Make it British Podcast

In this episode I take a trip to rural Nottinghamshire to the micro knitwear factory owned by Samantha Thomas, founder of knitwear brand Waring Brooke. Sam was originally a designer for other brands like Alberta Feretti in Italy, but then 10 years ago she started her own knitwear label and took the brave decision to invest in her own knitting machine to create it. When I had Sam on the podcast 5 years ago she was a one man band - she now has a team and big plans for the future. In this episode we cover: How having her own machine allows her to offer personalisation to her customers, which gives the brand it’s USP What her customers really think about Made in UK The challenges Sam faced getting to grips with production and keeping the machine busy Why she's now opening up her factory to other brands for sampling and small production runs About Waring Brooke Waring Brooke is a knitwear and accessories brand made entirely in its own micro factory in rural Nottinghamshire. Founder Samantha Thomas designs, programmes and knits everything in-house on a single industrial knitting machine, which allows her to make to order and offer personalised monogram patterns knitted into scarves, snoods, hats, headbands and socks. You can find Samantha and Waring Brooke at: Website: waringbrooke.com Instagram: @waringbrooke Ready to scale your UK-made brand? Apply for the British Brand Accelerator at makeitbritish.co.uk/apply Follow Kate @makeitbritish on Instagram

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 Follow @makeitbritish on Instagram King's Foundation Paul Smith's book Threads

Ready to scale your UK-made brand? Apply for the British Brand Accelerator at makeitbritish.co.uk/apply In this episode I'm joined by Emily Millichip, a fashion designer based in Edinburgh who is relaunching her eponymous brand of 15 years after deciding it no longer aligned with where she is now. In this episode we cover: Why Emily decided to pivot after 15 years How she took her existing customers and Instagram followers with her through the rebrand Collaborating with local craftspeople on small limited edition batches How every piece in the collection is made within an hour of her studio About Emily Millichip Emily Millichip is a fashion designer based in Edinburgh who also has a parallel career in farming. Her new collection, Pagan, is made from natural materials and everything in the collection is manufactured within an hour of her studio. You can find Emily and Emily Millichip at: Website: www.emilymillichip.com Instagram: @emilymillichip Follow Kate @makeitbritish on Instagram

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