Footwear
Top 24 Made in UK Shoe Brands
From heels to brogues, trainers to boots, we bring you our top 24 made in UK shoe brands. [Updated July 2020] We’ve compiled a list the top of British-made shoe brands, including everything from baby shoes to work boots, occasion heels to casual trainers. This was a tricky list to compile as there are many brands who give…
Read MoreHow Crown Northampton's British heritage and quality craftsmanship underpins its success
How has one of the last remaining footwear factories in the UK adapted to the changing industry? We catch up with Chris Woodford of Crown Northampton to hear how his family footwear business has survived after many businesses have closed down Located in the heart of British shoemaking, Crown Northampton have over a century of…
Read MoreHow reshoring his footwear manufacturing to the UK was a success for designer Joseph Azagury
We took our Facebook Live to Wimbledon Village, to interview designer Joseph Azagury in his shop and to find out more about why he decided to reshore his footwear manufacturing Joseph Azagury has been making designer women’s shoes for over 25 years and has, in the last four years, taken the step of re-shoring his…
Read MoreA visit to Crockett & Jones
Northampton’s largest family-owned footwear business is going from strength-to-strength, and Make it British took a trip there to find out why I recently had the pleasure of being invited to the Crockett & Jones factory in Northampton to see their shoe making in action. The grade II listed building on Perry Street houses their offices…
Read MoreThe making of Walsh shoes
Walsh are the only 100% British-made and owned sports shoe company – and their trainers are super comfy too! I first came across Walsh shoes last year when they were a little known brand selling their wares on Brick Lane market in London’s East End, but I never got round to purchasing a pair for…
Read MoreMeet the Manufacturer: Sheepland Slippers
David Gibson of Sheepland tells us how the dawn of the internet helped keep the skill of slipper making in Somerset [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RHI9m59bWA] When David Gibson gave up his job fixing printers in the City he never envisaged that he would go into the footwear trade. “We ended up in this business by accident. My…
Read MoreEnglish Shoes: 10 more brands still made in Britain
Our second list of footwear companies that manufacture their shoes in Britain When we first compiled an article with a list of ten brands of English shoes that are still made in Britain we never could have believed how popular it was to become and the strength of feeling it would arouse in people. Since it was published…
Read MoreUp to 30% Off the Second Floor Collective
Brands get together to promote their British made products for the festive season The Second Floor Collective is a group of British brands who met when they all exhibited on the same floor at the Best of Britannia event this year. Realising that they all had a shared passion for manufacturing their products in the…
Read MoreThe New Balance 576 Cutting Room Pack
New Balance celebrates 30 years of manufacturing in the UK by honouring craftsmen with trainers named after them If you follow Make it British on Facebook you would already have read that New Balance were launching three special edition styles of their 576 trainers this year to celebrate 30 years of manufacturing in the UK. The…
Read MoreWalsh casual and their Olympic legacy
You may not have heard of Walsh Casual before, but you soon will. The Bolton-based manufacturers have just relaunched their classic trainers and these shoes are going to be big! Walsh was a British sports footwear brand launched by Norman Walsh in 1961. Before setting up his own company, Norman had served his apprenticeship for…
Read MoreHow a Loake shoe is made
A Goodyear welted Loake shoe can take up to eight weeks to make. Here’s how it’s done [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W7_hPugqro] Following on from our post yesterday about why you should be buying shoes made in Northampton, we found this great video showing how a Loake shoe is made. With over 200 different operations going into every…
Read MoreWhy you should be buying shoes made in Northampton
Where were your shoes made? If they aren’t from Northamptonshire then they should be. Here’s why… – You are buying into a piece of manufacturing history With 900 years of experience in producing leather and footwear, the English county of Northamptonshire has an unrivalled pedigree in the manufacture of quality boots and shoes. The area…
Read MoreAlfred Sargent Shoes
We do love a good factory photo hear at Make it British, and these images by Steve Lancefield show the true craftsmanship that goes into making every pair of Alfred Sargent shoes Nothing beats being able to see how and where the products that you buy are actually made, so here we bring you some…
Read MoreDr. Martens – Made in England
How many shoes do Dr. Martens make in England these days? And which ones are manufactured offshore? Make it British finds out When I ran an article on English shoes a while back it caused much discussion about the brands that had been omitted. One of the British footwear firms in question was Dr. Martens, probably one of…
Read MoreDesigner interview: Sarah Watkinson-Yull from Yull Shoes
[tube]oJEIZ6_J0wM[/tube] Make it British talks to Sarah Watkinson-Yull about her new footwear label and shows one of the styles being made at a UK shoe factory Can you tell me a bit more about yourself and why you set up your company? I always wanted to start my own business before I can remember. I…
Read MoreNew Balance launch exclusive trainers made in England for Schuh
Make it British always likes to feature New Balance, because as far as we are aware they are the only branded trainers made in England. (We will probably get loads of comments now refuting this fact, and we’re more than happy to be proved wrong!) Just landed in my inbox are photos of these great…
Read MoreMade in Britain in the news this week 24th October 2011
Made in Britain from the web this week | Grenson Shoes | Fallow Denim | 24th October 2011 At Grenson’s Shoe Factory (Spitalfields Life) The Gentle Author goes inside the Grenson shoe factory in Northamptonshire, with some great pictures of their footwear being made. Fallow Denim A/W Lookbook (Lineage of Influence) We featured Fallow denim on…
Read MoreEnglish shoes: Ten brands that are still made in Britain
English Shoes? Yes, there are some that are still made in Britain When I read that the British shoe company Clarks were thinking of bringing their manufacturing back to Britain, having made their last pair of shoes in the UK in 2005, it made me wonder which footwear you could buy these days that was still…
Read MoreCeltic Sheepskin Co – the British-made Ugg
The more I search around for stories of brands that are still manufacturing in the UK, the more I uncover tales of companies seeking to keep skills alive. The Celtic Sheepskin Co is one such company. Their story goes something like this: back in the days before the name UGG became synonymous with Australia, the…
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