Make it British Podcast

The Trunki needs little introduction; since its invention in 2006 over 4 million of the animal-shaped ride-on suitcases have been sold and it has become a design classic.

What many people don't know i…

Amy Fettis is the founder of fashion-led sportswear brand AIM Athleisure. When she first launched the brand she made all of the mistakes that many new businesses make - including developing a collect…

Johnstons of Elgin is the largest textile manufacturer in the UK. The 223 year old company employs over 1,000 people and was the first to bring cashmere weaving to Scotland.

Simon Cotton is the chief …

Labour Behind the Label is a workers rights organisation that fights for living wages for garment workers. They have produced a report about the unethical working practices of factories in Leicester…

Whether to wholesale is one of the biggest decisions that brands have to make, and it is often much more of a difficult decision for businesses that make in the UK as their cost price is often higher…

It’s back to business this week for many retailers - but how will shopping change post-lockdown? And what effect will this have on businesses that manufacture locally?

Whilst some people are rushing o…

London-based designer Maria Grachvogel is renowned for her clever use of cutting to flatter the female figure. In this interview Maria talks about why she has chosen to use more UK manufacturers for …

We've had two pieces of good news this week so I thought I'd share them with you in this episode.

The first is that the government has now officially placed orders with UK manufacturers for millions …

Emma Willis founded her shirt making business in 1989. She has had a shop on London's famous Jermyn Street for over twenty years and all of her bespoke and ready to wear shirts are made in England.

Th…

Buying habits are changing and there is definitely a renewed interest in buying made in the UK products.

At Make it British we've seen a 200% increase in enquiries from people looking for things that …

David Williams has been supplying the UK knitwear industry his entire career.

He is the UK agent for Stoll knitting machines and the founder of the Knit Design Centre - a studio in Leicester where des…

During the Covid_19 crisis many UK manufacturers have adapted their businesses to manufacture PPE.

Specialised Canvas, based in Chesterfield, are one of the companies that very quickly pivoted their b…

In episode 114 I asked 'PPE - can we make it in the UK?' and on today's episode I thought it would be good to update you.

It has been 5 weeks since the Government put a call out for businesses to help…

In this week's episode I talk to Lucy Blackley who founded technology company BombyxPLM to help fashion business owners manage their product development.

A Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system he…

Until a few weeks ago most people probably had no idea what PPE stood for. But during the Covid_19 outbreak PPE has regularly been in the news because Personal Protective Equipment can mean the diffe…

Harris Tweed cloth is renowned the world over. Woven entirely in the Outer Hebrides, using wool from the local sheep, you could say it was the ultimate sustainable fabric. In this episode Ruth Masson…

The number one concern for all manufacturers right now is how they are going to pay their staff. They need help to support the jobs of their workers and retain their skills otherwise they may be gone…

This episode was published on the day our Make it British Live! trade show was due to fling its doors open to 1,000s of visitors.

Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 outbreak we have had to postpone th…

The coronavirus (Covid-19) is having a devastating impact on businesses all over the world. One of the industries likely to be hardest hit is manufacturing, because so many raw materials cross border…

On today's episode we're covering a topic that I know bothers a lot of you - how can you protect your designs from being copied. Dids MacDonald OBE has dedicated the last 20 years of her career in he…