Make it British Podcast

Latest Episodes:

231 – 6 Lessons we Learnt From Rebuilding our Website Jul 15, 2022

Show notes

We're back! After a longer than planned hiatus, the Make it British Podcast has returned. And we'll be back to our regular Friday episodes. This week I'm discussing what went wrong with the recent rebuild of the Make it British website, and how you can make sure that it doesn't happen to you!

Discover:

01:09 Why it's been such a long time since the last episode of the podcast
02:19 Why we're relaunching the weekly Make it British live shows
06:30 Details about our live, in-person event coming up in October
09:37 Why it's important to have a website for your business
10:49 The 6 tips we learned from rebuilding the Make it British website
27:35 Why you should make sure you test every aspect of your website before launching

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 member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

230 – Taking a Break Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

We're taking a break from new podcast episodes for a while. Back soon!

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Follow on Instagram

Connect with Kate on Linkedin

British Brand Accelerator

229 – Why Buying British is Key to Retaining UK Craftship May 27, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, recorded as an Instagram Live on Made in UK Day, I chat to two British makers:

Joseph Azagury, a high-end women's footwear designer with his own atelier in Wimbledon, London
Nelson and Jenny Were from leather goods brand Nelson Were.

We chat about how the both of them learned their craft and why it's so important to keep these sorts of skills alive in the UK. Discover:

04:44 Joseph's background and how he got into handcrafting high-end footwear in the UK
07:17 How Nelson applied the skills he learnt at university to start up his own leather goods business
12:08 Why Joseph believes there needs to be more government support for the manufacturing industry
13:37 Joseph's thoughts on spreading the awareness of British-made products
14:52 Nelson's advice for start-ups looking to make in the UK
16:24 Why Jenny believes it's so important to support your local brands

More about Joseph Azagury

Joseph Azagury Website

Joseph Azagury on Instagram

More about Nelson Were

Nelson Were Website

Nelson Were on Instagram

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 member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

228 – How to Promote Your Business on YouTube – Linda De Ruiter May 20, 2022

Show notes

Linda De Ruiter is the founder of sustainable womenswear brand, The Slow Wardrobe.

In this episode, we talk about Linda's business, The Slow Wardrobe, how she dresses women to feel more confident, and why she's chosen YouTube as the main marketing channel to drive sales for her business.

If you find it difficult to get in front of the camera to market your products, then take a leaf out of Linda's book!

She gives some great tips for how to produce video quickly and simply for YouTube, and how to repurpose those videos into other forms of content.

Discover:

[3:14] How Linda's clothing collection evolved because of customer demand.
[6:39] Where Linda's collection is made.
[9:00] How Linda sells using a pre-order model.
[10:01] The Slow Wardrobe's pandemic pivot.
[20:53] How Linda got started on YouTube.
[22:45] Linda's equipment for creating YouTube content.
[26:26] Simple prep-work for creating each video.

More about The Slow Wardrobe

The Slow Warddrobe

The Slow Wardrobe on YouTube

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 member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

227 – The Cost of Choosing the Wrong Manufacturer May 06, 2022

Show notes

If you have a limited budget to spend on product development and stock, the worst thing you can do is pick the wrong manufacturing partner.

Here's how to make sure that you don't.

Discover:

06:00 The expensive mistakes brands make when it comes to choosing the wrong manufacturer.
07:03 The potential pitfalls the can happen when looking for a UK manufacturer.
09:53 Why you should always visit a factory before you pay them any money.
11:55 Why recommendations are important when it comes to choosing a manufacturing partner.
13:04 Why you need to be cautious of the 'too good to be true' manufacturer that approaches you on social media.
17:07 The sure-fire way of blowing your start-up budget all in one go.

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 member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

226 – Live Panel Discussion with 3 UK manufacturers Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, recorded as an Instagram Live on Made in UK Day, I chat to three UK manufacturers:

Karen and Neville Clokey from NC Lancaster, who make cushions in Lancashire
Steff McGrath from Something Wicked, a UK-made lingerie brand and manufacturer.
Alison Pottie from Wonky Woolies, a knitted accessory manufacturer in Scotland.

We chat about why local manufacturing is important to them. The history of textile manufacturing in their areas, and how they find and retain skilled staff. Discover:

03:44 Alison's thoughts on why it's so important to be supporting local businesses
06:54 The challenges Neville and Karen face when looking to recruit skilled machinists and their response to that
09:09 How Steff works with a local university to encourage students into manufacturing
13:11 What we can do to help educate people about buying products that are made in the UK.
14:32 The value of a UK-made product overseas
16:36 How UK manufacturers are dealing with rising costs
18:03 Why it's better to make in the UK as you can make smaller quantities which is more sustainable.

More NC Lancaster

Cushions.co.uk on Instagram

Cushions.co.uk Website

More Wonky Woolies

Wonky Woolies on Instagram

Wonky Woolies Website

More Something Wicked

Something Wicked on Instagram

Something Wicked Website

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 member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

225 – Why Manufacturers Aren’t Getting Back to Your Emails Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

Make sure that manufacturers are getting back to your emails by avoiding these four common errors.

Discover:

03:08 The amount of emails that manufacturers are getting and why you need to stand out.
04:23 The four reasons why emails to manufacturers don't get answered.
07:13 The one topic you should NEVER start you email with.
08:16 What you should do BEFORE you first contact a manufacturer.

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 member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

5 Steps to Finding a UK Manufacturer – Bonus Broadcast Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

224 – Making it Your Own; The Advantages of Running a Micro-Factory – Paul Brown Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, I chat with Paul Brown, founder of Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, a UK-made brand based in Suffolk. Paul founded his clothing business back in 2012, knowing nothing about clothing manufacturing, butwent on to set up his own micro-factory.

He shares how much it cost him to get his micro-factory up and running, and what the benefits are of having control of your own production. We also discuss how the brand has found success exporting to countries like America and Australia.

Discover:

03:09 How Paul went from no experience in clothing manufacture to setting up his own micro-factory.
10:01 What has led to sales from overseas customers.
16:17 How the brand manages to offer hundreds of different options for their 'Create Your Own Trousers' range.
19:28 The exciting new relaunch coming up this year for Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

More Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

WISC on Instagram

WISC Website

Paul's Podcast on British Fashion & Style Information on WISC British Chinos

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 member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

223 – Launching an Innovative New Dog Product – Rosie Macpherson Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

Rosie Macpherson is the founder of Where’s Winnie, a luxury dog travel brand.

Rosie came to me when she had an idea to develop an innovative new type of dog car seat. One where a small dog can travel in style and comfort, but which also offered safety and security. In this episode, Rosie talks us through the journey from the initial idea for her product, to a very successful launch. Discover:

03:55 How the brand Where's Winnie came about
07:34 How Rosie handles juggling the new business with her family life and day job
09:26 What Rosie found most daunting about developing a new product in the UK
13:33 Rosie's experience working with UK manufacturers
17:06 How Rosie planned the successful launch day of Where's Winnie's first dog car seats
21:49 How Rosie was able to gather invaluable customer feedback through Instagram

More Where's Winnie

Where's Winnie on Instagram

Where's Winnie Website

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 member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator