The Factory Next Door

For 500 years highland dress has been synonymous with Scotland, but these days there are more kilt-makers in India than within its home country. On today’s The Factory Next Door we head to a workshop just off Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, where efforts are being made to preserve the art of traditional kilt-making. Number 55 on our list of the greatest things we manufacture here is The Hand-Sewn Kilt. As...

You never quite know what you’re going to find when you visit one of our manufacturers.   On today’s episode of The Factory Next Door, we head to Avonmouth to visit a bespoke storage maker – but what we discover is far from expected.   We hear stories of serious fraud, do our daily stretches, go welding with Daft Punk, and see the frame of a 15-meter-high slide being lovingly bent into s...

When you need someone to escort the King’s crown to Parliament for the state opening, you call on his Majesty’s Gentleman at Arms – with their distinctive red and gold jackets. And when you need someone to make a new uniform for this historic corps, you call Jules Walker and her team at Gieves and Hawkes. Number 53 on our list of the greatest things we make here is The Ceremonial Uniform. Jules is...

The epicentre of the global pen industry used to reside in Birmingham. Then the plastic biro arrived and everything changed. But in the city’s jewellery quarter, a team of skilled silversmiths are ensuring the history of Birmingham’s pen industry continues to be written. Number 52 on our list of the greatest things we make here is the propelling pencil by YARD-O-LED. Owner Giles English shows us a...

Inspired by a poem about the horrors of war, the red poppy is worn by millions of people every year to commemorate those who have died in conflict. And every November, on Remembrance Sunday, poppy wreaths of varying sizes are placed beside graves and war memorials. Each one is made by a small team in Richmond, Southwest London. Number 51 on our list of the greatest things we make here is The Remem...

We’ve hit number 50 on our list of the greatest things we make here, so I thought it would be nice to share some of my favourite moments, as well as your most replayed clips.   Since we started The Factory Next Door, we’ve spent hours and hours hanging out with business owners, chatting to them on factory floors and in their offices.   They come from different walks of life, creating a w...

We’ve hit number 50 on our list of the greatest things we make here, so I thought it would be nice to share some of my favourite moments, as well as your most replayed clips.   Our manufacturers are undoubtedly facing strong headwinds. Many business owners tell me it’s tougher now than it’s been for decades.   Despite this, on our travels around the country, we’ve met a few extraordinary...

We’ve hit number 50 on our list of the greatest things we make here, so I thought it would be nice to look back at some of my favourite moments from the show, as well as your most replayed clips.   Over the coming weeks, I’ll share a few compilations.   We’ll start with moments that hit me hard.   The Factory Next Door might be about manufacturing, but it’s also a love letter to peo...

When you’ve been learning your craft for almost two and a half centuries, you can confidently call yourself ‘the world’s finest’. John Smedley have been making their knitwear in Derbyshire since 1784. Number 50 on our list of the greatest things we make here is The Knitted Polo Shirt. On this week’s The Factory Next Door we head to Matlock to visit John Smedley’s historic Lea Mills. Managing Direc...

Spend a day in any major city from Seoul to San Francisco and you’ll spot them weaving through the traffic – a bicycle with distinctive small wheels and arched top tube. Brompton’s folding bike is an example of a great British design that’s loved around the world. More than 1.2m have now been sold. Number 49 on our list of the greatest things we make here is The Folding Bicycle. On this week’s The...

Over the past 20 years, the amount we spend on shoes in the UK has tripled. It now stands at £14bn. During the same period, our domestic footwear industry has dramatically shrunk. The vast majority of shoes we buy are now made overseas. One town remains synonymous with shoemaking. Northampton. And it’s here that you can still find craftspeople making some of the finest shoes in the world. Brands l...

Pitching a 24-metre-long tent is one thing. Manufacturing one requires a whole different set of skills, including cloth cutting, sewing, woodwork and a good understanding of mathematics. On this week’s The Factory Next Door we head to North Yorkshire to meet a team striving to keep alive the ancient art of tent making. Number 48 on our list of the greatest things we make here is The Wedding Tent b...

When the world’s best surgeons spread a rib cage or clamp a blood vessel, they rely on instruments hammered and filed by skilled hands in a Sheffield workshop.   On this week’s The Factory Next Door we head to Platts & Nisbett, manufacturers of surgical instruments for almost half-a-century.   Number 47 on our list of the greatest things we make here is The Surgical Clamp. &nbsp...

Smalls are a big market. Annual underwear sales in the UK top £400m. Much of it used to be made domestically (with a thriving cluster in south Wales), but, in the past 15 years, that industry has dramatically shrunk. Today, just a few artisan lingerie companies survive. On this week’s The Factory Next Door, we head to New Tredegar in South Wales to meet Naomi Edmondson, the founder of lingerie com...

What does it take to make a product so special customers will wait years to get their hands on one?   In the world of horology, Rebecca and Craig Struthers have built themselves an enviable reputation using traditional tools and methods to craft extraordinary timepieces. Their watches are so popular the waiting time for one is currently seven years (they are working to bring that down!) &nbsp...

Every company has a lifespan. Some have two. Over the course of a century, glasses-maker Curry & Paxton went from pioneering new optical instruments, to becoming a key supplier to the NHS, to appearing in iconic movies. Then, in 1987, they vanished. On this week’s The Factory Next Door, we visit the workshop where they are breathing new life into this heritage British brand. Number 44 on our l...

The market for jams and preserves might seem… well, jam-packed, but get your recipe right and you’ll find space to grow. Number 43 on our list of the greatest products we make here is The Premium Preserve. On this week’s The Factory Next Door we visit Bristol to meet Nicola Elliott, founder of award-winning jam maker Single Variety Co. Nicola gives us a tour of her expanding factory as she explain...

There are somethings you can’t know about a company until you’ve bought it and had a riffle through the filing cabinets. In the case of clothing maker Buffalo Systems, it was numerous letters of appreciation from special forces, the military, and mountain rescue teams.   Number 42 on our list of the greatest products we make here is The Mountain Shirt by Buffalo. Broadcaster and adventurer Be...

There’s plenty of reasons to buy a British manufacturer right now. On this week’s episode, artist Susan Rose reveals why she’s just done that – acquiring a pottery in Stoke-on-Trent.   We take a tour to learn about getting the thickness of mugs just right, the art of the kiln-stack, and why the random-shake of a cup in water is not always what it seems.   We also hear about overcoming dy...

When the ultra-wealthy want a new set of bespoke bedding for their mansion or superyacht, they email a mill that sits just outside Blackburn, Lancashire.   Peter Reed – whose customers include the Royal Household – has been producing handcrafted bedding for more than 160 years.   Number 40 on our list of the greatest products we make here is The Bed Linen.   Managing Director Sean C...

The global market for saw blades might be worth $16bn a year, but there’s only one saw factory left in the UK.   In today’s show we visit Sheffield’s Thomas Flinn & Co to learn how they’ve been cutting teeth for the past 100 years.   Number 39 on our list of the greatest products we make here is The Musical Saw.   Director Katie Ellis’ family have owned the company for generatio...

Earlier this year, Blue Ghost became the first commercial lunar lander to touch down on the moon.   Crucial to that mission’s success was its engine – a rocket designed and built in the Buckinghamshire countryside.   Number 38 on our list of the greatest items we make in Britain is The Rocket Engine.   At a former military base, Dr Ian Coxhill, chief engineer at Nammo UK, shows us a...

We almost lost the art of building homes from oak in Britain. Thankfully, someone in Herefordshire wasn’t going to let that happen.   In today’s show we celebrate a dad who revived the medieval craft and built a business.   Number 37 on our list of the greatest items we make here is The Oak-Framed Home.   Merry Albright is creative director of Border Oak, and daughter of the founder...

The American sneaker market is worth $25bn. It is the biggest in the world – and growing. But it’s a crowded market. You need a stellar USP to stand out.   Sheffield-based trainer-maker Goral has one – and it’s finding success selling to US sneakerheads.   Number 36 on our list of the greatest items we make here is The Resoleable Sneaker.   On this week’s episode of The Factory Next...

Design a timeless classic and the ripples from that one idea can be felt across industries for decades. Take Ercol’s Windsor Dining Chair, number 35 on our list of the greatest items we make here. It may be more than 70 years old, but its impact and influence remains significant. Today it’s even helping revive the British wood industry decades after being ravaged by Dutch Elm Disease. On this week...