Make it British Podcast

Latest Episodes:

144 – Revisited: The Making of Make it British Nov 17, 2020

Show notes

This week we've been spending time updating the About page on the Make it British website. It's still not finished yet so please don't look at the old one!

It caused me to revisit the first-ever episode of this podcast when I talked about my background and why I set up Make it British.

So I'm sharing that episode with you again today as it is two years ago since I first started recording this podcast and you may not know the back-story.

Discover:

How I was the co-founder of one of the UK's original ethical clothing brands in 1991
What happened at M&S when they stopped working with UK factories
Why I handed in my notice at my last corporate job without evening telling my husband I was going to leave
My plans for a marketplace selling British-made goods and why that never happened

Enjoy!

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

143 – Kath Whitworth, Celtic & Co Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

Based in Cornwall in the South West of England, Celtic & Co is the original sheepskin boot company.

Kath Whitworth and her husband Nick bought the business 30 years ago and trademarked the UGG boot in the UK.

In this episode, Kath tells the story of how the brand has evolved over the last three decades.

Discover:

The history of the Celt boot
Why Cornwall has such an entrepreneurial spirit
How the company has navigated Covid*
Why Celtic & Co have focused on working with natural materials
Why it's important that they manufacture locally

* This episode was recorded before England went into its second lockdown

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

142 – Julie Deane OBE, Cambridge Satchel Company Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

Julie Deane OBE, set up the Cambridge Satchel Company in 2008 with £600 and went on to make it a global, multi-million pound business. But behind the success story, there was a lot of hard work, including having to set up her own factory in Leicestershire almost overnight. In this interview, she tells the story behind the brand, and talks about how the business has evolved over the last 12 years. Discover:

Why she ended up setting up her own factory and why she'd recommend that any other brand should do the same
What advice she would give to someone setting up a British-made brand
Why she decided to manufacture the bags in the UK
How Julie holds a world record for listening to business pitches
Why a new business should never call themselves a brand
How investment changed the business

Shownotes www.makeitbritish.co.uk/142

More Cambridge Satchel Company

Cambridge Satchel 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

141 – How to darn socks…and other ways to have a more sustainable wardrobe – Emma Mathews, Socko Oct 27, 2020

Show notes

Emma Mathews is the founder of sustainable sock brand Socko and the author of 'How to quit fast fashion; 100 expert tips for a sustainable wardrobe' In this episode, she talks about how she went from a career in advertising to launching a sock business, and why we should all learn the lost art of darning socks.

Discover:

- How Emma found her manufacturer and learnt the process of industrial sock manufacturing

- Why the most sustainable clothes are the ones you already own

- Why we should all learn the lost art of darning

- How to darn your socks - it's a lot easier than you think!

- How socks fit into the circular economy More about Emma Socko

Emma's book - How to quit fast fashion: 100 expert tips for a sustainable wardrobe

Darning workshops

Shownotes www.makeitbritish.co.uk/141

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

140 – Why UK manufacturing is more sustainable – Christopher Nieper OBE, David Nieper Oct 20, 2020

Show notes

Christopher Nieper OBE is the managing director of David Nieper, a womenswear business in Alfreton in Derbyshire. The firm was set up by Christopher's parents sixty years ago and is now one of the most vertical textile operations in the UK. Christopher recently invested in state-of-the-art digital printing equipment so that the factory can print it's own fabric onsite. David Nieper already prints all their own catalogues and produce their own knitwear in house, alongside the garment production.

In this episode you can hear about the research Christopher commissioned from Nottingham university looking at the greenhouse gas emissions produced to make clothing at the David Nieper factory in Derbyshire. The study then compared these findings to the emissions produced by making garments in China, Turkey and Bangladesh and then shipping them to the UK. It makes for very interesting insights into how making in the UK can be quantified as more sustainable. A big advocate for slow fashion, Christopher has also found that his customers keep and wear his clothes 10 times longer than average. Listen to this episode to discover:

How the David Nieper factory uses 'just-in-time' manufacturing to achieve a 98% sell-through on their garments
Christopher's plans to make the David Nieper factory the greenest factory in Europe, recovering the heat generated by the factory to use as renewable energy
How he's changing the attitudes of young people in his local town by giving them a taste of what it's like inside a real manufacturing environment
The charity that the business has set up to help rebuild a local secondary school that was in the bottom 2% of schools in the UK and make it over-subscribed for the first time in 30 years
Christopher's idea for a labelling scheme for clothing that ranks the environmental sustainability of every garment

This episode is the recording of a talk that Christopher did at Make it British Live! Online. You can watch the talk and see the slides in the shownotes for this podcast at www.makeitbritish.co.uk/140

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

139 – Launching a luxury British childrenswear brand – Rachael Attwood, Britannical Oct 13, 2020

Show notes

Rachel Attwood is the founder of luxury childrenswear brand Britannical, and a long-standing member of Make it British. The business started life making outwear for babies and was originally called The Great British Baby Company. The brand is known for its coats, which are now made for children up to 12 years old, and an adults line is in development too. Britannical is an ethical brand with a strong commitment to sustainability, using British wool cloth for their coats. The brand has developed a strong aesthetic which plays with the idea of Britishness but in a way that does not take itself too seriously! Discover:

How Rachael used Make it British to find a good manufacturer who understood the needs of the brand
Why dialogue with a manufacturer is so important
How to get a manufacturer to answer your emails
How trial and error is important when launching a brand
The importance of attention to detail
The digital strategy for the brand and why Pinterest has been a focus for them

More Britannical

Britannical website

Britannical on Make it British

Britannical 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

138 – You don’t have to be a b*tch to succeed in fashion with Elizabeth Stiles Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

Elizabeth Stiles is a straight-talking fashion buyer turned small business consultant.

She helps fashion brands with their marketing, manufacturing and mindset, and has worked with clients such as Lucy & Yak and Olivia Rose.

Discover:

How to find your USP
Why Elizabeth won't buy from Amazon
How not to commit your life savings to stock when you launch a business
Why you should focus your product development on your ideal customer not on yourself
How to stand out as a small business

Mentioned in this episode:

Film: Greed: Steve Coogan - about a billionaire fashion tycoon who runs a chain of high street stores that use cheap labour in low-cost countries

Book: That will never work: The birth of Netflix by the first CEO and co-founder Mark Randolph

More Elizabeth Stiles

Elizabeth Stiles website

Elizabeth Stiles 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

137 – Sketch Pad to Shopping Bag – The Future of Fashion Fulfilment Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

The second in our series of live panel discussions in association with Kornit Digital, manufacturers of advanced digital printing solutions.

‘Sketchpad to Shopping Bag: The Future of Fashion Production and Fulfilment’ continues the important debate around the future of the UK textile industry.

I'm joined by panellists from education, design, manufacturing and retail, as well as the Chief Marketing Officer of Kornit Digital.

We discuss:

Why more companies are looking to reshore their production to create a faster time to market
How supply chains are changing and why that's important to the UK fashion industry
How COVID_19 has affected the industry
Why big retailers need to change their buying model and re-look at their pricing and margins
The importance of partnerships between manufacturers and retailers / brands
Why designers and manufacturers must leverage technology to create on-demand manufacturing as a service
How e-commerce is replacing brick and mortar stores, giving consumers more choice and the opportunity for more bespoke products

Panellists:

Fiona Lambert Ex MD New Business Development. River Island

Davinder Madaher Textile Designer, Madaher

Jenny Holloway CEO, Fashion Enter

Barbara Shepherd Head of Business Engagement, Manchester Fashion Institute

Omer KulkaChief Marketing Officer, Kornit

Listen to the previous discussion in this series here.

Make it British Live! Online

All of the talks from MiB Live! Online, our virtual trade show and summit, can be watched here: MiB.Live/online2020

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

136 – Working in retail as a textile designer – Davinder Madaher, Madaher Sep 22, 2020

Show notes

Davinder Madaher has been a textile and print designer in the fashion and homeware industry for 30 years.

In this episode, he talks about his career - from working in print studios in New York to high street retailers in the UK.

Davinder clearly loves what he does, and this enthusiasm and passion for the industry clearly comes across in this interview.

His motto is 'Finding the creativity in the every day" Discover:

Which print methods are best for which type of designs
How digital printing has changed the UK textile industry
Why you should print in the UK rather than overseas
The digital print companies that he uses in the UK

Watch the video of this episode here.

More about Davinder Madaher

Davinder's print designs

Madaher embroidery kits Davinder's Instagram

Some of the print companies in the UK:

Prinfab

Fashion Formula

RA Smart

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

135 – How to grow a business in difficult times – Hedley Putnam, Putnams Sep 15, 2020

Show notes

Putnams is an award-winning homeware manufacturer based in Plymouth, Devon.

The business was started over 40 years ago by Hedley Putnams' parents, and he and his sister Bubbles now run the business.

Hedley had no intention of working in the family business but found that he loved working in manufacturing and employing people locally.

Discover:

Why you should listen to customer feedback and how you can use it to grow sales
The advantages of being a UK manufacturer in difficult times
Why you shouldn't be afraid of failure if you want your business to succeed
How to win awards for your company
Why UK businesses should consider drop-shipping
How Brexit has grown demand for their products

The book about failure that Hedley talks about is Matthew Syed - Black Box Thinking

About Putnams

Putnams website

Putnams YouTube Channel

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

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