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)

Last Thursday we spent a couple of hours delving into the archives at Sunspel 's factory in Long Eaton, Derbyshire. Whilst there we also nipped round the buzzing factory. A full write up of our time with Nicholas Brooke of the classic underwear and clothing brand will follow here shortly, but for now, please feel free to browse some of our photos of the visit on Manufacture & Industry's Facebook page .

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

'The harsh and sad reality is that for the past few decades the majority of British factories, mills, weavers, finishers and textile suppliers have all ceased to exist but we are now more determined than ever to foster and revitalise the profile and general awareness of British manufacturers and remind the world that the UK has always and will continue to make the very finest garments.' James Eden, Private White V.C Tonight at 1930hrs on Channel Four there is a 30 minute documentary on life at Cooper & Stollbrand , the factory behind Private White V.C. We are looking forward to seeing it. Image from Cooper & Stollbrand

A recent article in This England magazine (a title firmly rooted in nostalgia and unashamedly so) focusses on Cussons, the soap manufacturer beloved by middle England housewives for its Imperial Leather bars. This then led us to looking further in to the history of Cussons' presence in the UK. Sadly the old premises (in Kersal, Salford) were demolished earlier this year but the company has replaced this with a state of the art (read bland/soulless from the exterior) building in nearby Agecroft, according to the Salford Star . The new factory and innovation centre is Cussons' only remaining manufacturing premises in the UK, the company having had a presence in Nottingham until 2005 . Image of Cussons' soap factory from Stephen Broadhurst on flickr Cussons' Lather Shave Cream advert from Paul Carrington on flickr

Last night I spent some of my evening putting together an Ercol table that we bought from a lady in Liverpool. The construction of the base is truly beautiful, it was slightly sad to think I won't be seeing it again until we (inevitably) move house once more. In an instance of fortuitous timing, Ercol have today published some pictures of DEFRA minister Lord Henley visiting its factory in Princes Risborough. We would love to see more of the steam bending process that is intrinsic to the creation of the Windsor Quaker chair. Picture from Ercol

We have found a new hero of documentation via Flickr, he goes by the name of Mikey Ashworth and it would appear that he has the (wonderful sounding) role of design and heritage manager at London Underground. Be warned, perusing Mr. Ashworth's collection may result in many lost hours. Photo of Jacob & Cos factory from Mr. Ashworth's aforementioned Flickr

The second issue of our favourite womens' magazine, The Gentlewoman , is out this week and we were delighted to come across an interview with Meena Pathak of the eponymous (minus the 'h' for ease of pronunciation according to the article) curry sauce brand. What really caught the eye was the images taken (by Daniel Riera ) inside the Patak's factory in Leigh, Lancashire (see pages 122-123 of the magazine.)

Images of the production lines at the Savoy Biscuit (top) and Colmans Mustard (above) factories. Taken in the 1930s. More here .

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...

The people behind Journal de Nimes were fortunate enough to visit the Grenson factory in Rushden, Northamptonshire, yesterday. We look forward to seeing a full report of the visit in their publication due out next year.

(Fig 1. Front cover of a 1928 Lea & Perrins cookbook) According to a couple of British newspapers, the original Lea & Perrins recipe was found in a skip. Brian Keogh, an accountant for the Worcester sauce manufacturer, discovered the encoded handwritten notes in two leather bound folios twenty years ago, The Express states. Following Keogh's death, his daughter retained the notes, amongst other documents he had collected. The recipe is now to be put on display at Worcester City Museum. The museum is analysing the handwriting to check that the recipe is authentic. 'Not even the staff knew the recipe, only parts of it, which would account for the different handwriting,' David Nash, collections officer, told The Sun. (Fig 2. Conveyor belt for crates at Lea & Perrins factory) Images from www.worcestercitymuseums.org.uk

Founder of Dualit, Max Gort-Barten, the son of an inventor, served five years in WWII before buying a factory in Camberwell, south London, to manufacture his products. The utilitarian design of Dualit's toasters is instantly recognisable and the hallmarks have barely changed since the first patent was issued in 1946. In 1952 Gort-Barten designed a new, commercial six slice toaster with mechanical timer and manual eject. The residents of Picton Street, SE5, and the entire Gort-Barten family were involved with its production. In 1954 the Government compulsory purchased the factory and gave Gort-Barten money to build new premises off of Old Kent Road (see image one in Scrapbook Pt. 2, below.)