Skip to content
  • SHOP
    • BAGS
      • Shop All Bags
      • Complimentary Promotion
      • Totes
      • Shoulder
      • Crossbody
      • Clutches & Mini's
      • Backpack
      • Gift Cards
    • STYLE YOUR BAG
      • Shop All Styling
      • Clutches & Mini's
      • Deco Strips & Flaps
      • Pompoms & Tassels
      • Chains & Straps
    • LIFESTYLE
      • Shop All Lifestyle
      • Small Leather Goods
      • Organisation
      • Merino, Silks & Belts
      • Dog Accessories
      • Jewellery
      • Storage & Care
    • COLLECTIONS
      • Handbag Bundles
      • Dahlia
      • Fern
      • Jasmine
      • Jessica
      • Poppy
      • Hyacinth
      • Mini D
      • Michelle
      • Chrysanthea
      • Ivy
      • Iris
      • Marie
      • Blossom
  • New In
    • New Arrivals
      • Exclusive Edits
      • Bundles of Joy
      • Jubilee Collection
  • OUTLET
  • ABOUT
  • VIP
    • OUR VIP CLUB
      • About our VIP Club
      • Become a VIP
      • VIP Clubroom
      • Join our Facebook Group
  • Our Brochure
    Wishlist
    Join Our FB Group
    Log in
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
Your Bag
20% OFF & FREE TASSEL CHARM - OFFER ENDS SUNDAY
  • Our Brochure
  • Wishlist
  • Join Our FB Group
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Twitter

Currency

  • AUD $
  • CAD $
  • EUR €
  • GBP £
  • MYR RM
  • SGD $
  • USD $
Sarah Haran Accessories Sarah Haran Accessories Sarah Haran Accessories Sarah Haran Accessories
  • SHOP
    BAGS
    Shop All Bags
    Complimentary Promotion
    Totes
    Shoulder
    Crossbody
    Clutches & Mini's
    Backpack
    Gift Cards
    STYLE YOUR BAG
    Shop All Styling
    Clutches & Mini's
    Deco Strips & Flaps
    Pompoms & Tassels
    Chains & Straps
    LIFESTYLE
    Shop All Lifestyle
    Small Leather Goods
    Organisation
    Merino, Silks & Belts
    Dog Accessories
    Jewellery
    Storage & Care
    COLLECTIONS
    Handbag Bundles
    Dahlia
    Fern
    Jasmine
    Jessica
    Poppy
    Hyacinth
    Mini D
    Michelle
    Chrysanthea
    Ivy
    Iris
    Marie
    Blossom
    SHOP SALE SHOP SALE
  • New In
    New Arrivals
    Exclusive Edits
    Bundles of Joy
    Jubilee Collection

    Updated weekly, our new arrivals collection is bursting with exciting updates and new ways of styling and wearing your bags and accessories. Each week, new Exclusive Edits are added to the collection to bring you joy and show you just how easy it is to change our bags to reflect your own unique style! Quarterly we add in new Bundles of Joy that are an ideal way of creating your very own collection.

  • OUTLET
  • ABOUT
  • VIP JOIN TO SAVE
    OUR VIP CLUB
    About our VIP Club
    Become a VIP
    VIP Clubroom
    Join our Facebook Group
    WHY BECOME A VIP?

    For only £20 a year, you get access to a whole host of benefits. Become a fully fledged member of our incredible Facebook community straight away, bursting with our customers who are on hand to offer style advice, inspiration and just general great chat! You will find yourself forming friendships and bonds within the group in no time.

    On becoming a VIP, we will also send you a welcome pack in the post, outlining all the fantastic benefits, your unique discount code, the password to access our VIP clubroom.

    JOIN OUR VIP CLUB FOR JOY! JOIN OUR VIP CLUB FOR JOY!
Search Log in Your Bag
FREE UK DELIVERY ON ORDERS OVER £95
|
EASY RETURNS
|
BAGS CARRY A LIFETIME GUARANTEE
|
Access Denied
IMPORTANT! If you’re a store owner, please make sure you have Customer accounts enabled in your Store Admin, as you have customer based locks set up with EasyLockdown app. Enable Customer Accounts
Home/ Style Insider /

Make it British – Kate Hills and her mission to promote home-grown talent

Kate Hills has a mission. Just like Sarah Haran, she believes in high-quality fashion manufactured in the UK. Frustrated by the closure of so many excellent home-grown factories, she launched Make it British. We spoke to Kate about the importance of investing in quality clothing, lessons learned from fashion disasters and her essentials for a working wardrobe.   

How did your career develop from your first job in design, to where you are today with Make It British?

I left fashion college in the early 1990s when there was a recession on, so it was pretty difficult to get a job. Back then everyone that studied fashion learnt how to cut patterns and put a garment together, so I started making clothes and selling them on Camden Market to help pay the rent. They sold really well, which gave me the confidence to open a shop in Portobello and turn the project into a proper clothing brand. As the business grew I set up a small factory and employed several machinists to help make the clothes. 

We had a sales agent who was helping us wholesale the brand, and they ran off with all of the money… so I had to close the business down and look for a job. I then found myself working in several design and buying roles, including at Burberry and Marks and Spencer. At both of these companies I saw production moving overseas and UK factories closing down. I remember sitting in meetings when we told UK suppliers that we weren’t going to buy their product anymore because we could source it much cheaper from the Far East, and it was heartbreaking. 

I knew that if someone didn’t do something to help save what was left of the UK manufacturing industry then soon there would be nothing left. So, I set up Make it British to help promote UK manufacturers and brands that make in the UK.

What can we do to help, as consumers?

By buying authentic British goods, manufactured by skilled craftsman using the finest materials, you are helping to keep these skills alive in the UK. If we don’t support the makers in Britain that still have these precious skills, we will lose them forever. I’m not saying that everything you own should be made in Britain, but I think if we can make it here we should.

When do you think you first became aware of ‘fashion’ – can you link it to a particular moment?

I can remember when I first became interested in making clothes, which to me is more important than fashion. I was influenced by a school friend’s mum when I was about 11. When I went around to their house they were both always sewing. I loved the idea of being able to make your own clothes and she taught me how to sew. I then pestered my dad for a sewing machine for years. I eventually got one for my sixteenth birthday and I’ve still got it! 

Are there any other fashion moments that you look back on now through your fingers in horror?

Oh gosh, there were many dodgy ones in the eighties! A particularly bad period was when I dressed up like Adam Ant in faux leather knickerbockers. There were quite a few home-made clothing horrors whilst I was finding my feet with the sewing machine.

Are there 3 key items our reader should look to adding to their wardrobe – that are British made and good quality enough to last?

I think the three British-made items that are worth investing in are a great piece of knitwear, a really classic coat, and a pair of Northampton-made brogues.

People often say that buying something made in the UK is too expensive, but if you pick quality items they really do last. I’ve got John Smedley knitwear in my wardrobe that I bought with my first pay cheque when I worked at Marks and Spencer in 1997, and it is still going strong. 

You should never buy cheap shoes, it’s bad for your feet and your wallet. There are a number of excellent footwear manufacturers in the UK where you can get brilliantly crafted shoes that will last you for years.

What does your work wardrobe look like?

I work from home most of the time, so it’s pretty casual. It usually includes a piece of British-made knitwear and a pair of trainers.  Recently I found the perfect trainers from Goral who make in Sheffield. They’re so good I couldn’t choose which colour, so I had to buy two pairs.

Whose wardrobe are you most jealous of right now?

My husband’s! He’s got loads more British-made clothes than me because it’s so much easier to buy everything head to toe Made in Britain if you’re a man. He wears jeans made at Community Clothing and Blackhorse Lane, T-shirts from Sunspel, shoes from Cheaney and Trickers, and hats from Lock & Co, and Christys. Not to mention all of the ties, silk squares and cravats.

What is your approach to accessories and accessorising? Is it the more the merrier or are you monogamous to one bag or piece of jewellery?

Having been an accessory designer for a decade I’m pretty picky about accessories. When I find a handbag I love I will use it for years, which is why it’s so important that it goes with everything. So, I go for classic styles in really good quality leather like the Dahlia Tote. I love the fact that it is so versatile and the fact that it is also now available with a gold trim was the perfect reason to get a second one!

Share Share on Facebook Tweet Tweet on Twitter Pin it Pin on Pinterest

Back to Style Insider
Invalid password
Enter

FREE GIFT & 20% OFF UNTIL SUNDAY

Exclusive first time customer offer! Keep up to date with all our joyful news, product launches and offers.

Contact Us

+44 1505 873599

hello@sarahharan.com

Support

  • Delivery & Returns
  • FAQs
  • Pay With Klarna
  • Terms of Business
  • Caring For Your Bag

Company

  • About Us
  • Brand Ambassador
  • Privacy
  • Lifetime Guarantee

Social

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
Sarah Haran - Bags of Joy

Currency

  • AUD $
  • CAD $
  • EUR €
  • GBP £
  • MYR RM
  • SGD $
  • USD $
© 2022 Sarah Haran Accessories
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Diners Club
  • Discover
  • Maestro
  • Mastercard
  • PayPal
  • Shop Pay
  • Visa
Your are successfully subscribed for email notifications.
✖

Notify me when available

We will send you a notification as soon as this product is available again.

Your email is requried

We don't share your email with anybody

x