Make it British Podcast

Find out more about William Gee at williamgee.co.uk 2a Forest Road, London, E8 3BY Subscribe to 🧡 Kate's Sunday Journal Sign the Open Letter calling on the government to source military and NHS uniforms from UK manufacturers 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply Follow @makeitbritish on Instagram

Sign the Open Letter Book a place at The British Made Showcase here Thursday 1st October 6-8pm 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply Follow @makeitbritish on Instagram

Register for Make it British Live! here Save the date 12 & 13 January 2027 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply Follow @makeitbritish on Instagram

Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply Follow @makeitbritish on Instagram

Subscribe to the mailing list to get Make it British Live! event updates. Follow @makeitbritish on Instagram Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

Register for Make it British Live! here Save the date 12 & 13 January 2027

Subscribe to the mailing list to get Make it British Live! event updates. Follow @makeitbritish on Instagram Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

Subscribe to Kate's Sunday Journal 🧡 Follow @makeitbritish on Instagram 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

Subscribe to Kate's Sunday Journal Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply Manufacturers Mentioned: woolkind.com caledoniahosiery.com johnstonsofelgin.com halleystevensons.co.uk kcmanufacturing.co.uk aeroleatherclothing.com houseofcheviot.com teviotknitwear.co.uk wonkywoolies.com

Apply to come to the next free Q&A Subscribe to Kate's Sunday Journal 🧡 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

Hello and welcome to episode 323 of the Make it British Podcast. I'm back with another episode in my Women in Wool series, this time chatting to knitwear designer Frankie Davies from Charl Knitwear. Frankie spent years designing knitwear for Burberry and Benetton and has spent much of her career inside knitwear factories, so it was only ever a matter of time before she founded her own brand. In this episode, Frankie talks about her use of British wool, the benefits of working with UK factories and how that differs from working with manufacturers in Italy, as well as the challenges of running your own business when you have small children, which I'm sure many of you listening can relate to. In this episode we cover: About Charl Knitwear Charl Knitwear is a British knitwear brand founded by Frankie Davies, a designer with over 20 years of experience working for luxury fashion houses including Burberry and Benetton. Inspired by the Norfolk fisherman's Gansey, the brand combines heritage stitch traditions with a contemporary approach to British fibre and manufacturing. You can find Frankie and Charl Knitwear at: Website: charlknitwear.co.uk Instagram: @charlknitwear 🚀 Ready to scale your UK-made brand? Apply for the British Brand Accelerator at makeitbritish.co.uk/apply Follow Kate @makeitbritish on Instagram

Apply to come to the next free Q&A Subscribe to Kate's Sunday Journal 🧡 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

Read this email Subscribe to Kate's Sunday Journal 🧡 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

Read this email Subscribe to Kate's Sunday Journal 🧡 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

Read this email Subscribe to Kate's Sunday Journal 🧡 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

In this episode of the Women in Wool series, I'm joined by Laura Watts, managing director of Marton Mills, 3rd generation family weaving business based in Otley, Yorkshire. Marton Mills was founded in 1931 and has built its reputation on uniform fabric - supplying school wear, military contracts for the Navy and the RAF, and fabric for the King's Coronation. Now, alongside its core uniform work, Marton Mills is launching its first fully traceable British wool collection in autumn 2026, with yarn sourced just down the road from Laxton's and fabric finished at Roberts Dyers in Keighley. In this episode we cover: How Laura went from advising heart surgeons at Johnson & Johnson to running a nearly 100-year-old weaving mill. Why uniform fabric is the backbone of the business and how the mill weaves 18 to 20,000 metres of fabric a week. Why so much British-woven fabric still goes offshore for garment production. What a genuine British procurement policy for military uniforms could look like. The challenge of recruiting the next generation into textiles. About Marton Mills Marton Mills Co Ltd is a family-owned textile mill established in 1931, nestled in the Wharfedale valley in West Yorkshire. The mill produces premium fabrics across a range of end uses, from school and military uniforms to film and television, with a reputation built on consistent quality and traditional Yorkshire values. Website: martonmills.com Instagram: @martonmills 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

In this episode of the Women in Wool series, I visited Laxtons Yarns in Baildon, Yorkshire, a fourth generation family spinning mill that is now employee-owned. I was given a full tour of the mill floor by commercial director Carly Smith and national accounts manager Rochelle Tracey, before sitting down with them to talk about British wool, the future of the business and the exciting relaunch of their hand knitting range. Laxtons spin worsted and fancy yarns for hand knitting, machine knitting and weaving. Their Sheepsoft yarn is a blend of Blue Faced Leicester and Masham British wool and travels less than 50 miles from fleece to finished yarn. Almost the entire workforce is women. In this episode we cover: Behind the scenes of how the fibre is spun into yarn. How Laxtons became employee owned in 2024 and what that means for the future of the business in Yorkshire. Why 52% of everything Laxtons spins is now British wool, and how that has grown. The relaunch of their hand knitting range as Bramble & Fleece. The shift happening across Yorkshire mills, with more women now leading businesses in what has traditionally been a male dominated industry. About Laxtons Laxtons Yarns is a fourth generation family spinning mill based in Baildon, Yorkshire. They spin worsted and fancy yarns for hand knitting, machine knitting and weaving, with over 52% of their yarn made from British wool. In July 2024 the business became employee owned, securing its future in Yorkshire. Their hand knitting range is relaunching as Bramble & Fleece in 2026. Website: laxtons.com | bylaxtons.com Instagram: @laxtonsyarns 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

In this episode of the Women in Wool series, I take a trip to the beautiful Essex countryside to visit knitwear designer Genevieve Sweeney in her micro factory, where she designs, programmes, knits, and finishes her collection in house. We talk about the realities of owning your own industrial knitting machine - from learning to keep the yarn and machine happy, to breaking needles in tears and coming out the other side. We also hear about Genevieve's mission to revive the almost forgotten art of hand Intarsia, a knitting technique synonymous with Scottish knitwear. About Genevieve Sweeney Genevieve Sweeney is a knitwear designer and maker based in Essex. Known for her distinctive use of colour, texture and geometric patterning, Genevieve works with natural fibres including Lambswool and naturally-dyed Merino. You can find Genevieve and Genevieve Sweeney at: Website: genevievesweeney.com Instagram: @genevievesweeney Genevieve forst appeared on the Make it British Podcast in Episode 39 in March 2019. You can listen to that episode here 🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply

🚀 Ready to create a British-made product business that's built to last? Without faffing about, wasting wads of cash, or struggling with unreliable factories. Apply for the British Brand Accelerator: makeitbritish.co.uk/apply In this episode I'm sharing the recording of a recent webinar I ran - 5 Steps to Finding a UK Manufacturer. Learn my signature 5 Step Factory Readiness Method™ which has helped hundreds of small business owners to get their products made in the UK. Find out why manufacturers don't get back to you (and how to make sure you get a reply). Why sampling costs can spiral out of control and how to avoid it. What a tech pack is, why you need one and how to create a tech pack quickly and easily without using a designer. If you are trying to get a product made in the UK and want a clear, practical framework to follow without making costly mistakes, this episode will give you exactly that. In this episode you will also hear me mention a cost price calculator that I have developed. Try the Cost Price Calculator Follow Kate @makeitbritish on Instagram

In this episode of the Women in Wool series, I'm joined by Harriet Fletcher-Gilhuys from Fashion Roundtable. Harriet is the project lead for The Great British Wool Revival and is also working with the King's Foundation on an event in May 2026 to promote the use of British wool. If you're a designer, maker or brand wanting to work with British wool but not sure where to start, the Great British Wool Revival is the resource you need to know about. It maps the entire wool supply chain from sheep to spinning, dyeing, knitting and weaving and Harriet is here to walk us through exactly how to use it. In this episode we cover: What The Great British Wool Revival is and how to use it to find farms, spinners, dyers and manufacturers near you How to plan a traceable British wool supply chain from scratch, and why you should allow a full year from first conversation to finished product How to get around minimum order quantities by pairing up with other small designers Why the website is already being used in 80 countries and what that tells us about the global shift towards homegrown fibres The two-day wool summit at Dumfries House in Scotland bringing together farmers, designers, makers and policymakers, and how to get involved If you care about British farming, UK manufacturing and using fibres that actually grow on our hillsides, this episode will give you a practical look at how it can be done. About the Great British Wool Revival The Great British Wool Revival is a free online platform built to make British wool more accessible, from farmer through to finished product. Launched in September 2024 in collaboration with the King's Foundation and funded by Yoox Net-a-Porter, it maps the entire wool supply chain and includes a terminology guide, a directory of mills, spinners and dye houses, and step-by-step guidance for designers wanting to work with British wool. The Great British Wool Revival Website Fashion Roundtable website Instagram: @greatbritishwoolrevival 🚀 Ready to scale your UK-made brand? Apply for the British Brand Accelerator at makeitbritish.co.uk/apply Follow Kate @makeitbritish on Instagram