Kate Hills - UK Manufacturing Consultant

This is your sign if you’re sitting on an idea right now, or thinking about doing something different - just start!

It doesn’t have to be perfect or fully formed.

My idea started as a blog that was intended to build an audience for an online marketplace of British-made goods, but ended up taking me in a totally different direction.

The main thing was that I committed to the journey and then put one foot in front of another until it led me somewhere totally unexpected.  

If what you want to do is: * Build a brand that makes in the UK * Find a UK manufacturer to make your products * Promote your factory or UK manufacturing business 
That’s exactly what I help people do now. 
If you’d like to have a chat about your idea and whether I can help, drop me a DM and let’s make it happen.

Shining a spotlight on the British Industrial Archives. Set up by photographer Carmel King, who shares my passion for visiting factories and discovering the amazing manufacturing that is still taking place in Britain, it is a visual record of factories across the British Isles. 
 Carmel and I have been on a few factory trips together, the most recent of which was a trip to Long Eaton, the photos from which you can see here.

 The British Industrial Archives illustrates just how essential it is to keep British manufacturing alive. Many of the places that Carmel has documented are now the last of their kind, and some are in danger of closing. If you believe in preserving these skills, please spread the word.

 Thanks to Stretchline, Rainbow Jersey, Simplex Knitting Co for letting us go behind the scenes.

 @britishindustrialarchives 
@carmelkingphoto

A Visit to the Laxtons Spinning Mill 🐑🧶 In this episode of the Women in Wool series of the Make it British Podcast, I visited @laxtonsyarns 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. Make it British Podcast Ep317. Comment LAXTONS and I’ll send you the link to listen to the full episode. @laxtonsyarns

As part of my goal to visit 100 UK manufacturers in 2026 I’ve just come back from 3 days in Yorkshire visiting some amazing places and meeting some wonderful people. 3 days 10 manufacturers 545 miles 3 electric van charges By the time I got to Ladywell Mills in Bradford I couldn’t resist jumping into this giant pile of navy blue cashmere fibre 💙🐐 @sealinternational process raw fibres such as cashmere, wool and mohair so that they are then ready for spinning and weaving. They can turn their expert hands to processing pretty much any type of fibre - including bison, angora, hemp, camel, milk fibre and possum! More details of my trip to follow shortly, and on my stories and highlights. Thanks to Dan and Chris for the tour of Ladywell Mills and Felicity for organising my visit.

I was honoured to be given a tour round the @buffalosystems factory in Sheffield recently and meet the people not only making the clothes…but repairing them too. Michelle was an absolute star and talked me through how she brings the famous Buffalo Mountain Shirts and other clothing back to life -sometimes years after they’ve first been sold. Some pieces are returned for repair again and again…and they’re the ones they call the Zombies 🧟 The way that the jackets are designed makes them easier to repair and helps them to last much longer. That is true circularity in action. ♻️ I’m really looking forward seeing the @channel5_tv show about Buffalo Systems, which was being filmed when I was there. I hope the show gives people a real insight into how skilled clothing manufacturing work is and how rewarding a career it can be🪡✂️🧵 Thanks to @benfogle and @jamessleater for the invitation to see their amazing factory in action. And special thanks to @michelledrabble and Jane for showing me around.

Stretchline in Long Eaton have been making elastic in England since 1841, when they started life as Tubbs Elastics. They make both knitted and woven elastic in their UK factory. The knitted variety is the super stretchy stuff used in apparel for things like internal waistbands, medical garments and workwear. The woven elastic is more stable and used for things like bra straps. They also make rigid woven tapes that are used by the military and emergency services. As well as those silicon strips that hold tights up! At full capacity, the Long Eaton factory can produce up to 1.4 million metres of elastic a week. From their humble beginnings 185 years ago, Stretchline is now a global manufacturer, but the innovation still happens right here in their factory in the East Midlands. British manufacturing at its best 💪🏻 🇬🇧

There’s a website that maps the entire British wool supply chain from farm to finished product. Have you found it yet? In this episode of the Make it British Podcast special Women in Wool series, I was joined by Harriet Fletcher-Gilhuys from Fashion Roundtable. 🐑
 Harriet leads the Great British Wool Revival website an initiative founded by @tamaracincik at @fashionroundtable 
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. 

greatbritishwoolrevival.co.uk maps the entire wool supply chain from sheep to spinning, dyeing, knitting and weaving.

In this interview Harriet walks us through exactly how to use it. 🧶
 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
🐑 The two-day wool summit at Dumfries House bringing together farmers, designers, makers and policymakers 
Look for Episode 314 Make it British Podcast in your favourite podcast app

It’s 18 years ago this week that my mum passed away. If it wasn’t for her I probably wouldn’t have started Make it British. If you’ve been thinking about doing something different - just start. Life is too short not to.

5 Steps to Finding a UK Manufacturer - live masterclass 60 minutes + Q&A Two dates to choose from: 📆 Thursday 2nd April 1:30 - 3pm 📆 Friday 10th April 12:30 - 1pm Comment STEPS and I’ll send a link to your DMs. You’ll then need to click the link i’ll send you and you get to choose which session to register for. I won’t be sending a replay because the value comes in showing up and getting to ask your questions ☺️

To register, comment STEPS and I’ll send you the details straight to your DMs. This Thursday I’m running a free online class “5 Steps to Finding a UK Manufacturer” and I’d love you to join me. If you’ve ever sent an enquiry to a factory and heard nothing back, got quotes you couldn’t make work, or just aren’t sure where to even start, this is for you. I’ve spent 35 years working with manufacturers and have visited 19 UK factories already this year! I know exactly what they need from you before they’ll take you seriously, and I’m going to walk you through all of it, for free, on Thursday. There’ll also be an opportunity to ask me questions at the end. Hope to see you there ☺️

Share this post far and wide and #savedenby

@denbypottery was founded in 1809, has survived two world wars and a pandemic, but is now facing closure because the government won’t act fast enough on industrial energy costs. 
I’ve had other UK manufacturers telling me the same thing over the last few months.

Rising energy bills and the increase in employer National Insurance contributions are squeezing businesses that were perfectly viable just a couple of years ago. 

These are skilled UK manufacturers making world-class products, and they’re being killed by costs they simply can’t control.
 Denby’s CEO Sebastian Lazell has been asking for government support for months. The British Industry Supercharger scheme already exists to help energy-intensive industries, but ceramics manufacturers are excluded from it. 
He’s not asking for a handout, he’s asking for a level playing field. 
 If you care about British manufacturing, please get behind the #SaveDenby campaign. 
Sign the petition, lobby your MP, buy something from them, or visit their pottery village in Derbyshire. 
Before it’s too late 😢

I caught up with Isabelle Randall, founder of her eponymous British tweed tailoring label, based in Scarborough in Yorkshire. Isabelle is a fashion designer and tailor who designs and makes everything in her atelier, from the initial pattern cut through to the final fitting. After years working for couture houses in London, she set up her own label over 22 years ago and has never looked back. Today she makes bespoke tailored pieces using cloth from some of Yorkshire's finest woollen mills, including @abrahammoonsons in Guiseley, @dugdalebrosandco in Huddersfield and @martonmills in Otley. In the podcast episode we talk about: 🧵 What it really takes to build a British-made clothing label from scratch 🧵 Why sourcing from Yorkshire mills is central to everything she does 🧵 The importance of meeting manufacturers face to face 🧵 Why holding out for the right customers is better than chasing the wrong ones 🎧 Listen to the full conversation on the Make it British Podcast, EPISODE 313 - part of our special Women in Wool series. If you have ever wondered what it takes to build a truly British-made brand, this one is worth your time. #womeninwool #madeinyorkshire