Meet the Manufacturer, the conference and sourcing event that is the showcase for the return of fashion and textiles manufacturing to the UK, has appointed an advisory board to reflect its aspirations and help deliver the strategy to shape its future. The group met for the first time on 20 November in London.

“Meet the Manufacturer has grown organically since its launch in 2014 and continues to go from strength to strength,” commented Kate Hills, founder and CEO of Make it British, which organizes the event.

“The aim of the advisory board is to share ideas to scope the format and content of the conference and seminars for next year’s event to ensure it is as relevant and useful as possible to the industry.”

Advisory board

The Meet the Manufacturer advisory board includes:

• Kate Stacey, head of group sourcing, Arcadia Group
• Adam Mansell, director of special products, UKFT
• Tiffany London, director, Tiffany Rose & Alie Street
• Vickie El-Rayyes, head of buying, Sahara
• Simon Middleton, founder and managing director, The Shackleton Design & Manufacturing Company
• Kate Dawson, managing director, The All-in-One Company
• Jayne West, partnership manager, Fashion & Textiles, Creative Skillset
• Bruce Montgomery, professor in design craftsmanship, Northumbria University
• Jane Wach, head of supply chain, Oasis
• Daliah Simble, consultant, Daliah Simble Fashion Consultancy

Next year’s event

Meet the Manufacturer will take place from 25-26 May 2016 at The Old Truman Brewery, London.  Now in its third year, next year’s event will have twice the amount of space at 50,000 sq ft compared to 2015, to accommodate an increasing demand for more stands, more workshops and more seminars than in previous years. It will showcase 150 of the best British clothing manufacturers, textile mills, leather-goods makers and suppliers to the UK apparel and textile industry.

Organised by Make it British, Meet the Manufacturer is the only major sourcing event specifically for British manufacturers of clothing, textiles and leather goods.

Kate Hills

Kate Hills is founder and CEO of Make it British. Twenty years of working as a designer and buyer for brands such as Burberry and M&S and multiple product sourcing trips overseas prompted Kate to set up the Make it British website to help promote UK manufacturing and British-made brands.

Now in its sixth year, the website has gone from strength to strength and Kate has appeared regularly on television and radio espousing her firm belief that manufacturing in the UK is thriving, cost-effective and sustainable.

Kate Hills launched Meet the Manufacturer in 2014, a trade show and conference for the UK fashion and textiles industry. The event brings together the best of British manufacturers with buyers and designers looking to have their products made in Britain.

www.meetthemanufacturer.co.uk