Honest conversations with the people building British-made brands. Hear how they started, the challenges they’ve faced, and what it really takes to grow a product-based business in the UK.
In this episode of the Make it British podcast I discuss a love of knitwear, in particular the lost art of hand-intarsia, with Genevieve Sweeney. Genevieve trained as a knitwear designer, and after working for several well-known brands, she took […]
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best Debbie Humphreys stumbled across her business idea when she took ownership of a whippet called Bruno and had trouble finding things to keep him warm. With a background in dressmaking and a successful
Katherine Hooker started her business with one garment and has been perfecting it ever since In this episode designer Katherine Hooker tells the story of how she took a garment from her wardrobe that she loved, and turned it into
Cotton spinning has returned to the UK! Greater Manchester was once known as cottonopolis because it was the home to the world’s cotton yarn and fabric production during the industrial revolution. At the turn of the Twentieth Century there were
What’s it really like being a clothing manufacturer in Leicester? In this episode we hear from Mick Cheema, who runs garment factory Basic Premier in Leicester. Mick set up Basic Premier in 2012, to manufacture up to 70,000 garments a
In this episode I chat to product designer Mat Booth, founder of accessory and luggage brand Both Barrels. Mat founded Both Barrels a few years ago when he realised that there was a gap in the market for a travel
I’m delighted to welcome long-standing Make it British member Sian Reekie of The Hettie Trading Company to this podcast. Sian is a chemist by trade, but has set up a lifestyle business making accessories for both humans and dogs which
Meet Jenny Holloway, owner of Fashion Enter, a social enterprise garment factory based in North London. Jenny not only manufactures for small brands and start-ups, helping create samples and small production runs, but she’s also manufactured for some of the UK’s
In this episode I chat to Ian Maclean, managing director of John Smedley – the oldest operating factory in the world. John Smedley are one of the finest knitwear manufacturers in the world. The company was established 235 years ago, at
Today I am interviewing Edward Sexton from Glencroft Countrywear, a company that have been members of Make it British from the very early days. Glencroft is a family business selling British wool and sheepskin products, as well as traditional country
