Sporting Tweed - Bookster & Tyrrell's Crisps
Tyrrell's Teams Up with Bookster for the Tweed Run
A force to be reckoned with, Team Tyrrell's represented Tyrrell's Crisps in the London Tweed Run (above). Resplendent in made-to-measure waistcoats and breaches, their quintessentially English outfits were created in Nevis tweed by the redoubtable tweed institution (and neighbours) Bookster Tweed of Ross-on-Wye.
You will have a chance to see these marvellous outfits again at the New York Tweed Run.
Old Tweed Run photos here and here.
The Bookster Story
The name of Bookster is uttered in reverent tones in tweedular circles. Its story began in the 70's when owner Peter King supplied the finest vintage clothing - including 40's and 50's leather pieces - to places in London like Antiquarius and Too Fast to Live Too Young to Die - the original Kings Road shop of the dear departed Malcolm McClaren.
Following a stint in the music business, Peter returned to dealing in vintage tweed because of his appreciation of the sheer quality and the chance to "handle some of the finest British tailoring ever made". The existing business has grown with the addition of Bookster-branded tailoring - creating suits, waistcoats, overcoats, hacking jackets and trousers to order in a growing selection of traditional British cloths. Bookster uses several English tailors, each with their own specialities.
If you're looking for a tweed jacket with full British provenance and not just a bogus appropriation of that heritage - Bookster may be just the place for you.
Tyrrell's the Tweed Runners and Chap Olympians
Herefordshire-based English crisp legends Tyrrell's unleashed their limited-edition English Summer Barbecue crisps at the Tweed Run. Naturally, these top-drawer crisps were served by crisp butlers sat astride Pashley bikes.
Bookster is local to Tyrrell's, so they could discuss their dress requirements. Note the colour of the new crisp packaging is reflected in the Tweed Run outfits. Attention to detail.
Tweedy's Question: What's the etiquette for tandems. Who goes at the front?
The Chap Olympiad Awash with Tyrrell's Crisps
As well as attending the Tweed Runs this year, Team Tyrrell's will also be present at that "celebration of athletic ineptitude and immaculate trouser creases" The Chap Olympiad in London on the 7th and 8th of July. We'll be following the progress of our adopted team. Let the crisps flow.
To all of you who consider ordering bespoke clothing from Bookster: Beware! This little company is not delivering in-time by any means and has a very low-level attitude towards its customers. My wife and I went to Ross-on-Whye mid October 2012 and ordered a coat for her, a three-piece suit and a seperate trouser for myself. 50% downpayment and they promised to deliver in 6-8 weeks. After several email exchanges and complaints BOokster finally delivered my suit in February 2013. The trousers and my wife's coat they haden't even started by then! They did not tell us of any delays way after the deadlines. The quality of the suit is acceptable, but we would never deal wwith Bookster again, as their customer service is appalling. Email-exchanges available on request.
ReplyDeletePerceptive. They entered bankruptcy over the weekend.
DeleteWe passed your comment to our friends at Bookster and invited them to comment. They told us that severe snow in the winter forced them to close for a week and most of their team was also affected during a period of 3 weeks by the flu followed by a further bout. "Because we are small and don't have skilled staff to fill in from outside it just knocked production right back." "Virtually all of our customers have been great and really understanding. And we have unreservedly apologised for any delays.There is no way we could have foreseen the circumstances that befell us." We all know weather conditions and illness are factors beyond control, which can disrupt any company. But more so small companies with highly skilled staff. A small price to pay for a timeless classic.
ReplyDeleteDear Tweed Pig,
DeleteI have just read today about the bankruptcy of Booksters in July 2013 and then about your comment. The biased one-sided tone of your comment is absolutly unacceptable for a customer of your "industry". Do you honestly think that you win any new customers by defending your "friends at Booksters" in this way without even commenting in the slightest on my complaints? Read occasionally the comments on other bespoke-clothing websites about the business manners of Booksters when they were moving close to bankruptcy. They lost their downpayments and have to run after their wasted money while lobbiest like you laugh about them. Next time I will buy outside UK again.
Hello Anon. If you see the date of the comment above it is June 2013. We thought it fair, as opposed to biased, to give the opportunity to Bookster to explain considering the previous comment. We can only use the information we are provided with.
DeleteWe cover things we like here, we're here to keep it light and entertain. We are not a newspaper and certainly don't consider ourselves to be industry insiders, far from it. We don't follow bankruptcy cases or report on the financial matters of companies. We're sorry people lost money, and we're very sorry you feel the need to buy outside the UK next time. Don't let the experience of one company put you off. Stay tuned and you'll still see lots of British companies providing the best.
your stuff will be resold on e bay probably!They will pocket the(your) cash!
DeletePrior to this Tweed enterprise there has been a string of other failed projects going back 35 years.In all cases the clients lost their money,.A huge amount of unpaid debt incurred and loans never repaid.It must amount to at least a million.They are trading again Beware!!!!
ReplyDeleteRubbish. You are attacking the wrong firm. Bookster was the victim of unscrupulous business practices by suppliers who destroyed their ability to meet promised deadlines. It was disgraceful in the extreme that this small firm should have been targeted by vicious competitors masquerading as allies, biding their time until they could replace Bookster with their own ventures, which were modelled entirely on Bookster's business structure, of which they had long been a part. These foul characters are in business today, doing just fine, at Bookster’s expense. Your vicious, uniformed comments do harm to a small UK-based company that seeks always to bolster British goods—get a grip and stop the unwarranted opprobrium, you fake, phony, anonymous fraud!
DeleteCould not find my blasted reading glasses before I composed this impassioned response to a vicious post...: the word UNINFORMED belongs at the end of the fourth line from the bottom of my text.
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