The Factory Next Door

Sheffield is about to embark on a brand refresh which celebrates the city’s role in the history of cultural phenomena such as football, electronic music, and cask beer. But we’re heading there to champion something omitted from the marketing rebrand – the city’s skilled steel workers.   On this week’s The Factory Next Door, we’re visiting the workshop of Ernest Wright, where they’ve been hand-maki...

Being a tailor is a profession. It has been since 1563 when laws were passed that stated you could only trade as a tailor if you had served your term learning the craft.   Today, there are around 13,000 tailors across the UK, and while Savile Row may be synonymous with the craft, most tailors are working their magic in our satellite cities and market towns.   On this week’s The Factory Next Door,...

Across Europe, we’ve been cooking with iron pans since the 1600s (the Chinese were using them 1,000 years before that), but they fell out of favour after the invention of ‘non-stick’ chemicals.   Now, following studies suggesting some of those chemicals may be bad for our health, iron pans are returning to our stoves. The UK market is currently estimated to be growing at almost 10% year-on-year.  ...

Around 1.5 million umbrellas are reportedly made in the UK every year. We need them. The UK gets around 171 days of rain every year (though that’s across the entire country, thankfully not in one spot!)    On this week’s The Factory Next Door we head to East London to visit one of our last remaining umbrella makers.   Number 27 on our list of the greatest things we make in Britain is The Doorman’s...

Making sparkling wine is an old craft that’s found a new home. The French (and other European nations) may have been producing it for 300 years, but since the start of the 21 st century, the UK has become an increasingly significant player.   On this week’s The Factory Next Door we head to Kent to meet the team making some of our most internationally celebrated wines.   Number 26 on our list of th...

Cars are made by robots – often articulated robots that resemble giant human arms… except, there’s a tiny percentage of cars that are still made using real human arms. On this week’s The Factory Next Door we head to the Malvern Hills to meet the team still using their hands to craft cars. Number 25 on our list of the greatest things we make in Britain is The Coachbuilt Car by the Morgan Car Compan...

More than three billion pairs of denim jeans are made every year. But not all jeans are made the same. Just 10% are produced using selvedge denim - a denim that takes more time to weave and is significantly longer lasting.   The UK may account for only a tiny percentage of global jean production, but we have some of the finest makers.   Number 24 on our list of the greatest things we make in Brita...

Since 1824, if you’ve got into difficulties on the British coastline, volunteers from the RNLI will race to your aid. They’ll arrive in a distinctive bright orange boat. A boat built in Britain.   Number 23 on our list of the greatest things we make in Britain is The Inflatable Lifeboat.   In this week’s episode of The Factory Next Door, we head to Cowes on the Isle of Wight to meet Glyn Ellis, Bu...

In a leafy science park in Surrey, there’s a team of engineers making something that’s not intended for our world – it’s designed to live in space.   Number 22 on our list of the greatest things we make in Britain is The Space Satellite.   In this week’s episode of The Factory Next Door, we head to Surrey Satellite Technologies to meet with systems engineer Lily Forward and head of marketing Andre...

A thread runs across the shoulders of King Charles, Stormzy, and David Gandy, and leads to the city of Gloucester. There, in a beautiful 18 th century house, you can find Emma Willis and her skilled team making shirts for royalty, celebrities and anyone wishing to look sharp.   Number 21 on our list of the greatest products we make in Britain is The Cotton Shirt.   In this week’s episode of The Fa...

For this special episode of the show, we sit down for a chat with journalist and broadcaster Evan Davis.   Before becoming presenter of Radio 4’s PM programme, Evan was the BBC’s Economics Editor. In 2011, he presented a documentary series, and wrote a book, called Made in Britain. Since 2006, Evan’s presented the business show The Bottom Line. He’s also the presenter of BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den.  ...

The world’s biggest exporter of horse saddles and harnesses? China. Today it accounts for almost half the entire global market. But British-made saddles are still celebrated for their craftsmanship, and they are still in demand - particularly from riders in places such as America and Australia. Number 20 on our list of the greatest products we make in Britain is The Horse Saddle. In this week’s ep...

This year we’re on course to spend a billion-pounds on stuffed toys and dolls in the UK. The vast majority will arrive in shipping containers, but a small, select group of stuffed toys will be born on our island. Number 19 on our list of the greatest products we make is The Teddy Bear. In this week’s episode of The Factory Next Door we chat to Kerstin, managing director of Canterbury Bears to disc...

In East London, at a former Burberry factory, jackets and shirts are being manufactured with a unique twist – every element of them, from the buttons to the labels, the thread to the cloth, has been produced within the British Isles. In this week’s episode of The Factory Next Door, we meet husband-and-wife team Paul and Debbie, co-founders of clothing brand MISSING. They explain why they set out t...

There are 181 companies making footwear in the UK. In this week’s show we visit one of the oldest, Norfolk’s Bowhill & Elliott, to celebrate its Albert Slipper.   These slippers, traditionally made from velvet and often featuring intricate embroidered motifs, are still crafted by hand in a workshop behind the company’s shop on Norwich’s high street. They've been based there since 1874.   Marc,...

As the summer sun finally arrives, it’s time to celebrate an item we commonly hear in our villages and towns during the warmer months – the morris bell.   Morris dancers wear dozens of these bells strapped to their legs, giving their routines a distinctive sound. On today’s show, we head to Birmingham Stopper – one of the last factories in Britain still manufacturing the bells (it also produces a...

We celebrate a watch on today’s show – one made using 3D printing technologies (or additive manufacturing as the technique is referred to in the industry).   Apiar are new-comers to the horology world, but their use of additive manufacturing, and focus on British-sourced parts, makes them particularly interesting.   We travel to Ebbw Vale in South Wales to visit the factory making Apiar’s intricat...

It’s time to add a piece of footwear to our list of great British-made products. This week we head to Northamptonshire, the traditional home of our shoe-making industry, to tour Joseph Cheaney & Sons’ factory.   Our guide Martin celebrates The Derby Boot, shows us what makes a Goodyear welted shoe special, explains why clippers are more skilled than cutters, and reveals he wants to be buried i...

For number 13 on our list we head to 13 Savile Row, W1. There we meet Ruby, founder and creative director of Banshee, to learn how she makes her exquisite bespoke velvet jackets. As we tour Banshee’s workshop, we discuss bespoke clothing for women, the joy of British fabrics, the importance of marrying business and creativity, and the unpredictability of imposter syndrome. We also appreciate Savil...

Fire irons. We’ve been forging them for centuries – literally. Blacksmiths have been making them since, well, the Iron Age. They sit at number 12 on our list of the greatest products we make in Britain.   In this episode of The Factory Next Door, we visit ironwork company Nigel Tyas to see how they blend old techniques with modern tools and handcraft fire irons, as well as wrought iron lighting an...

Number 11 on our list of the greatest products we make in Britain is The Carry-On Case – and this piece will force you to rethink what you know about the humble piece of paper.   Luggage company Globe-Trotter, loved by royalty, celebrities, and plenty of lifelong fans, takes paper – adds a dose of magic – and creates a material that is extraordinarily durable and light.   In this episode of The Fa...

We’ve reached number 10 on our list of the greatest products we make in Britain. And it’s a true icon. The Spitfire.   In this episode of The Factory Next Door, we visit two factories both making their own versions of this legendary plane. In Margate, we pop into model maker Airfix to chat with researcher Luke about their 1:24 scale Spitfire replica.   And in a hanger in Oxfordshire, we meet Paul...

Ever wondered why, in this digital age, scientific institutions still employ artists to paint flora and fauna? In this episode of The Factory Next Door, we head to Kew Gardens to meet Lucy Smith, one of the world’s leading botanical illustrators.   Lucy shows us around Kew’s art workshop and explains why the botanical illustration remains as relevant today as it did during the voyages of Darwin or...

Ever wondered what a bomb disposal expert does when it’s time to change career? Well, in the case of Alex Simpson, they return to the Midlands and open a leather factory. In this episode of The Factory Next Door, we tour Beorma’s factory and learn how its plaited leather belts are made. We chat to Managing Director Alex about the challenges of keeping alive Walsall’s historic leather industry, the...

Ever wondered what makes one stripy mug a design icon, and the other is, well just a stripy mug? In this episode, we travel to the home of Cornishware in Somerset to learn how its distinctive (and world famous) three striped mug is produced.   We chat about the challenges of bringing production back from the Far East, ask whether imitation is flattery, and solve the puzzle of why it’s called Corni...