Make it British Podcast
Kate Hills is on a one-woman mission to save UK manufacturing.
In this podcast she shines the light on British brands and manufacturers, and goes behind the scenes of their businesses.
With tips, hints and tricks to help you manufacture in the UK and buy British.
Never has there been a more critical time to get behind 'made in Britain'.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 27 minutes
- Episodes
- 306
- Years Active
- 2018 - 2025
108 – Lingerie Manufacturing in the UK – Steff McGrath, Something Wicked
In this episode I interview Steff McGrath, managing partner at lingerie brand Something Wicked.
The collection is entirely made in the UK by Steff's team in Leeds, giving the brand the flexibility to …
107 – Silk Weaving in Suffolk – Laura Gore, Vanners
Vanners is one of the oldest textile businesses in the UK.
They've been weaving silk since 1740, and moved their weaving business from London to Suffolk in the late 18th Century.
In this interview I sp…
106 – How to print sustainably on wool – Nick Morley, Faering
Nick Morley is the MD of Faering, an innovative, UK manufacturer that prints digitally onto wool and other natural fibres.
Using the latest technology and renewable energy they can print direct to gar…
105 – The Making of Pantherella Socks – Justin Hall, Pantherella
Pantherella was founded in 1937 and has been making high quality, lightweight socks in Leicester ever since.
I took a trip to the Pantherella factory to meet the current MD, Justin Hall and to find ou…
104 – How we can solve the skills issue post-Brexit – Tamara Cincik, Fashion Roundtable
Tamara Cincik has over 20 years experience in the fashion industry and is the founder of Fashion Roundtable, the secretariat for The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Textiles and Fashion.
Fash…
103 – What does a manufacturer include in a cost price?
What does a manufacturer include - and NOT include - in a cost price?
In this episode I breakdown what you can expect a manufacturer to take into account when they quote you a price.
And how to make su…
102 – How does a textile mill thrive in 2020? David Collinge, John Spencer Textiles
David Collinge runs the the Burnley-based weaving business John Spencer Textiles.
He is the sixth generation owner of the mill which, was originally founded by his great great great grandfather 150 ye…
101 – Nine Manufacturing Trends for 2020 and Beyond
What will 2020 hold for UK manufacturing?
In the first episode of the year, and the new series, I look at some of the trends that I think will impact manufacturing in the coming 12 months.
What's chang…
Introducing Series 2 of the Make it British podcast
We're back!
Series 2 of the Make it British Podcast begins on Tuesday 7th January.
You can expect to hear loads more tips and tricks for making in the UK, along with interview with UK manufacturers - a…
BONUS: 6 Reasons why UK-made gifts are more sustainable
Have you bought your Christmas gifts yet?
Well, if you haven't, stop right there.
Before you get bombarded by all the Black Friday deals, listen to this episode of the Make it British podcast and find …
100 – 10 Things that make British-made businesses great
In this episode I look back over the first 100 episodes of this show to find out what makes British-made businesses great.
There are many common themes running running through the last 100 episodes an…
099 – Should raw materials come from the UK to call a product British?
There is a lot of confusion about the labelling of products.
Can we truly call something 'made in the UK' if the raw materials are from overseas?
As the traceability of a product's supply chain is beco…
098 – From Artist to Bespoke Gift Business – Corinne Lewis-Ward, Powder Butterfly
Corinne Lewis-Ward is an artist and designer who is the founder of Powder Butterfly; a design studio that creates a range of British contemporary homeware gifts.
Corinne was trained as a photography a…
097 – 13 Factories in 3 Days!
It's so important to get out there and meet manufacturers if you are developing a product.
In this episode I explain the reasons why you should be visiting factories, especially if you are making in t…
096 – A visit to an umbrella factory – Richard Ince, James Ince & Sons
Take a tour round a traditional East End umbrella factory with me as we visit James Ince & Sons. Richard Ince is the sixth generation of a family business which was founded 215 years ago.
East London …
095 – How to validate your UK-made product idea
Lots of people try to launch a business or collection with a huge range of products. They then find they don't have enough funds to manufacture everything they set out to.
They make expensive mistakes…
094 – How to crowdfund your brand – Sophie Slater, Birdsong
How can you grow a clothing brand sustainably and ethically?
In this interview I speak to the inspiring Sophie Slater from Birdsong who work with women's organisations and charities to make thoughtful…
093 – Made in UK Clothing Hit by Huge US Tariffs
From 18th October 2019 many UK-made clothing items exported to the US will face tariffs of 25%
In this episode I discuss what items are affected and what this means for British brands that manufacture…
092 – Elaine Stewart, Longthorne Guns – The Ultimate English Shotgun
England used to be one of the biggest manufacturers of shotguns in the world, but sadly, like many manufacturing industries in the UK, it has seen numbers decline.
Longthorne are the only shotgun make…
091 – Britwashing. What is it? and how to avoid it
You've probably heard of greenwashing? But how about Britwashing?
This episode tells you everything you need to know about what Britwashing is, and how to spot it.
Sadly becoming all too common amongst…