the medical devices, life sciences, consumer goods, recreational products and industrial technology sectors. He heads up design engineering, manufacturability and materials selection for The CoatHook.
Henry is an avid sailor and outdoorsman who loves going on adventures with his wife and their active twin boys.