About Mad Dog
Mad Dog was started in 1999 by Ilenka Jelowicki and Sumie Macalpine-Downie. At the tender ages of 25 and 28, the girls established the company with some small savings and a couple of maxed out credit cards. Initially Mad Dog lived in a small and cramped office above a cheap shoe seller in Camden and employed just Sumie, Ilenka and Sumie's puppy, a Hungarian Wiszla called Red.
The first 6 months were spent signing people to the agency. This was closely followed by the company's first project, a television show for ITV called The Hunt.
Following this initial success other jobs followed and Mad Dog was soon able to pay off its credit cards debts and hire its first assistant. But most importantly Ilenka and Sumie were able to put a stop to their diet of rice crackers and pot noodles. The company continued to grow and in 2001 moved to an office in Soho.
Ilenka and Sumie realised that the company had grown too big for the Soho office in 2004 when they had to set up a desk in the kitchen. With 4 full-time staff it was time to head back to north London to a large converted warehouse space in Kentish Town, where the company still exists today.
Shortly after arriving in Kentish Town another 2 puppies arrived, Barley and Coco, and the company grew even bigger.
In 2005 Kate Newport left London and opened a new office in Bath. This now provides the same services as the London office but for Bath, Bristol, Birmingham and Wales. A separate actors agency called Fetch was launched in 2007.
Despite its continuing growth, the company still holds true to its core beliefs: that every client is special, no matter whether they are looking for 5 or 5,000 supporting artists. We are true to our name, not mad, but as dogs: loyal, hard working and friendly.