Make it British Podcast

Linda De Ruiter is the founder of sustainable womenswear brand, The Slow Wardrobe.

In this episode, we talk about Linda's business, The Slow Wardrobe, how she dresses women to feel more confident, and why she's chosen YouTube as the main marketing channel to drive sales for her business.

If you find it difficult to get in front of the camera to market your products, then take a leaf out of Linda's book!

She gives some great tips for how to produce video quickly and simply for YouTube, and how to repurpose those videos into other forms of content.

Discover:

• [3:14]How Linda's clothing collection evolved because of customer demand.
• [6:39] Where Linda's collection is made.
• [9:00] How Linda sells using a pre-order model.
• [10:01] The Slow Wardrobe's pandemic pivot.
• [20:53] How Linda got started on YouTube.
• [22:45] Linda's equipment for creating YouTube content.
• [26:26] Simple prep-work for creating each video.

More about The Slow Wardrobe

The Slow Warddrobe

The Slow Wardrobe on YouTube

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British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

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

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

If you have a limited budget to spend on product development and stock, the worst thing you can do is pick the wrong manufacturing partner.

Here's how to make sure that you don't.

Discover:

• 06:00 The expensive mistakes brands make when it comes to choosing the wrong manufacturer.
• 07:03 The potential pitfalls the can happen when looking for a UK manufacturer.
• 09:53 Why you should always visit a factory before you pay them any money.
• 11:55 Why recommendations are important when it comes to choosing a manufacturing partner.
• 13:04 Why you need to be cautious of the 'too good to be true' manufacturer that approaches you on social media.
• 17:07 The sure-fire way of blowing your start-up budget all in one go.

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

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.

Make sure that manufacturers are getting back to your emails by avoiding these four common errors.

Discover:

• 03:08 The amount of emails that manufacturers are getting and why you need to stand out.
• 04:23 The four reasons why emails to manufacturers don't get answered.
• 07:13 The one topic you should NEVER start you email with.
• 08:16 What you should do BEFORE you first contact a manufacturer.

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

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, recorded as an Instagram Live on Made in UK Day, I chat to three UK manufacturers:

• Karen and Neville Clokey from NC Lancaster, who make cushions in Lancashire
• Steff McGrath from Something Wicked, a UK-made lingerie brand and manufacturer.
• Alison Pottie from Wonky Woolies, a knitted accessory manufacturer in Scotland.

We chat about why local manufacturing is important to them. The history of textile manufacturing in their areas, and how they find and retain skilled staff. Discover:

• 03:44 Alison's thoughts on why it's so important to be supporting local businesses
• 06:54 The challenges Neville and Karen face when looking to recruit skilled machinists and their response to that
• 09:09 How Steff works with a local university to encourage students into manufacturing
• 13:11What we can do to help educate people about buying products that are made in the UK.
• 14:32The value of a UK-made product overseas
• 16:36 How UK manufacturers are dealing with rising costs
• 18:03 Why it's better to make in the UK as you can make smaller quantities which is more sustainable.

More NC Lancaster

Cushions.co.uk on Instagram

Cushions.co.uk Website

More Wonky Woolies

Wonky Woolies on Instagram

Wonky Woolies Website

More Something Wicked

Something Wicked on Instagram

Something Wicked 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

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.

Register for the masterclass > makeitbritish.co.uk/5steps

In this episode, I chat with Paul Brown, founder of Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, a UK-made brand based in Suffolk. Paul founded his clothing business back in 2012, knowing nothing about clothing manufacturing, butwent on to set up his own micro-factory.

He shares how much it cost him to get his micro-factory up and running, and what the benefits are of having control of your own production. We also discuss how the brand has found success exporting to countries like America and Australia.

Discover:

• 03:09 How Paul went from no experience in clothing manufacture to setting up his own micro-factory.
• 10:01 What has led to sales from overseas customers.
• 16:17 How the brand manages to offer hundreds of different options for their 'Create Your Own Trousers' range.
• 19:28 The exciting new relaunch coming up this year for Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

More Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

WISC on Instagram

WISC Website

Paul's Podcast on British Fashion & Style Information on WISC British Chinos

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

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.

Rosie Macpherson is the founder of Where’s Winnie, a luxury dog travel brand.

Rosie came to me when she had an idea to develop an innovative new type of dog car seat. One where a small dog can travel in style and comfort, but which also offered safety and security. In this episode, Rosie talks us through the journey from the initial idea for her product, to a very successful launch.Discover:

• 03:55 How the brand Where's Winnie came about
• 07:34 How Rosie handles juggling the new business with her family life and day job
• 09:26 What Rosie found most daunting about developing a new product in the UK
• 13:33 Rosie's experience working with UK manufacturers
• 17:06 How Rosie planned the successful launch day of Where's Winnie's first dog car seats
• 21:49 How Rosie was able to gather invaluable customer feedback through Instagram

More Where's Winnie

Where's Winnie on Instagram

Where's Winnie 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

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.

Julie Deane CBE is the founder of The Cambridge Satchel Company, which manufactures all its bags in the UK. In this episode, recorded as an Instagram Live on Made in UK Day, I chat to Julie about why the Cambridge Satchels are made in the UK, and how important it is to retain craftsmanship here in Britain.

Discover:

• 03:17 Why Julie feels there should be a kitemark to recognise products made in the UK
• 06:04 How Julie thinks we can encourage more people to find out where products are made
• 08:29 Why sustainability is so important to the Cambridge Satchel brand
• 11:43 The reason why Julie decided to set up Cambridge Satchel's own factory
• 15:28 Julie's advice for small businesses looking to get their name out there

Watch the live version from Made in UK Day

Further Listening

Episode 142 - Julie Deane OBE - Building a Great British Brand

More Cambridge Satchel

Cambridge Satchel Company Instagram

Cambridge Satchel Company 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

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.

Do you want to wholesale your UK-made brand, but don't know where to start?

Is this episode we look at some of the potential pitfalls, and I give you my top 8 tips for success when selling to retail buyers.

Discover:

• 02:22 Is wholesale right for your business?
• 04:04 The 8 tips for selling to retail buyers
• 08:22 Why doing your research before reaching out to buyers can save youtime and money
• 20:58 How other UK brands have made a success out of wholesailing

Further listening:

124 - To Wholesale, or Not to Wholesale

062 - Live! – Tori Murphy – How to get noticed by high-end retailers

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

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.

The results of our Made in UK survey are in!

Find out what consumers really think about buying UK-made goods.

Read the full survey results here: https://makeitbritish.co.uk/buying-british/madeinuk-survey-2022/

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

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.