British Makers

From Burlington Arcade to Dunoon Foundry. From Sussex Cricket Bats to Cornish Surfboards. British Makers Doing It Properly.

British independent makers occupy a particularly interesting corner of the global craft landscape. The country has the world's oldest continuously running cricket bat workshop (Newbery, since 1919), one of the more refined surviving Burlington Arcade tailors (Benson & Clegg, since 1937), and small studios in Cornish villages, Scottish foundries and East London tea warehouses turning out work that punches considerably above its weight on the international stage. The British knack — and it is properly a knack — is producing clever, unfussy, thoroughly considered things without making a great song and dance about it. The British Makers collection at Sostter brings together the brands we think exemplify this: small studios doing exceptional work, family-run businesses with generations of practice behind them, and ambitious new names with properly distinctive points of view.

The directory spans the country. From Sussex, Newbery Cricket has been hand-shaping willow into cricket bats since 1919. From Burlington Arcade, Benson & Clegg has held Royal Warrants for tailoring since 1937. From Devon, Salcombe Dairy has been making ice cream from an unchanged recipe since 1981 and Circle One Surf has been hand-shaping surfboards in Crediton since 1969. From Scotland, Stuart Trevor — the Dundee-born founder of AllSaints — now runs his properly upcycled namesake brand from a Hoxton Victorian tea warehouse, Last Night From Glasgow operates as an ethical record label paying its artists properly, and Asgard hand-casts Pictish and Viking replica jewellery from its Dunoon foundry. From London, Anatomē runs its botanical apothecary in Marylebone, Hugs & Co. makes luxury driving loafers with upcycled tyre soles. From Hampshire, Chow Bella hand-throws ceramics. And dozens more spread from Cornwall to the Highlands, each chosen for the same reason: quietly excellent work, made properly.

For brands chosen by values rather than geography, explore our Sustainable Brands, Heritage Brands, Family-Run Brands and Small-Batch Artisans directories at Sostter. For independent makers from beyond the UK, see our European Makers, Baltic Designers and Scandinavian Makers collections.