Lonely Kids Club's Black Books Collection is a tribute to the Channel 4 sitcom that ran from 2000 to 2004 and has outlasted almost every show it aired alongside. Designs by Claire Harrison, printed to ...
Lonely Kids Club's Black Books Collection is a tribute to the Channel 4 sitcom that ran from 2000 to 2004 and has outlasted almost every show it aired alongside. Designs by Claire Harrison, printed to order in our Sydney studio. Tees, hoodies and totes inspired by the bookshop that never really wanted your business in the first place.
We made this collection because we spent a lot of time with this show during our own retail years and found the parallels suspicious. Bookshop that's barely open, owner who doesn't really want customers there, general air of genteel disrepair. The designs span the Little Book of Calm episode, assorted Bernard outbursts, visual references to the shop itself, and a few quieter nods only series regulars will clock. Not officially licensed, fan tribute only.
Black Books is a British sitcom created by Irish comedian Dylan Moran, who co-wrote the series with a team of writers including Andy Riley, Kevin Cecil and Arthur Mathews. It aired on Channel 4 across three series, six episodes each, between 29 September 2000 and 15 April 2004. It won the BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy in 2001.
The show follows Bernard Black (Dylan Moran), the misanthropic owner of a small London bookshop who would rather drink wine than sell books. Bill Bailey plays Manny Bianco, Bernard's long-suffering assistant, and Tamsin Greig plays Fran Katzenjammer, who runs Nifty Gifty next door and functions as the show's chaotic middle ground. Guest appearances across the three series included Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Olivia Colman, Lucy Davis, Rob Brydon and Peter Serafinowicz.
The fictional bookshop is located at 13 Little Bevan Street, Bloomsbury, "just off Russell Square". Exterior shots were filmed at Collinge & Clark, a real bookshop at 13 Leigh Street, Bloomsbury, which is still there.
Availability changes by region and year, but Black Books has variously been on Netflix, Channel 4's own streaming service in the UK, and various streaming platforms in Australia. The DVD box set of all three series is also widely available. Worth checking your local streaming services directly as the licensing situation shifts regularly.
It wasn't cancelled. Dylan Moran chose to end the show after three series because he felt it had run its natural course. He's confirmed multiple times that there will be no further series. Three series of six episodes each is the complete run, ending with "Party" on 15 April 2004.
Every shirt in this collection is tied to a specific moment from the show. Here's a tour through the references.
The opening scene of the entire series establishes Bernard's whole personality in thirty seconds. A customer walks in, Bernard sticks a Post-it note that says "ON PHONE" to his forehead, and carries on as if he's unavailable. The customer eventually catches on and asks about leather-bound books to match his bookshelf. Bernard, still pretending to be on the phone, tells him the books are available but he'll need to pay in "leather-bound pounds to match his leather wallet". Shop the On Phone Tee.
In the same episode, Manny walks into the shop as an angst-ridden accountant looking for The Little Book of Calm. By the end of the episode, during a drunken chaos, he swallows the entire book and begins involuntarily quoting its calming advice whenever stressed. The "Calm is a state of mind" possession that followed is one of the most referenced scenes in British sitcom history. Bill Bailey reportedly couldn't stop laughing during the shoot and the scene had to be filmed in two halves. Shop the Little Book of Calm Tee.
Bernard and Manny are drinking expensive wine they absolutely should not be drinking, while Bernard insists that "no one is willing to admit that wine doesn't actually have a taste". He bites into what he thinks is a biscuit and says "It's some sort of delicious biscuit." Manny looks across and deadpans: "It's a coaster." Bernard keeps eating. The scene is Bernard's entire character in six seconds. Shop the Coaster Tee.
A new high-security door locks Bernard out of the shop for an entire night while Manny is trapped inside with no food. Manny finds an SAS Survival Handbook, drinks absinthe for hydration, and roasts Bernard's pet bees over cigarette butts to survive. The next morning, a hungover and dishevelled Manny delivers the line with genuine regret: "I ate all your bees." A line that has since found itself on a lot of embroidered pillows. Shop the I Ate All Your Bees Tee.
Fran gets an office job without understanding what the company does or what she's meant to be doing there. Called into an unexpected boardroom presentation, she stands at a flipchart, draws a circle and an arrow, and delivers the greatest bluff in office history: "Well, well, well. Why are we here? What's it all about? Ask yourselves this. Is this A, effective, and B, productive? Are we, or are we not, a company?" The board stands and applauds. She gets promoted. The tee captures the flipchart. Shop the Presentation Tee.
The bookshop itself is arguably the fourth main character. Its fictional address is 13 Little Bevan Street, Bloomsbury, "just off Russell Square". Exterior shots were filmed at Collinge & Clark, a real second-hand bookshop at 13 Leigh Street in Bloomsbury, which is still there and still selling books. The shop front appears in basically every episode as a transition, a home base, and a silent indicator that whatever comes next probably won't go well. This tee is a tribute to the building. Shop the Book Store Tee.
Bernard selling a customer a book with "Enjoy. It's dreadful, but it's quite short." Manny eating the Little Book of Calm. The time they drank their way through all the wine in the shop. The travel writer from hell. Fran trying to sell bizarre knick-knacks. The episode with the piano. Bernard's tax return approach being to set everything on fire. The show's humour runs on specific, repeatable, quotable moments and this collection tries to capture the best of them.
Every tee in this collection is printed to order in our Sydney studio on AS Colour blanks that are Amfori BSCI audited, Better Cotton Initiative certified, and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified. Made to order means no deadstock. The collection doesn't "sell out" in the traditional sense since nothing is bulk-produced, but we do rotate designs occasionally, so if something catches your eye it's worth grabbing before we move to the next batch.
The Black Books range is available in regular, oversized, long sleeve and crop fits from XS to 5XL. Hoodies, jumpers and tote bags round out the collection. Free Australian shipping on orders over $85, international via DHL Express. Production takes 2 to 4 business days in Sydney before orders ship.
No. This is a fan tribute collection. We're not affiliated with Dylan Moran, Channel 4, Big Talk Productions, or any of the show's creators or producers. The designs are original illustrations inspired by the show, not reproductions of existing artwork or logos. If you're after officially licensed Black Books merchandise we're not the right place, but we'd argue original fan art often captures the spirit better than licensed merchandise tends to anyway.
If you like the Black Books collection you'll probably find something else in our pop culture collection or memes collection. We've been making original graphic tees in Sydney since 2011, with a particular weakness for British sitcoms and surreal humour. Fair warning.
Disclaimer: This collection is a fan tribute and is not officially affiliated with the creators, producers, or broadcasters of Black Books.
