Make it British Podcast

In this episode I look back over the first 100 episodes of this show to find out what makes British-made businesses great. There are many common themes running running through the last 100 episodes and that I've heard again and again from those I've interviewed. Here are the 10 things that make British-made businesses great: UK manufacturers are partners to the businesses they make for Katya Wildm...

There is a lot of confusion about the labelling of products. Can we truly call something 'made in the UK' if the raw materials are from overseas? As the traceability of a product's supply chain is becoming increasingly important more and more people are questioning just how authentic a 'made in Britain' product can be if its raw materials are imported. Find out how the origin of raw materials affe...

Corinne Lewis-Ward is an artist and designer who is the founder of Powder Butterfly; a design studio that creates a range of British contemporary homeware gifts. Corinne was trained as a photography and has used her love of British landmarks to create a unique, and very British range of products. Living in Newcastle she started with a range that celebrated the Angel of the North, which she pr...

It's so important to get out there and meet manufacturers if you are developing a product. In this episode I explain the reasons why you should be visiting factories, especially if you are making in the UK because they are on your doorstep. Stay in Touch British Brand Accelerator  - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand Make it British website Join Make it Br...

Take a tour round a traditional East End umbrella factory with me as we visit James Ince & Sons. Richard Ince is the sixth generation of a family business which was founded 215 years ago. East London was once the centre for umbrella making in the UK due to its proximity to the City of London where many of them were sold. Find out about the history of umbrella making in the UK and how...

Lots of people try to launch a business or collection with a huge range of products. They then find they don't have enough funds to manufacture everything they set out to. They make expensive mistakes and their initial vision may never come to fruition. Or they try to find cheaper manufacturers in order to squeeze everything into their budget to buy a huge amount of stock You don't need a perfect...

How can you grow a clothing brand sustainably and ethically? In this interview I speak to the inspiring Sophie Slater from Birdsong who work with women's organisations and charities to make thoughtful clothes in inclusive sizes. 50% of Birdsong profits go back to the organisations that they work with, including a women's charity in East London that make their clothes. Find out how Birdsong have us...

From 18th October 2019 many UK-made clothing items exported to the US will face tariffs of 25% In this episode I discuss what items are affected and what this means for British brands that manufacture in the UK. Stay in Touch British Brand Accelerator  - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand Make it British website Join Make it British  - become a m...

England used to be one of the biggest manufacturers of shotguns in the world, but sadly, like many manufacturing industries in the UK, it has seen numbers decline. Longthorne are the only shotgun maker in the UK that manufacturer everything in house - creating bespoke guns for customers all over the world. In this episode I visit the Longthorne Gun factory to meet husband and wife team Elaine and...

You've probably heard of greenwashing? But how about Britwashing? This episode tells you everything you need to know about what Britwashing is, and how to spot it. Sadly becoming all too common amongst brands and retailers trying to sell products for their own commercial gain under false pretences, I also call this 'fake it British'. There are several ways to spot it, and in this episode I uncover...

Reaching out to manufacturers and struggling to get a response? Don't be like Mr Vague, Mr Long, Mr Price and Mr Clueless - make sure that your email goes to the top of the inbox by avoiding these 4 common errors. Find out exactly what they are in this episode. Stay in Touch British Brand Accelerator  - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand Make it British we...

Join me on a tour round Crown Northampton's footwear factory In this episode I chat to Chris Woodford, owner of Chancery Footwear, the factory which makes the Crown Northampton collection, and Mark Higgs, brand manager for Crown Northampton. Launched only a couple of years ago, Crown Northampton is quite different to the other shoemakers in the famous footwear town. Instead of making the tradition...

If you've got an idea for a product but you're tearing your hair out because you don't know what the next steps are, this episode is for you. You may have tried approaching manufacturers to help you and had no response, and wondered what it was that you said! Launching a new product is a bit like building your dream home; you wouldn't approach a builder before you had a design for your house and t...

When Pippa Dziubinski started a business making printed bamboo baby muslins 2 years ago one of the most important things was being able to make the product in the UK. But she faced many of the same struggles that other new businesses face when trying to find a manufacturer - they just weren't that readily available. Through perseverance and hard work Pippa eventually discovered the ideal manufactu...

Are you making this one big mistake when developing a made in the UK product? On today's episode I tell you how to make sure you avoid this costly error if you're launching a brand made in the UK. It will also be helpful to those who have product-based businesses who are finding it difficult to juggle all of their suppliers. This mistake can cause: High sampling costs Complex supply chains Long de...

A trip to Stoke-on-Trent this week to visit one of the last remaining potteries. I meet Andy Tooth and Jason Sims, owners of Heraldic Pottery, a company which bespoke prints fine bone china and glassware for designers and illustrators. More recently Andy & Jason also bought one of the last remaining potteries in Stoke - Duchess China, which was founded in 1888. Join me on a trip around the pot...

It’s very difficult to raise your prices for a product after you have launched it or communicated it to your customers. So how you can make sure that you’ve got them right from the start? Whilst the common calculation for working out a selling price might be to take the cost price and double it, or triple it if you are planning to wholesale, there are so many other factors that come in to play whe...

Isn't it disappointing when you buy something you love and it then needs replacing? Joel Chudleigh wants to solve that problem, by helping people to slow down on their purchasing. His ethos is to buy something that is made to last and enjoy it for a long time. His online retail store, Made to Last, brings together some of the best and most durable products that are all made in the British Isles. F...

Why do two similar looking items often cost totally different prices, even in the same shop?  A lot of it is to do with the cost price of the product. Yet so many different factors can affect that cost price. This episode runs through all of the different things that can make the difference to what a product costs - and how that can affect the final retail price. Here's my checklist of factor...

Join me on a journey around the Gosha London studio to find out what the life of a high-end garment manufacturer is really like. Mustafa Fuat started his manufacturing studio 23 years ago, knowing nothing about fashion OR manufacturing. He was in fact a pro footballer for Aston Villa! He’s obviously been doing something right, as he now manufacturers for some of the world's top womenswear brands a...

If you're purchasing something new does seeking out a product that is made in the UK offer sustainability benefits over one made overseas? There’s a lot of talk about sustainability at the moment when it comes to the products that we buy. And you can’t seem to turn without one brand or another launching something that is supposedly sustainable/green or eco. The cynic in me would say that a lot of...

Katie Walker studied furniture at The Royal College of Art in the mid-90s and has had her own business making furniture in the UK ever since. She has three sides to her business; iconic Katie Walker Furniture pieces which sell directly to the public; made-to-order pieces sold as one-offs; and collaborations with other businesses, such as Heal’s and John Lewis Katie holds a Design Guild Mark, which...

Join me on a factory tour around the Her Majesty The Queen's button maker. Established in 1655, Firmin & Sons are the oldest, privately-owned manufacturing company in the UK. At their prestigious metalworks in Birmingham they make not only buttons, but also ceremonial armour, helmets and other accoutrements. Firmin & Sons' sales manager, Tony Kelly, takes us on a tour to dis...

Billy Tannery is the first new goat leather company and tannery in the UK for over 50 years. Despite knowing nothing about leather production when they started, Jack Millington and his co-founder Rory Harker set up their micro tannery in 2016 after discovering the terrible waste of goatskins that are a bi-product of the meat industry. They use the goatskins to make their own leather...

Made Here, Sold Everywhere The UK imports considerably more fashion and textiles than it exports. But the UK Fashion & Textile Association are aiming to address that. Paul Alger is Director of International Business at the UKFT. Over the last 30 years Paul has helped thousands of fashion and textile designers and brands to export their products. He was recently awarded an MBE for his...