tweedydon
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RARE! TUCKER BLAIR NEEDLEPOINT BELT.
Size 38.
Length to middle hole: 38 1/4".
Length of strap excluding buckle: 41 3/4".
Founded in 2008 and intended to be a niche online retailer catering to "the modern preppy" Tucker Blair specialized in needlepoint items--belts, key fobs, and headbands--at prices that were lower than those of their main competitor, Smathers & Branson.
Tucker Blair struggled from the start. The market for needlepoint items turned out to be (not surprisingly) rather small, and while Tucker Blair competed on price ($95 for a belt, compared with $165 for one from its main competitor, Smathers & Branson) there was also a comparable difference in quality between the companies' products which reduced Tucker Blair's overall competitiveness.
In an attempt to boost visibility in 2011 Tucker Blair initiated a belt exchange--send in an old needlepoint belt and they would replace it with one of theirs. For anyone versed in undergraduate economics the result was predictable. No-one was wiling to send in a non-commercial belt that had been made for them, or even an older S&B belt that had sentimental value. But people *were* willing to buy cheap needlepoint belts (with plastic backing, or machine stitching) and send them in.... only to have them returned by TB with an apology. This promotion thus cost Tucker Blair considerable time and effort--as well as (and more importantly) a lot of goodwill from their potential customer base.
The company was bought in 2014 by Michael Tara, a venture capitalist, who raised just over $600k to re-launch it, including a temporary pop-up store on Beacon Hill. But there was only so much needlepoint that people wanted... and the company was gone by the summer of 2017.
This belt is a rare example of a Tucker Blair product. With a brass buckle, this has hand-stitched needlepoint backed with a leather strap. It features an array of beer bottle caps--and so would be perfect for your next confirmation hearing for the US Supreme Court. This needlepoint appears to have coated by Tucker Blair with some form of resin, no doubt to protect it from snags or dirt.
This belt has some memory at the middle hole, and so is in Very Good/Excellent condition.
It was never worth its original retail of $95, plus shipping... But it is certainly worth $29, or offer, boxed and shipped in the USA!
