Frequently asked questions

 

 

TukTuk. Where does our name come from?

 

Cornèlia remembers: When I first started horsemanship I needed an ‘alert’ sound. This is the sound I make to tell my horse that something is about to happen. It’s pronounced ‘TuckTuck’, which is the only way of spelling the ‘tsktsk’ sound I make. I used it to accompany the logo I made.

I drew a cartoon of my niece’s pony, Jelly Bean. With many hours of tweaking, it became the TukTuk horse.

This is the original drawing of ‘Jelly Bean’.
Hand drawn on paper, 1996.

My neighbour saw it on my computer and said, “That’s so cute. That would look good on tee shirts”. We invested $500 each and printed tee shirts with the horse on it. Around that time, we had a permanent stall at St. Andrews Market, and we began to attend every horse event we could.

By then the horse has settled into this:

 

 Whenever I see ‘Jelly Bean’ and the name TukTuk, I smile inside.

 

 – Cornélia

 

I have seen TukTuk Riding Pants with a different Logo to what I can see on your website. Are they yours?

All our garments are branded like this:

 

After we bought back the TukTuk Trademark we felt that the logo needed an update and because we did that before we went into production, all our garments have the same updated branding.

You might remember the classic version of the TukTuk Logo (maybe you even have a few of the "oldies" hanging around...)

 

 

We haven't used that version of the logo on our new stock. If you see it advertised elsewhere you can be sure that it has NOT been manufactured by us or to our quality standards (unless the garment is older than 9 years and you had and have loved it ever since). And since they are not ours, we unfortunately can't help you with questions about their sizing, fabric compositions and fit.

 

Where do you make the clothes and what determines the price?

The short answer: We make some things in Australia and some overseas. And we’re very particular when it comes to quality. And quality determines price.

We do feel though that our garments are well priced, considering the level of quality and originality of design they represent.

But here we go...this is why our garments area little more pricey than what's available in the mainstream:

Fabric
The is where it all starts. Without good fabric you have nothing. We source the best quality fabric for our pants and shirts and quite simply Australia does not make the quality of fabric we want. The spinning (for the yarn) and weaving (for the fabric) machines have sadly left our shores so we have to bring fabric in from overseas, or make overseas.

Prints
We design all our own prints, and choose mainly natural fibres. Until recently, the only meterage printing done in Australia was sublimation, which is possible only on 100% polyester. Erk.

Australian designed and owned
Each element of the TukTuk range is designed in Australia and the company is wholly Australian owned. The profits are spent on goods and services in Australia.

Since TukTuk is Australian owned, buying TukTuk Clothing (no matter where is it made) keeps us in business so we can provide jobs for other Australians: designer, pattern maker, first sample machinist, TukTuk admin staff,  accountant, local couriers, IT/Social Media staff, warehouse staff. We also keep Australia Post pretty busy.

Quality

We do not want to sacrifice quality, we make where we can get the best product for a price our customers are willing to pay and in doing so support families in India, China, Pakistan and Australia. We do our homework and we are deeply passionate about ethical manufacturing.  

Each of our makers is a person with a family, like us. Their industry supports a chain of humans, as does ours.

We are ALL trying to make a living.

We share your concerns about supporting local makers and that’s why we print fabric in Brunswick and make shirts in Sunshine. We are currently sampling a line of jeans made in Abbotsford. The fabric we use for these jeans comes from China as it cannot be sourced in Australia. We buy Australian grown and tanned leather. 

We lease a building with a showroom, offices, design room and warehouse from a Beechworth local. We pay taxes to the Australian government on the goods we sell. We pay income tax. We pay employee super.

Buying TukTuk IS buying Australian. 

 

Where can I try on TukTuk Riding Pants?

We have a show room attached to our design studio on the outskirts of Beechworth in the North East of Victoria. You are most welcome to drop in and try on the range of TukTuk riding clothes, including the riding pants. 

Please call ahead though on 0419 133 318 - we are often away on business and would hate to have missed you.