296 episodes

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'.

Make it British Podcast Kate Hills

    • Arts
    • 4.2 • 5 Ratings

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'.

    From the archive: Why UK Manufacturing is More Sustainable with Christopher Nieper OBE

    From the archive: Why UK Manufacturing is More Sustainable with Christopher Nieper OBE

    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 garmentsChristopher's plans to make the David Nieper factory the greenest factory in Europe, recovering the heat generated by the factory to use as renewable energyHow 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 environmentThe 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 yearsChristopher'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 event in October 2020.
    About David Nieper
    Watch my Instagram reel showing behind the scenes at the David Nieper factory.
    David Nieper 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

    • 36 min
    Creating Adaptive Clothing with Caron McLuckie from Bealies Adaptive Wear

    Creating Adaptive Clothing with Caron McLuckie from Bealies Adaptive Wear

    In this episode of the Make it British podcast, Karen McCluckie, the director of Bealies Adaptive Wear, shares her inspiring journey of creating adaptive clothing for wheelchair users and disabled individuals.
    Motivated by her son's disability and the lack of suitable clothing options in the market, Karen embarked on a mission to design stylish and functional joggers tailored to the needs of wheelchair users. From the initial idea to overcoming challenges and securing funding, Karen discusses the process of bringing her innovative designs to the market while juggling her role as a social worker.
    With a commitment to UK manufacturing and a vision for expanding her product range, Karen's story highlights the power of innovation and determination in creating inclusive fashion solutions.
    About Caron McCluckie
    Caron on Linkedin
    Bealies Adaptivewear Website

    • 30 min
    Why You Should Visit Your Factory

    Why You Should Visit Your Factory

    This week I’ve been in the Midlands visiting factories, which is always one of my favourite things to do.
    I’d planned to take my podcast mic with me and get an episode to you today with an interview with one of the manufacturers, but sadly I was in such a rush when I set off early Sunday morning that I left my mic behind!
    So on today’s episode instead I'm discussing one of the amazing factories I went to see, and also sharing a recording from the archives - which is to encourage you to get out there and visit factories yourself!

    • 15 min
    How To Sell Your Products

    How To Sell Your Products

    Today's episode is all about selling and sales, and how it's closely linked to product development.
    A lot of creative business owners say that they aren't any good at selling, so the natural tendency is to drop their prices or default back to making more products.
    I'm going to give you a different way of looking at sales, so that selling doesn't make you feel like a used car salesman.

    • 12 min
    21 Tips for Building a Great British Brand

    21 Tips for Building a Great British Brand

    Hear from 21 business founders as they give their tips on starting and growing a British-made brand.
    These snippets were taken from 21 different guest interviews on this podcast.
    If you want to listen to the full episodes you can find them as follows:
    Ep.142 Julie Deane, Cambridge Satchel Company
    Ep.076 Jack Millington, Billy Tannery
    Ep.143 Kath Whitworth, Celtic & Co
    Ep. 41 Paul Smithers, Halycon Blue
    Ep 179 Rebecca J Mills
    Ep 171 Rich Keegan & Linda Souto Maior, Usual Objections
    Ep 23 Sian Reekie, Hettie Co
    Ep 78 Katie Walker Furniture
    Ep 27 Matt Booth, Both Barrells
    Ep 139 Rachael Attwood, Britannical
    Ep 108 Steff McGrath, Something Wicked
    Ep 82 Joel, Chudleigh, Made to Last
    Ep 96 Richard Ince, James Ince & Sons Umbrellas
    Ep 120 Emma Willis
    Ep 39 Genevieve Sweeney
    Ep 129 Samanth Brooke, Waring Brooke
    Ep 88 Chris Woodford, Crown Northampton
    Ep 141 Emma Mathews, Socko
    Ep 153 Gillian Tusting, Tusting
    Ep 86 a href="https://makeitbritish.co.uk/makeitbritishpodcast/086-pippa-dziubinski-the-little-art-collection-2/"...

    • 23 min
    I Never Looked at Manufacturing Anywhere Else with Catherine Bedford, Dashel Cycle Helmets

    I Never Looked at Manufacturing Anywhere Else with Catherine Bedford, Dashel Cycle Helmets

    On today’s episode I’m chatting with Catherine Bedford, founder of Dashel Cycle Helmets
    Catherine had the idea for an innovative and stylish cycle helmet whilst watching the London 2012 Olympics. She set about creating her vision, and it took 5 years to develop and launch the Dashel helmet. All Dashel helmets are made in the UK, and in this episode Catherine talks about:
    How she set about developing a new and innovative product.How she found factories to then make the helmetsSome of the safety testing that bike helmets have to go through. How she got PR and found stockists when she first launched.How she got her first stockists.And how the bike industry has been affected by Brexit.
    Mentioned in this episode:
    British Brand Accelerator

    • 35 min

Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5
5 Ratings

5 Ratings

LJack1880 ,

Fantastic!

I enjoy listening to this in my workshop, it both informs and inspires in equal measure!, Kate has a natural enthusiasm for business, and a charming conversional style!

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