171 – How we set up a micro swimwear factory – Rich Keegan & Linda Souto Maior

Rich and Linda make stunning, digitally printed swimwear under the label Usual Objections. They manufacture all of their products from a micro-factory in their family home in Hackney, which they also share with 2 children and a blind pug!In this episode, they tell me about what made them decide to manufacture everything themselves, having tried doing so with several UK manufacturers first, and what lessons they’ve learnt along the way. It’s great advice for anyone who's thinking of launching a brand or setting up their own micro-manufacturing unit. Discover:Linda and Richard's backgrounds and how they ended up starting a swimwear brand 03:03How they spent £1,000s on sampling products that weren't right 06:55How they bought their first machine and it all grew from there 07:54How long it took them to launch the business 09:53How they sourced their fabric 10:43How they've funded the business 14:32The balance of their time that they spend designing and manufacturing, versus selling and marketing, and why they may have got it wrong 20:56Stay in TouchBritish Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brandMake it British websiteJoin Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturersMake it British on InstagramMake it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.