All Mix Blog

We have two factory visits lined up this week, both of which we are very much looking forward to. On Thursday we are heading to the East Midlands, Long Eaton to be precise, to visit classic clothing manufacturer Sunspel . Following this, on Friday we are heading south, to Broxbourne in Hertfordshire to visit Globe Trotter , a luxury luggage company. Please get in touch (either by leaving a comment below, by email or via our Facebook page ) if you have any questions that you would like M&I to ask. Globe Trotter label from M&I's photo album of our first factory visit to Stevenage Knitting Company.Sunspel label from Sunspel's blog

Back in December 2009 we had the good fortune to visit Old Town, a clothing retailer based in the quiet market town of Holt in Norfolk. During our brief visit we talked to shop-owner Marie about branding, ink stamps, Alexis Petridis' recent piece in the Guardian Weekend , manufacturing processes and the ridiculousness of certain brands attempts to create 'history'. Old Town's clothing is truly made in England . Marie told us that they source a great deal of their cloth from a mill in Burnley, Lancashire. Garments are cut in the workshop above the store. The visual merchandising of Old Town sits firmly on the right side of the fine line between twee and authentic. The ordering system, whereby you select your fabric from a swatch book and the garment is produced within four weeks, is a charming way to ensure that no deadstock is produced. We left with a pair of grey stovepipes in stout twill (fortunately they had a pair in stock that fitted perfectly) and hopes of returni...

Walking through Northampton town centre shortly after 9am on a Wednesday morning it seemed bereft of life. The high street had three pound/99p shops within close proximity of each other and a gentleman's club offering 'topless football.' After navigating the unfriendly road network I eventually arrived at the address that was scrawled in my diary: 56-60 St. Michael's Road. Across the road is an old, disused shoe factory - it is in a sorry state. The home of Tricker's however, audibly buzzes with life as you cross the street. Stepping into the modest reception area I thought I would be asked to head to another premises in order to get to the factory store. Instead, the friendly receptionist led me across the factory floor to the shop, situated at the rear of the building. As we walked, my mind tried to absorb everything around me - neatly stacked yellow lasts, a young cobbler applying colour to a leather sole, the noise of different processes, a radio playing The Smi...