Bespoke Seat Covers. A fantastic gift – or hard working accessory!
Do you drive with dogs, kids or wet gear?
Do you want a seat cover that fits – and is waterproof, comfortable, washable and long-lasting?
Would you like it in a choice of fabulous colours that won’t fade – and maybe personalised too?
If you drive a VW California SE, Beach, Ocean, Caravelle, T6, T5 or T4 then Jackyards is The Answer for the Van in your Life!
As windsurfers who travel with four dogs, we have tried many different covers to try to protect the seats in our van; all have been flimsy, ill-fitting and not very waterproof. At the moment our best solution is a hi-tech set of fleece blankets!
This is not very sustainable in a hard-working van, so during my research to look for something more suitable, I came across Jackyards, a Poole-based company, which is conveniently next door to our ‘home’ base of Bournemouth, when we’re not travelling, of course!
Jackyards was set up by one woman and her dog; Denise Enstone and product tester, chocolate lab, Bear!
Denise told me “I am a single parent with a sales background. When I parted from my husband, I used to buy and sell VW T4 and T5s for a bit of extra cash; I lowered, colour coded and lined them so that they looked more ‘surfy’. I did quite a few; fifteen altogether – including my present van, which is what inspired me to try and design a new, nicely-fitting seat cover. I spent ages taking apart shop-bought ones to try to make them fit, but in the end came up with a whole new design. It is based on nautical materials – canvas acrylic – which is used for making sails and boat covers. That is where the name ‘Jackyards’ came from. The Jackyard is the top of the sail.
My first designs came from the triangular shape of the Jackyard, although we have now changed to our signature stripe pattern.
Canvas acrylic is an amazing material. It surpassed any others in terms of durability although being a girl, I also wanted it to look good! I love that it comes in such a huge range of over 30 striking colours. It’s great to sit on, water just brushes off, it doesn’t fade – and it is pretty much indestructible! All of the covers are hand-made to order, with piped seams and marine zips, so they are easy to remove and wash.”
Denise sold her first seat cover in 2011. Since then, Jackyards has developed a great following and has received some amazing testimonials, all of which praise the style and durability.
Zara Davies, speed windsurfing’s multiple World Record holder has a new set of Jackyard’s covers made to celebrate each new World Record that she sets! Zara’s covers bear her sail number, K47 along with her outright World Record Speed on a windsurfer – currently 46.49 knots, which is an eye watering 53.50mph! (To read an interview that I conducted with Zara, the only woman in history to hold two World Records simultaneously, check out my blog ‘The Need for Speed’ which I wrote for the National Watersports Festival, at which Zara is a regular.)
In addition to seat covers, Jackyards makes a variety of bags, which are waterproof, light and versatile. Holdalls, sail bags, parcel-shelf bags – or any other size or design idea that you might have can be personalised with initials, names, boat or sail numbers – and colour-coded to match your seat covers!
To see more examples of Jackyards’ products and colourways, check out their Gallery
- Prices
- Bespoke seat covers start at £399.00 for 2 x single captain’s seat covers with matching head rests in a choice of two colours, with white or black marine piping. See the price list for further details.
- For the VW owner who has almost everything, gift vouchers are available from £10 to £250.
- How Long will it Take? – Lead time is 2-4 weeks (6-8 in the peak summer months) – so order now for Christmas!
- How to Order – Please Contact Jackyards by phone or email and let them know which van you have; the age, colour, seat requirements and any personalised lettering that you would like. They can then advise on design and suggest some great colour schemes!
Other than the picture of The Fab Four inside Big Blue, all photos are reproduced with kind permission of Jackyards.
I have no connection with Jackyards and receive no financial or other incentive for writing this – I just love what they do and thought that you might too!
I cannot be held responsible for third party suppliers. All information and prices were provided by the supplier and were correct at the time of writing. Please see my Disclaimer for details.
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We gave up our jobs and have toured in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Austria (briefly – we got kicked out!), Hungary and Romania in a caravan with four cavapoos. If you want to read about our Adventure Caravanning & Canine exploits, it is all in the Trips section of my blog. For advice on caravanning and travelling with dogs, check out my Tips section.
More gift inspiration will be coming up in the next few weeks. All caravan, van and doggie gift ideas are collated in the Gifts section.
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