Welcome to Episode 265 of the Make it British Podcast!

In this episode I'm chatting with Pip Chawner, who is the founder of womenswear brand Philippa London.

Pip has got some fantastic tips to share about her experiences of setting up her brand; some of the challenges she's had along the way, including a bit of a tricky experience with a manufacturer in India; and how she has had great success selling her products at pop-ups and live events.

So if you've ever thought about doing a live event, but you're a little bit nervous about how to do it and how to sell at these events, then Pip has got some great advice for you.

ABOUT PIP CHAWNER

Pip Chawner is the founder of Philippa London, a luxury brand, sustainably and ethically sourced within the UK.

Pip previously worked for many years in sourcing and production for Nichole Farhi, French Connection and Gap Inc in London and San Francisco.

Philippa London Website

Philippa London on Instagram

HANDY LINKS

British Brand Accelerator

Make it British Website

YouTube

Instagram

Rate This Podcast

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

Welcome to Episode 264 of the Make it British Podcast!

What are the red flags to watch out for when searching for a manufacturer, particularly if you're starting your search on Google or another search engine?

From misleading claims of being a UK manufacturer to refusing to sign NDAs and the importance of visiting the factory floor. In this episode I provide valuable tips on how to spot these red flags and avoid potential pitfalls.

So join me as I uncover the secrets to finding a reliable manufacturer for your product, here on the Make it British Podcast!

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Checklist: 12 Questions to Ask a UK Manufacturer

HANDY LINKS

British Brand Accelerator

Make it British Website

YouTube

Instagram

Rate This Podcast

Welcome to Episode 263 of the Make it British Podcast!

Today I'm chatting to Clare Winton from Grow Wild Outdoorwear, a new brand for women in pregnancy and the early stages of motherhood. Clare had the idea to develop her maternity brand three years ago, and started, as many start-ups do, by searching Google to find a manufacturer. This led her to a frustrating two years trying to develop her collection in China. She then stumbled across Make it British, and I introduced her to factories in the UK who she's been partnering with ever since. Clare provides valuable advice on conducting customer research, navigating the challenges of garment production and the importance of face-to-face interactions with your manufacturer. ABOUT CLARE WINTON Clare Winton is the founder of Grow Wild Outdoorwear, a range of outdoor clothing and accessories for pregnancy and early motherhood. After a semi-feral childhood growing up in West Ireland, she now lives in wild West Wales. She has spent 15 years working as a Quality Assurance Auditor, has a PhD in population genetics and is a volunteer trained Samaritans "Listener". Her outdoor passions include exploring local mountains and camping with her family. Grow Wild Outdoorwear website Grow Wild Outdoorwear on Instagram HANDY LINKS British Brand Accelerator Make it British Website YouTube Instagram Rate This Podcast

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

Welcome to episode 262 of the Make it British Podcast!

In this episode, l explore the factors that go into setting the perfect price, from understanding your customer and competitors to considering the cost of alternatives.

Join me as we unravel the secrets behind pricing strategies for product-based businesses that make in the UK. Get ready to gain invaluable insights and advice to help you nail your pricing for once and for all!

HANDY LINKS

🚀 British Brand Accelerator

🕸 Make it British Website

📺 YouTube

📸 Instagram

⭐️ Rate This Podcast

Welcome to episode 261 of the Make It British Podcast!

In this episode, I'm giving you the lowdown on why I ended up taking a 6 month break from podcasting. And why I've decided to make some big changes in my business.

I also offer you some valuable advice on knowing when it's time to make changes in your own business, and the questions you need to ask yourself before you do so.

HANDY LINKS

🚀 British Brand Accelerator

🕸 Make it British Website

📺 YouTube

📸 Instagram

⭐️ Rate This Podcast

Hello and welcome to Series 6 of the Make it British podcast. 

After a 6 month break the Make it British Podcast is coming back! The first episode will be released on Friday 6th October 2023.

I have so much to fill you in on! Thanks to everyone that has requested more podcast episodes. It wasn't until I stopped doing them that I truly realised how much everyone loved and missed them.

A lot has changed at Make it British since I last recorded an episode of the podcast. And it's been so long since I recorded one that I almost forgot how to do it! But I've dusted the old mic off and will be bringing you an episode weekly (usually on a Friday) for the foreseeable future.

In the new series I'll be sharing tons of tips and advice for making in the UK, and getting into the nitty gritty of running a small business that is made in Britain. With lots of special guests who have been there, done it and are wearing the British-made T-shirt to prove it!

You'll also hear from UK manufacturers in the fashion and textile sector and there'll also be a few surprise guests from other sectors sharing useful advice that I think you'll want to hear.

Some of the episodes will also be recorded as videos and shared on my YouTube channel.

So if you want to make sure that you don't miss an episode, subscribe to the Make it British podcast in your favourite podcast app and also over on YouTube.

In the meantime, you can find a whole back catalogue of over 260 episodes of this podcast on my website at makeitbritish.co.uk/podcast or in the app that you are listening to this in now.

And if you want to contact me about anything you hear on the podcast please drop me an email to [email protected] that way your message will go into my VIP folder.

Thank you so much for listening to this little trailer. And I look forward to bringing you series 6 of the Make it British podcast!

www.makeitbritish.co.uk

In this episode I discuss some of the hidden costs of manufacturing, and offer tips on how to avoid them.

Whether you're starting a new brand, or growing an existing one, there's typically five common areas where costs can spiral out of control, but the good thing is, they are all easily avoidable.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The five hidden costs in UK manufacturing and how to avoid them
• How you can minimise sample costs
• Why it's easy to overspend on raw materials
• How to avoid buying too much stock
• Why making in the UK eliminates some of your logistics costs

Resources mentioned in this episode

25 Hidden Costs of Starting a Brand

Enjoyed this podcast? I also have a private podcast called ‘British Brand Bedrock’.

The British Brand Bedrock private podcast feed answers more than 30 of your most commonly asked questions on starting and growing a British-made Brand.

Subscribe to British Brand Bedrock podcast here

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator–My group programme for small businesses who want to manufacture clothing, accessories and homeware in the UK.

Make it British website

Join Make it British–become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube– subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

In this episode I'm joined by Tamara Cincik, founder of think tank Fashion Roundtable to discuss the impact of Brexit on small UK textile businesses.

We delve into the challenges of supporting and promoting heritage brands, the need for trade associations to refocus their agendas, and the importance of heritage manufacturing in the textile industry.

The conversation includes a discussion of the plight of Cluny Lace, the last manufacturer of Nottingham lace in England, and the negative impact of Brexit on small businesses.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The challenges facing heritage manufacturers like Cluny lace
• Impact of Brexit on small businesses in the UK textile industry
• The role of trade associations in the fashion industry
• Importance of traditional skills and machinery

About Tamara Cincik and Fashion Roundtable

Tamara Cincik is the founder of Fashion Roundtable, an industry think tank established in 2017. With a background in the fashion industry as a stylist and editor, she founded Fashion Roundtable to give the fashion industry a voice in politics. With a British-Turkish background , Tamara has a strong connection to textiles and fashion through her family heritage. Fashion Roundtable is the secretariat for the All Party parliamentary group for ethics and sustainability and fashion and Cincik is an advocate for change in the political landscape to benefit the fashion industry as a whole.

Fashion Roundtable Website

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator–A 6-month group programme for small businesses who want to manufacture and sell profitable UK-made products.

Make it British website

Join Make it British–become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube– subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Enjoyed this podcast? I also have a private podcast called ‘British Brand Bedrock’.

The British Brand Bedrock private podcast feed answers more than 30 of your most commonly asked questions on starting and growing a British-made Brand.

Subscribe to British Brand Bedrock here

We get a lot of people contacting us at Make it British asking if we can put them in touch with a sustainable or ethical factory to make their brand. So in this episode I define ways in which a factory might meet this criteria.

I also talk about the launch of Primark's new circular denim collection, which has had mixed reviews in the media, with many thinking it is greenwashing and an insult to small brands that are genuinely doing the right thing.

You can read some of the comments about the Primark collection on my Instagram Post here and on the chief exec of Primark's LinkedIn Post here.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why we need to question whether fast fashion brands like Primark are heading in the right direction or just greenwashing [01:10]
• How do you define ethical? [04:10]
• The types of questions you need to ask a manufacturer [04:53]
• What is an audit and which ones should you check a factory has? [08:16]
• Should you work with a factory which doesn’t have an audit? [10:26]

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-A 6-month group programme for small businesses who want to manufacture and sell profitable UK-made products.

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Enjoyed this podcast? I also have a private podcast called 'British Brand Bedrock'.

The British Brand Bedrock private podcast feed answers more than 30 of your most commonly asked questions on starting and growing a British-made Brand.

Subscribe to British Brand Bedrock here

24th April 2023 marks the ten year anniversary of the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh, which killed over 1,000 workers and injured 2,500 more.

To mark the occasion,I look back on this episode of the podcast with Dominique Muller from Labour Behind the Label, in which we discuss the issues around fast fashion, and what effect it has had on the Leicester textile industry.

You'll learn:

• Who Labour Behind the Label are and how the organisation came about [02:37]
• Why the organisation is focusing on the UK garment industry in particular [04:16]
• The reasons why Boohoo has been singled out in the report written by Labour Behind the Label [07:07]
• What local councils and other authorities can do to stop unethical factories [09:55]
• The worst discoveries that Labour Behind the Labour made when they looked into how garment workers were treated during the pandemic [13:36]
• Dominque’s thoughts on how the good manufacturers in Leicester would benefit from brands returning to the city [15:58]
• The work Labour Behind the Label does to educate brands and retailers on how to make sure their production is ethical [18:26]
• What distinguishes a brand or retailer that is ethical to its workers [20:05]
• What the consumer can do to make sure they aren’t funding unethical practices and companies [24:52]
• Why brands should be more transparent about where their products are made [27:31]
• What the government could be doing better in terms of positive changes being made in the fashion industry [30:27]
• How people can support Labour Behind the Label [38:34]

About Labour Behind the Label

Labour behind the Label

Boohoo & Covid 19 – The people behind the profits

Clean Clothes Campaign– improving working conditions in the global garment industry

Fashion Checker– find out if the brands you buy from are paying their factory workers a living wage

Why we need transparent supply chains

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-A 6-month group programme for small businesses who want to manufacture and sell profitable UK-made products.

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Enjoyed this podcast? I also have a private podcast called 'British Brand Bedrock'.

The British Brand Bedrock private podcast feed answers more than 30 of your most commonly asked questions on starting and growing a British-made Brand.

Subscribe to British Brand Bedrock...