The Factory Next Door – Details, episodes & analysis

These are tough times for Britain’s celebrated shoemakers – sales to Europe have been squeezed since 2019, tax-free shopping for overseas tourists has been scrapped, and recent geopolitical events have dented consumer confidence.

To survive, it helps if your brand has a long history and a cult following. Thankfully for Tricker’s they have both.

On this week’s The Factory Next Door, we head to Northampton to visit Britain’s oldest shoemaker.

Number 32 on our list of the greatest products we make here is The Country Brogue.

Martin Mason, Managing Director at Tricker’s, chats to us about pushing forward a brand that’s 196 years old, competing with warehouses for staff, and the joy to be found in vocational work.

We also contemplate size 18 shoes, wonder what a gimping machine is, and marvel at glazed brick tiles.

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The Factory Next Door is supported by AVEVA, a leader in industrial intelligence. 

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Thirty miles south of Glasgow, in the grounds of a country house, thousands of students visit every year to learn heritage skills such as stone masonry and stained glass making.

Dumfries House is home to The King’s Foundation, an educational charity set up by King Charles III.

For this special episode of The Factory Next Door, we take a tour of Dumfries House with the Foundation’s Head of Education, Dr Simon Sadinsky.

During our walk we consider the value of preserving heritage crafts, the importance of looking beyond our areas of specialist knowledge, and question whether our education system is too focused on learned expertise rather than practical experience.

Say hello on Instagram @thefactorynextdoor

The Factory Next Door is supported by AVEVA, a leader in industrial intelligence. 

Sign up to their bi-weekly newsletter about manufacturing here:

www.aveva.com/factory

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since 1824, if you’ve got into difficulties on the British coastline, volunteers from the RNLI will race to your aid. They’ll arrive in a distinctive bright orange boat. A boat built in Britain.

Number 23 on our list of the greatest things we make in Britain is The Inflatable Lifeboat.

In this week’s episode of The Factory Next Door, we head to Cowes on the Isle of Wight to meet Glyn Ellis, Business Operations Manager at the RNLI’s Inshore Lifeboat Centre.

We learn about the craft that goes into making boats built to rescue people. Last year alone, the RNLI saved 269 lives and came to the aid of more than 10,000 individuals.

Also on the show, we celebrate the CNC machine, talk kids’ paintings, and fall in love with a boat name.

Hit the play button and let’s hang out. Afterwards, say hello on Instagram @thefactorynextdoor

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In a leafy science park in Surrey, there’s a team of engineers making something that’s not intended for our world – it’s designed to live in space.

Number 22 on our list of the greatest things we make in Britain is The Space Satellite.

In this week’s episode of The Factory Next Door, we head to Surrey Satellite Technologies to meet with systems engineer Lily Forward and head of marketing Andrew Greenhalgh. We chat about the magic of working in the space industry, launch day nerves, and the dangers of lunchtime snacks. We also talk Elon Musk and offer sympathy to finance directors.

Hit the play button and let’s hang out. Afterwards, say hello on Instagram @thefactorynextdoor

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A thread runs across the shoulders of King Charles, Stormzy, and David Gandy, and leads to the city of Gloucester. There, in a beautiful 18th century house, you can find Emma Willis and her skilled team making shirts for royalty, celebrities and anyone wishing to look sharp.

Number 21 on our list of the greatest products we make in Britain is The Cotton Shirt.

In this week’s episode of The Factory Next Door we head to Bearland House, just a short distance away from Gloucester Cathedral. Here, Emma chats to us about starting her business, why she felt her career was a ‘fail’ for so many years, and the importance of celebrating the skill to sell. We also talk love in the workplace and dying at your sewing machine.

Hit the play button and let’s hang out. Afterwards, say hello on Instagram @thefactorynextdoor

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For this special episode of the show, we sit down for a chat with journalist and broadcaster Evan Davis.

Before becoming presenter of Radio 4’s PM programme, Evan was the BBC’s Economics Editor. In 2011, he presented a documentary series, and wrote a book, called Made in Britain. Since 2006, Evan’s presented the business show The Bottom Line. He’s also the presenter of BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den.

We sit down in a disused car park to discuss how Britain pays its way in the world, why entrepreneurs look to China to help kickstart their businesses, and the joy of quality over quantity. We also discuss the efficiencies of resilience, and consider why the manufacturing resurgence he predicted a decade ago hasn’t happened – yet.

Hit the play button and let’s hang out. Afterwards, say hello on Instagram @thefactorynextdoor

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The world’s biggest exporter of horse saddles and harnesses? China. Today it accounts for almost half the entire global market. But British-made saddles are still celebrated for their craftsmanship, and they are still in demand - particularly from riders in places such as America and Australia.

Number 20 on our list of the greatest products we make in Britain is The Horse Saddle.

In this week’s episode of The Factory Next Door we head to Walsall, to meet Jane, co-owner of Ryder Saddles. She tells us why a young workforce matters, the joy of blinged up saddles, the pain of posting to Europe, and why the industry is built on cold wet January days.

Hit the play button and let’s hang out. Afterwards, say hello on Instagram @thefactorynextdoor

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This year we’re on course to spend a billion-pounds on stuffed toys and dolls in the UK. The vast majority will arrive in shipping containers, but a small, select group of stuffed toys will be born on our island.

Number 19 on our list of the greatest products we make is The Teddy Bear.

In this week’s episode of The Factory Next Door we chat to Kerstin, managing director of Canterbury Bears to discuss the importance of being fair in business, turning away big orders, believing in work with a social purpose, and popping round to Uri Geller’s house. 

Also on the show, we learn how teddy bears got their name, reminisce about our childhood teddies, and give praise to Michael Buble’s jeans.

Hit the play button, let’s hang out. Afterwards, say hello on Instagram @thefactorynextdoor

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In East London, at a former Burberry factory, jackets and shirts are being manufactured with a unique twist – every element of them, from the buttons to the labels, the thread to the cloth, has been produced within the British Isles.

In this week’s episode of The Factory Next Door, we meet husband-and-wife team Paul and Debbie, co-founders of clothing brand MISSING. They explain why they set out to source everything from the Isles, despair about fake ‘Made in Britain’ labels, and reveal how to resolve a Mexican stand-off.

Also on the show, we chat to factory manager Alex from Apparel Tasker. She tells us where her love of manufacturing came from, shows off possibly Britain’s best factory canteen, and introduces Peanut the dog.

Hit the play button, let’s hang out. Afterwards, say hello on Instagram @thefactorynextdoor

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There are 181 companies making footwear in the UK. In this week’s show we visit one of the oldest, Norfolk’s Bowhill & Elliott, to celebrate its Albert Slipper.

These slippers, traditionally made from velvet and often featuring intricate embroidered motifs, are still crafted by hand in a workshop behind the company’s shop on Norwich’s high street. They've been based there since 1874.

Marc, Bowhill & Elliott’s Managing Director, tells us about rolling the dice of good fortune, the origins of the slipper, the power of fresh starts, and his backup plan if it all goes wrong.

Hit the play button, let’s hang out. Afterwards, say hello on Instagram @thefactorynextdoor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.