All Mix Blog

According to Reuters , Philip Green, the chief of the Arcadia Group, has joined the conversation on UK manufacturing. M&I thinks it is promising that someone of his stature should be considering shifting some production back to Britain. "When the market is as it is you want to manage as near home as you can. That's why there's some debate about UK manufacturing and people actually opening some new factories," Green told the Retail Week conference. "Is suddenly all our production coming back here? No. Is there an opportunity to do some production here? Hopefully there is and we're going to try," Green added. Image from Cooper Stollbrand , Manchester (one of the factories that has recently produced items for Topshop, part of the Arcadia Group)

Over the last week the gentlemen of Westminster have been out and about promoting British manufacturing. Above is a video of Nick Clegg at the Brompton factory in west London. Below are some of the key quotes from the speech Vince Cable gave last week: 'How many people do we meet who repeat the silly and inaccurate observation that "we don't make things any more"? This message has had a deeply corrosive effect in discouraging a younger generation from seeking a career in engineering or taking up industrial apprenticeships. It also helped encouraged the idea that young people should rather attempt to become a star footballer, an investment banker or a pop star - which can bring riches, but for a very small handful. The negativity about the perception of manufacturing has become a bigger problem than the reality.' 'There has to be a sense that manufacturing offers a good, attractive, career opportunity through skill training for school leavers and for graduates...

We recently came across this excellent case study on Anglepoise , courtesy of the Design Council : Anglepoise is run by father and son team, John and Simon Terry. By 2001, the pair realised that if Anglepoise was to survive it was time to make a few harsh decisions. The most straightforward option, and one chosen by many UK manufacturers in recent years, would be to stick to the same products and distribution channels but move all production overseas – probably to China. But the Terrys could see that this strategy might easily erode one of the company’s key remaining strengths – its reputation for precision design and engineering excellence. ‘Our margins were very small, and shrinking fast,’ explains Managing Director Simon Terry. ‘But we had a strong name, as well as our flawless design and engineering credentials. We wanted to find a way to reinvent the business to capitalise on these assets – not undermine them.’ There had to be another way. The answer turned out to be a much more ...

As mentioned last week, we were lucky enough to visit Old Town in 2009 and recently we got in touch with some questions. The responses from Will (and Marie) at Old Town were as we had hoped: erudite, opinionated and informative. The full handwritten answers are published above. Here are some of our favourite extracts: On the last year at Old Town : 'Mainly engaged in producing 50 to 70 items per week. Between January and March we attempted to secure a shop nearer to our customers in London... We had a lovely new shop sign made by Ashley Bishop.' On British manufacturing : 'I do get a sense that the issue, i.e the perceived advantage (of making products in the UK) has dropped off the radar as no one expects anything to be made here. I don't mean to sound negative but the kudos of being British made seems to have waned. I don't claim to have my finger on the pulse of current thinking so I could be totally wrong.' On the UK Fashion & Textile Association's ...

Came across this in today's International Herald Tribune. Dyson has some pertinent points, the best of which are as follows: 'Getting rich by making things is sort of dirty. That view pervades our culture.' (On how he was steered toward the classics and warned that if he did poorly in school he would end up in a factory.) 'It starts with the government, oddly... talking up and backing big engineering projects.' (On how the UK can change deep-seated cultural views toward engineering and manufacturing.)

Birmingham has received a sizeable amount of column inches over the last couple of weeks, mostly spurred by the Cameron chat. A good consequence of this has been the focus on manufacturing in the area, epitomised by this story from the BBC. The future of Jaguar Land Rover's Solihull plant had never been in doubt, according to Gerard Coyne, regional secretary of Unite, due to it being the 'ancestral home' of the car maker. Workers at the plant were clearly relieved. 'It's better than good. It's far more than we could have expected and I am gobsmacked,' said (the brilliantly named) Mick Jones, a paint shop worker from Erdington, Birmingham. We enjoyed reading the comments from other workers here too.

A piece in the Financial Times caught our eye today: ' MG, the Birmingham based carmaker will begin producing its first new car in 15 years, and from 2011 relaunch in the UK as a 'value' brand .' 'We've got to get across the ideas of having a great past with a bright, exciting future,' Guy Jones, MG Motor's UK sales and marketing director told John Reed of the FT. According to the FT, if the new MG6 model proves successful then production at the Longbridge site will be increased, giving new life to the site that was once one of Europe's largest car plants. Image from Old Classic Car

Last night M&I had the pleasure of attending a discussion between Sir Paul Smith and Mr Colin McDowell at Selfridges department store, London. Over a fascinating 74 minutes the gentlemen discussed Sir Paul's childhood, his father's humour, his (brilliant) lack of 'business model' and the importance of being genuine. The highlight for us came in the Q&A afterwards though. We asked Sir Paul to expand on his recently reported lament on the decline in craftsmanship in the UK and whether his eponymous company was doing anything to help the situation. Here is what he had to say: 'Masses of British manufacturers have fallen by the wayside, many in the 1970s, during the period that the government and many people were thinking that the new way was to do with the service industries; to do with the computer, the mass produced, robotic way. So a lot of the mills just didn't have the money to reinvest because there wasn't the tax incentives to do so. Also, un...

Thanks to Mr David Pinder for alerting us to this fine silent film of the manufacturing process of an Ally Capellino wallet.

'In the last quarter of 1997, manufacturing accounted for 21% of lending from British financial institutions while the property business (building, buying, renting) took up 16%. In the first quarter of 2010, the figures were 8.5% to manufacturing and 43.4% to property.' This stark fact appeared in Mr. Ian Jack's piece in The Guardian on Saturday. It was not all doom and gloom however - Jack reported that Numatic, the Somerset based company that makes the oddly charismatic 'Henry' vacuum cleaner , has enjoyed 40 years of growth without a dip in turnover. See the article in all its glory here . (Images © Numatic International Ltd 2010)

The Milan Furniture Fair is over. According to Sight Unseen the documentation of the manufacturing process was evident throughout the show, something M&I was pleased to hear: 'The only trend worth writing home about was the diaristic glimpse into process that so many designers chose to offer this year, supplementing their finished products with sketches, models, and real-time demonstrations. Droog, Tom Dixon, and the Belgian gallery Z33 turned manufacturing into a spectator sport, churning out saleable objects on the spot, while the young Berlin duo Studio Hausen decided to forgo actual products entirely, outfitting their Satellite booth with a vitrine full of experimental bits and bobs from recent research projects. Certainly in some cases the conceit helped mask a lack of new production pieces, an economic consequence that plagued the fair in general, but mostly it celebrated curiosity, storytelling, and a growing interest in where things come from and how they’re made.'...

Bolton's Norman Walsh is releasing these rather handsome 100% Made in Britain trainers this week. Kindly, Walsh documented the process and granted us access to the photos.

Earlier this week Manufacture & Industry had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Jim Pickles, director of D.S DUNDEE at the inaugural Stitch menswear trade show at Old Billingsgate Market. Pickles founded the traditional heritage label in the mid 90s in Scotland with Ollie Pilcher , a fashion photographer. After doing their own thing for a few years they relaunched the label in late 2007 and are now based in Dalston, London. We were immediately drawn to the brand's 'Made in the UK' labels so asked them a few questions: M&I: Where are you selling your wares? JP: We've our own store on Spitalfields market, opposite the Ten Bells pub. It's been a pop-up situation but we're hoping to make it more permanent. We've been there since mid-December and it's gone brilliantly, we've virtually sold out. M&I: Why Spitalfields for the store? JP: A, it's a mile down the road from the studio and B, it's on the edge of the city so we get a good mix of th...

In 1886 Birmingham photographer John Collier documented the Exhibition of Local Manufactures and Natural History. The selection of exhibits was limited 'to the leading manufacturers in their respective branches, or to any firm producing a speciality, with the view of showing the great variety of trades, and the excellence of work produced.' We were very disappointed to learn that we missed a mini-retrospective of the original exhibition last year. However, the accompanying booklet, created by Brighton-based Studio Makgill , is enough to whet the appetite.

Title: Manufacturing Processes For Design Professionals Author: Rob Thompson Publisher: Thames & Hudson Year of Publication: 2007 Image from design blog spotd.it

Click on the title for a pleasing article about the working processes employed by Mr. Trevor Ablett, who makes pocket knives in Sheffield. Written by Mr. Jon Henley and published in yesterday's Guardian 'Work' section. Thanks due to Mr. Mike Knight for nudging us in the direction of this informative piece. Photo credit: Christopher Tomond

The conservative councillors of Bournville believe that Cadbury should remain independent. 'Cadbury is one of the last remaining great British manufacturing companies. The company has made a huge contribution to the social history of Britain and, over the last 100 years, has made an incalculable contribution to the improvement of working conditions in this country,' a petition sent to local residents states. Councillors Dawkins, Huxtable and Evans believe that Kraft has little interest in Bournville, citing the American monolith's takeover of Terry's of York as reason for concern. 'In 1993... they made many promises about future employment and production. In 2005 Kraft closed the historic Terry's factory and moved all chocolate production to Slovakia.' Pictures from the wonderful Cadbury Dairy Milk flickr resource.

We were delighted to see that the esteemed cycling magazine, Rouleur, recently visited tube manufacturer Reynolds. In an article that spans fourteen pages, Guy Andrews reveals a great deal on the company's history and manufacturing process. The birth of Reynolds stems back to 1841 when Mr. John Reynolds started out as a nail manufacturer in Birmingham. By 1898 the predecessor to today's bicycle tubing company was formed, The Patent Butted Tube Co., Ltd. During the second World War Reynolds made tubes for Spitfire fuselages and employed more than 2,000 people. The 531 steel tube set, first produced in 1935, is still being made today. Keith Noronha, managing director of Reynolds, reveals how the quality of tubing being produced today by the company is directly related to the power of the factory's equipment which was developed in the 1960s. 'We're lucky to have the background and the hardware - we're very pleased that one worked out,' he tells Andrews. Click o...