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Made in BritainWe’ve been avidly watching the new Mary Portas series ‘Mary’s Bottom Line’ broadcast recently on Channel 4. If you haven’t seen it yet you are truly missing something quite momentous – and wonderfully inspiring. And of course you’re guaranteed her pithy sense of humour throughout and her no-nonsense but big-hearted charm. The premise is: Mary wants to breathe life back into the clothing manufacturing industry and make 100% British knickers. And boy does she bring her ‘Kinky Knickers’ to the public’s attention!
She is showing that by bringing one – just one – clothing factory back into operation it has a huge effect, not just with the people directly employed but everyone involved at each stage of the process (in episode three she lines them all up and introduces them). It has a knock on effect within the local community and also throughout the wider area. The journey for everyone involved is so moving. It’s about putting the pride back into people, back into the country: a sense of belonging. Mary has shown something really important here. If there’s a will, there always has to be a way. We couldn’t agree more. We feel a personal sense of responsibility to have fully 100% of our products made in Britain. At the moment it stands at 95% but we have already got plans in place to phase out very soon the products that were manufactured under licence overseas and shortly they will be made here. We have a commitment to source and make everything in Britain – very proudly! Of course all the products are designed here by Hartwig, which goes without saying. Though Hartwig and I may not have been born here we have adopted Britain as our home. We love the country, the people, the humour, the culture; in fact we love everything about it. Maybe not the constantly-changing weather so much! But we have a sense of pride in Britain. That’s why it’s so important for us to have all our products made here. It presents great opportunities but equally massive challenges. Price, materials and wages are the key challenges. The cost per product is still higher here than abroad but it is starting to change – slowly. I think people are starting to acknowledge this now. Wages are rising in the Far East along with global transportation being much higher due to increases in oil so the cost per item is going up. At the moment, because Britain is lacking some active manufacturing facilities it means that there are things that you can’t really do here, for example; if you want to get iPhone covers printed all over, pretty much still the only place to do it cost effectively is the Far East. But there are starting to be other places now in America and I think possibly even here now in Britain as well. So eventually things like that could be manufactured here but I think there’s definitely a move towards making more things in Britain.
Also, ordering and re-ordering stock is a lot more flexible and a lot quicker. You can replenish stock within a few days. If we run out of anything we just pick up the phone and call our suppliers, telling them what we need more of. It’s manufactured to order for us straight away and we get it by the end of the week, which is fantastic! It means that we don’t have to stockpile so financially it makes a lot of sense. Okay, some things have to be a bit more planned, like our fabrics for instance – which we would need to print a few hundred metres at a time – but still it’s only about four weeks lead time. At the moment I’m working out what I might need for the Olympics period so I’ll be placing orders around the end of April so that I can ensure that I get the stock well in advance. Another benefit to working with and establishing good relationships with suppliers in Britain is that they can see that you are trustworthy. You prove to them that you run your business as effectively as you can and therefore there is the potential to receive credit terms – which is extremely difficult to get from companies abroad. So, there is also trust within the relationship. And above and beyond everything – especially as we’re so passionate about small, creative businesses and about people supporting themselves – I love the fact that every single penny we spend on our stock is spent in Britain; it’s going towards keeping somebody employed. It’s all going towards helping somebody staying independent, provide for their family and themselves and very proudly creating something of value. With our products being high quality I think that kind of carries on to the people that make them. You know, our suppliers often tell us how much they love making our products because they love the designs. So everybody along the chain benefits from it, financially and in many other aspects.
It’s got enormous value when a customer walks in to the shop and asks, ‘”Where is it made?” When you say that it’s made in Britain they really appreciate it and are so pleased. It’s almost like an extra incentive to decide to buy the product as it means that in some way they are supporting the country. If you are a small business and looking to have your products manufactured here in Britain: it is do-able! Mary’s proving it, Arty Globe’s doing it, and many others are doing it. It all starts with the business owner saying, “I want to get it done in Britain.” That personal responsibility and commitment to actually getting it done in this country: once you’re committed to it you will find a way. I think Mary Portas showed it really well with her determination to make knickers fully 100% in Britain. Even though it was really difficult to source the lace and when she did eventually find a supplier (his was the only lace factory in the country) he was selling off the last of his stock and going out of business while they were filming but because she really passionately believed in it, and managed to get loads of orders that was enough to convince the manufacturer to try and go back into business again. So, she helped a small business hopefully to resurrect its operations and get back to life and she touched a lot of other people’s lives in the process. It’s that kind of commitment we could ALL have. The demand is here. The skills are here. More and more people are setting up innovative businesses – going back to traditional skills that used to be prevalent here in Britain and they’re really trying hard to get things moving again. Some businesses are still at fledgling stage but nevertheless they are out there in Britain. It might not be immediately easy but all you have to do is look hard to find them. Don’t give up and go abroad to manufacture! There’s a really good chance that you’ll find it here.
By supporting these enterprises –believing in them by giving them the business – this could help in the long run to restore part of this country’s strong manufacturing heritage through the making of products again in Britain, and fixing our broken economy. I think also the big companies and the larger retailers do have to take some responsibility too, almost leading by example. Liberty placed the first order with Mary’s knicker factory and Ed Burstell (Liberty’s MD) took the time to go from London to Middleton in North-West England (where the factory is based) to see and meet the people making the knickers. He took the time to tell them what a great job they were doing and I think that really touched them. One of the trainees (James) actually looked at him and said, “You know what, it really means a lot that you didn’t just sit in your office and order our knickers. That you actually came to see us and you actually came to show your support to what we’re doing. That means a lot.” He was unemployed before that a few months before. He said to Mary that one day he’d like to manage the factory. This whole process gave him the confidence that life could be different – that he can actually do something meaningful, not just for himself but for society as a whole, that he is an important part of the community. I have great respect for Liberty because I think they really do their best to celebrate and promote the best of British. They’ve shown it in several programmes such as; ‘Britain’s Next Best Thing’ with Theo Paphitis, where Liberty was an integral part and they took on quite a lot of up-and-coming designer-makers giving them a great stage at their wonderful shop. So, for me, I don’t think it’s up to the politicians, or the trade bodies, the regional investment organisations and all the other associations. By the time we wait for any policy changes it’ll be too late. It’s up to each and all of us. We can influence things with our action. That will naturally bring about a real change which will speak a lot louder than any words. It starts with a want and a need to make a difference. Each person living in this country can take that action. And the action is very simple: • If you’re a consumer: actively seek out British made products and reward the people who work hard to bring them to market by spending your money buying wisely and buying British. • If you’re a retailer: make sure that at least part of your proposition is British made and make every effort you can to actively seek and stock British made products – even if the cost is slightly higher – there will be people out there, they might not sell as much volume at the moment, but the rewards later will be really great and you will be playing your part in supporting the community. • If you’re a manufacturer, no matter how hard it is, really think about having some of your production at least in Britain.
People in this country do appreciate British made products. Greenwich Market is renowned for showcasing high-quality, special and unique British-made products on the stalls and in the shops made by creative designer-makers. I don’t buy that much for myself and I’m not much of a shopper but I always try and buy from small independent businesses locally. For example I’d rather go and buy one jumper every so often from Emma (Emma Nissim www.emmanissim.com) in Greenwich and support her business. But of course like everybody else there are still some things I have to buy for myself which aren’t necessarily made here. I do think that little steps add up though. Take food as an example. I’ll always buy fruit and veg in season that is grown here. If each of us consciously started thinking about where our money was going and what each pound would do for our local communities then maybe we would think twice about that ‘bargain’ manufactured abroad. In the long run it doesn’t seem much of a bargain after all, does it?
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Now for us, being able to do things in Britain, having this direct relationship with our suppliers has given us a tremendous opportunity which has been helping us grow and develop the way we have over the past few years. To be able to get on a train and meet face to face so that you can all sit down and discuss any constraints on both sides. Having a relationship in a language that you both feel comfortable speaking is also really important. Any problems can be resolved much faster (a perfect example demonstrated with Mary’s knicker lace order).
Our Journey So FarOur official Arty Globe anniversary in Greenwich isn’t until September this year but in just a few weeks’ time it marks a really important step in our journey to date. It was just before Easter 2009 when we first picked up the keys to our very first shop in Greenwich Market. I’ll never forget the day! This was huge. We were moving from having a stall at the weekends to having our very own retail space. Full-time. Seven days a week. Exciting as it was, it was equally quite scary.
Our first shop unit at Greenwich Market 04/2009 to 06/2010 Since then the business, and life in general, is just moving at such a fast pace. But it’s also lots of fun too! And it’s fantastic to speak to customers directly. I think for Hartwig it’s more about the creation of the art and having that instant feedback, for me it’s more about making sure they are happy and trying to go the extra mile with the products. Also, the challenge of trying to find innovative ways of showing the artwork and exploring new opportunities. When I think back to where we were three years ago I’m pretty amazed about everything that’s happened! Six months from having our stall and moving into the first shop in Easter 2009 (which Greenwich Market states as being the fastest transition in their 25-year history!) that same month we were on Dragon’s Den (broadcast in September). By this time Hartwig was already working on his first bespoke commissions for Wandsworth Council (Battersea & Clapham Junction) and the British Museum.
Hartwig signing prints at the British Museum And there’s been a lot more to keep Hartwig busy in between then and now! Some of the highlights I think must be; Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, Hamley’s 250th Anniversary, The London Eye, Canary Wharf & the City magazine covers, the iSPY airline industry event (2010 and 2011), a special series of greeting cards ‘Celebrating the Urban’ for Woodmansterne greeting card range and an exclusive design for Easyjet. But there’s more yet to come! Of course, there is always an on-going plan for the business, but opportunities aren’t always there for long so we’ve just had to be ready to grab them, as long as they make real business sense – to try and find the balance of not rushing in too quickly and to consider the longer term.
The easyjet exclusive jigsaw puzzle duo - launched May 2010. As well as the commercial side I think it’s really gratifying for Hartwig to have his work recognised in the art world with a number of prestigious accolades. The AOI (Association of Illustrators) have now chosen a number of designs over three consecutive years (2010, 2011 and 2012) and the Elephant Family charity event selection for the Croc-a-doodle in Edinburgh (Jungle City). In addition to this, Hartwig’s work has also featured in London Design Festival (2009 Judges Favourite) and also shortlisted for the Serco Prize 2011.
Hartwig's Croc-A-Doodle for Edinburgh Jungle City - September 2011. Throughout our time at Greenwich, from stall to shop, it’s been absolutely vital to have the backing of the market management and landlords. We might not absolutely agree on everything but it makes such a difference to have that two-way direct communication – when you can speak openly and honestly about what you want to achieve with your business, any concerns that you have or may be facing, and equally they can discuss with you what constraints they are experiencing and ask all of us for our input. They’re fairly pro-active about organising regular commercial tenants meetings and so there is always this continuous dialogue – communicating to us what’s happening with the market, their plans and things that could affect us –involving us and asking for our input. So I’d just like to say a very big thank you to all our supporters, old and new, who are very much with us on this journey! And for making it the most fun and such an amazing experience! And so it continues…there’s a lot more to do! Hartwig Braun Website LaunchedFor all regular visitors to the site you may have noticed some quite big changes. The main one being, why’s there less info here about Hartwig on the Arty Globe site as there used to be? Well the good news is he’s now gone and got his own web site which is now live at: http://www.hartwigbraun.com we felt it was about time to have a more personal site dedicated to his work, what inspires him and general musings of his. Over the years we’ve had a lot of requests from people about how Hartwig does his work and how he gets his ideas. It was really just a natural progression to try and put all of this into a website!
So, there we have it. Pretty much everything you want to know about him; what he likes drawing and how he draws; reflections and early memories from his career and childhood; present day projects and photos; who inspires him and why. These are just some of the things he loves to talk about. Plus, one of his favourite things to do is to go on architectural field trips, especially around the cities, exploring the ‘hidden treasures’ – buildings that are perhaps forgotten about, or unfamiliar to us. Hartwig is going to be updating the site on a regular basis and there is a guest book online for anyone wanting to leave any comments. Hopsack Tote Bags
Our large tote bags are our one of the newest additions to the online shop but with the weather as it’s been in recent weeks (and it really has been sub-zero) all we want to think about is keeping warm and staying firmly indoors. Not the best time for going anywhere other than to and from work. But, the good news is the weather is starting to (ever so slowly) creep up in temperature. Soon it will be Spring – just in a matter of weeks – we hope! And with Spring time, we can peel off those woolly winter layers and think about lighter clothes and accessories.
Just in time for Spring we have 100% premium cotton (hopsack) large tote bags in full colours or white/teal and white/blue highlighted graphic line. Take your pick from either full London cityscape view or the unmistakable London Eye skyline. Or if you’re more of an icon fan we’ve got two different designs – the multi-icon and the teapot.
All are proudly made for us in the UK and fully machine washable. Strong and hard-wearing you really can carry everything in them! MappingLondon.co.uk FeatureEverything you want to know about visualising London in map form then the team over at MappingLondon.co.uk are the guys to go to! We’ve just recently had a lovely feature from Ollie & James over at MappingLondon who pored over our ‘London Looking East ‘design and picked out their favourite details. Ollie told us that there was a bit of debate in their office about what style was liked the best and it was either one or the other – apparently some were colour fans and others liked the graphic line much better! We don’t mind, we like that you like it anyway! Thanks Ollie & James! Read the feature here at: About MappingLondon.co.uk: Santa Run Update – Teens Unite charity event
"Today 6 teenagers will hear the words 'you have cancer', 6 will hear it tomorrow and 6 the day after..."(source: Teens Unite) We want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that supported our Santa Run in December. Adrian Day ('Editor - Greenwich Magazine'), Maria Livings ('LUSH Designs'), Dominic Aldridge ('Good Ship'), Ben Oakley ('Ben Oakley Gallery') and myself successfully completed the 5km run on the 4th December around Greenwich Park. I was still standing at the end (just about!) but it was so much fun though and such a good laugh, and I think for a very worthy cause. Teen Unite do some really amazing work and we’re so pleased, that with your help, we’ve been able to make some contribution to their campaign. The final total…drum roll please…is £1,842.50 (including gift aid donation). Amazing! Thank you to each and every one of you for your donations and encouragement – we exceeded our £500 target over and above it by three times! The festive white-bearded present-giving man in the red suit may have been and gone but the vivid memories of doing that run dressed as Santa will remain for so much longer! If you didn’t make it to the side-lines on the day this is what you missed! Taking a leisurely pace so as not to tire out, trying not to push myself too hard (as I’m not known for my running abilities!) I was feeling quite good about things…until a friend’s 13-year-old son told me, “I walk quicker than you can run!” But I finished the run (eventually)…then had to recuperate for a few days after! I am looking forward to the next running challenge, ahem, but hopefully not too soon… Sagrada Familia - by Hartwig BraunIt truly is a magnificent building, though maybe not quite my cup of tea! But I can appreciate it for what it is and the extraordinary amount of detailing work that has gone into it. When you look at certain details on the building I find the analogy to nature quite fascinating. There is this great combination between the traditional gothic cathedral elements and the references to nature – like parts of a tree, flowers, plants, even bones and skeletons! I really enjoyed drawing this part on ground-level around the entrance, the portico, and playing about with the shape – to me it looks a bit like bones, with the columns almost like legs and feet! The lower part of the eight towers I really wanted to depict the internal staircases which wind around inside, and also by adding some shadow, light and highlights on the towers I thought this would be a nice way to show them in an appealing 3-dimensional form.
The hardest part was definitely just straight above that, all those tiny little nibbles sticking out in different directions on the upper part of the towers (a very big headache!) as they’re supposed to follow the rules of perspective. Now I know I can bend the rules a bit but they’re not allowed to! So anyway, I persevered and finally got them in place. The entire building is just so incredibly detailed and of course, this makes it tricky to get just the right balance – the suggestion of very fine detail without crowding the drawing and making it messy (the cause of a few sleepless nights!).
So, although back in Gaudi’s lifetime only part of the building was completed (and it’s still on-going work) you can clearly see his fascination with nature in all the details. You can see analogies to trees, for example, inside the church the internal columns look like trees with branches, the column bases as the roots of the trees. I find that when you see the tall towers it reminds me of a skeleton and bones, like in some parts you can see the shape of a skull. The tips of the towers look like grasses or lavender (yes, those nibbles again!). The original first façade of the building reminds me of sand-castles – when you take wet sand and let it drizzle down in your hand and you can make lots of little shapes – with lots of intricate details of turrets, sculptures and ornaments. It also reminds a bit like a limestone grotto with stalactites and stalagmites.
After Gaudi, the construction has been an interpretation of how would it have been in his spirit but you can already see that the front towers of this façade here are a lot more modern. Of course, they’re still full of detail but perhaps a bit more sober, more technical even. This is the one that I prefer and I enjoyed drawing it the most. Viewing the Sagrada Familia from a distance, it’s a striking landmark that’s for sure, and then also when you see it close-up I can appreciate the detail, but I think looking at it sort-of medium scale, standing in front of the building – especially here, on this square in front I just find it too much, over the top. After seeing it in person I definitely knew from which side I wanted to draw it.
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