High-Tech, Eco-Friendly Upland Gear Now Imported by Tweed Purveyor, Good Shot Design
In the wingshooting universe, the principles of conservation and ecology underpin habitat stewardship. Lyndall Bailye, founder of Good Shot Design tweed shooting apparel, is integrating those ideals into a line of traditional British shooting clothes and accessories made of high-tech fabrics now imported into the U.S. by her company.
The new development by Good Shot Design centers on an exclusive American distribution agreement with John Field. And many of John Field’s advanced rainwear and hunting clothes are spun from fabrics made of recycled materials manufactured with environmentally friendly processes.
The John Field rain coat is created from recycled materials.
John Field’s rainwear is crafted from the proprietary TEX³ fabrics comprised of materials such as recycled Polyester, Polyamide and bamboo through methods that require minimal water during washing, rinsing and dyeing. The coating division operates with an afterburner, exhausting the waste gasses recycled as a secondary raw material by the cement industry.
Stretchy upland fleeces with ample shell pockets are created from reclaimed plastic bottles as part of John Field’s Pontetorto collection of signature fabrics.
The incredible anti-mosquito shirt from John Field is only available in the U.S. by Good Shot Design.
A unique anti-mosquito shirt relies on a treatment that is entirely non-toxic. Available in the U.S. only through Good Shot Design, it’s constructed with three different Thermocool fabrics that wick moisture from the skin and effectively regulate body temperature through intelligent evaporation. The safari-tested mosquito and tick repellent is good for up to 50 washes.
“One of the things that appealed to me about the John Field line is that it conformed to our ideas of conservation and ecology, especially in upland hunting,” said Ms. Bailye. “But even more important is that the clothes are extremely functional.”
Lyndall Bailye
For example, John Field’s Ladakh shooting jacket for men and women features two front pockets with magnets, a game pocket, wrist and neck pockets for heat patches, an inside pocket for shells and shoulder pockets for a shooting pad. The rain gear has inside-flap blaze highlights as well as custom waterproof travel bags. The wax cotton Shooting Waistcoat also has the reversible blaze strips as well as a game pocket that can be fully unzipped to serve as a sitting flap. In short, although some of the elements in the John Field catalog are found on blaze clothes for American upland enthusiasts, the company’s offerings can bridge both sides of the Atlantic for suitable bird-shooting outerwear in South Dakota or Devonshire.
John Field’s Shooting Waistcoats.
Ms. Bailye was introduced to John Field at the Dallas Safari Club Convention in January 2013. Shortly afterwards, she visited the factory in Tielt, Belgium. The innovation and excellence impressed her. John Field’s parent company, Seyntex, supplied uniforms, tactical gear and equipment to police, military and firefighting units in Europe. Those space-age textiles, computerized manufacturing systems, quality control and logistics were shared with John Field, which tested their products on the corporate shooting range.
“I thought the John Field line was a natural extension of what Good Shot Design does with tweed,” said Ms. Bailye. “After all, you need rainwear over tweed.”
Tweed Ladies Coats by Good Shot Design.
She’s replicating her distribution model used in Good Shot Design’s tweed collections for the John Field products by selling them online at www.goodshotdesign.com, at trunk sales and through a growing brick-and-mortar retail network out of the corporate base in Far Hills, New Jersey.
“We can now completely outfit someone with an extended range of quality clothing and accessories for people who shoot,” she said.
Ms. Bailye and her husband, John, travel to the U.K. and Europe several times a year for driven and walk-up bird hunts. They are also active wing and sporting clays shooters here in the U.S.
The idea for Good Shot Design was sparked by her own shooting forays in the U.K. Upon returning home, her searches for stylish women’s tweeds yielded men’s clothing in small sizes. She tapped into the family’s entrepreneurial spirit and in September 2011 launched Good Shot Design with daughter, Stephanie, pioneering American tastes in British tweed shooting fashions specifically for women with their hallmark bright trim. Recently Good Shot Design has expanded into men’s tweeds. In addition to taking on the John Field line, Fall 2013 will see a new collection for Good Shot Design tweed apparel.
Irwin Greenstein is the Publisher of Shotgun Life. You can reach him at contact@shotgunlife.com.
Useful resources
The Good Shot Design web site
Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.
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