24/03/2024
Get ready to dive into the dynamic world of UK manufacturing as we jet back to the UK for a lively chat with Kate Hills. Kate takes us on a whirlwind journey through her fascinating career path, from pioneering circular fashion fresh out of college to designing quirky kids’ clothing. We’ll follow her adventures to Italy, where she crafted designs…
03/06/2022
Today’s guest is Chris Hewitt. Chris started out in 2008 wanting to make a pair of sustainable jeans. He’d been dealing in vintage for a while and had a mate that had briefly worked in the fashion industry, so how hard could it be? Harder than he’d imagined, as it turned out. Tune in for the twisty tale of trying…
22/04/2022
Today’s guests are Barbara and Nick, the due behind the small Hackney-based brand, A State of Nature. Heavily into the small-scale, well-crafted, detail-oriented, natural fabrics and direct sales school of business, building the business from the ground level with a focus on longevity and happy customers. We talk about the joys and frustrations and how coming from luxury fashion means…
12/05/2021
My guest in this episode is Jack Millington, founder of Billy Tannery, a business that started with the plan of using the otherwise discarded hides of goats. We talk about the inspiration to start a new business, the reality of bringing a crazy idea to fruition, the situation for goats and how collaborations make it possible to create a viable…
21/04/2021
The wife and husband team of Sarah and Paul have been running SEH Kelly since 2009. Quietly designing, making and revising a stream of garments that have found appreciative owners. All made in the British isles, from British cloths, and all backed by Sarah’s tailoring and Paul’s prose. From their HQ, which is basically a cold shed in Shoreditch, they…
07/08/2020
There are a fair few companies around that claim a long and continuous history of making, some with a genuine history, others with what might, with more than a little good will be described as a “continuation history”. British makers that are still making in Britain are rarer still though, not quite of the hen’s teeth grade, certainly not at…
22/03/2020
I have a pretty long commute. I don’t do it every day, but 2-3 times a week. It involves cycling, the train, the metro and walking. This means exposure to weather and a lot of sitting around. Add this to a penchant for dressing up in fancy frocks and there is a certain type of weather conditions that is problematic.…
15/06/2019
It’s a universal truth, that shoes made in the UK are good, very good. They are well put together, sturdy, made with materials far superior to that of a mass produced shoe that you would find in a High Street “Fashion Emporium. They generally look better too, are more substantial, a better shape, and a better and more standardised fit.…
16/12/2018
I find the whole idea of crowdfunding to be utterly fascinating. While the Internet has given us so much, both good and awful, the overused term “disruptive” is seldom more appropriate than when it comes to websites like Kickstarter where you can see the support of the world at large to help fund your grand idea. True, not every idea…
16/09/2018
When it comes to footwear I think I’m kind of known for going for solid stuff. You generally won’t see me in anything lightweight or made of synthetics or anything silly like flip-flops. I have running shoes for running, and a pair of old Crocs for taking out compost and collecting produce from the greenhouse (shock horror, top menswear blogger…