The Abbey England Podcraft

Today’s episode discusses the most recent changes Abbey  England has undertaken, the reasons why and impact this will have on all of our stakeholders. Hear directly from Abbey England’s MD, Richard Brown.

Pittards Leather is the leading leather manufacturer for performance leathers. Since 1826, they have consistently developed and supplied various industries with the leathers they need, in order to perform.  In this episode, we speak with their Director of Marketing, Debbie Burton and discuss how Pittards technologies have adapted over the years including their WR100 technology. Debbie also shares with us their thorough research and development process and, finally, their ongoing commitment to sustainability. For more information on Pittards commitment to sustainability, please follow the link. https://corporate.pittards.com/sustainability/

It is estimated that 7.3 million tonnes of waste from the global food industry could go to landfill if the leather industry did not upcycle hides and skins into leather. Pittards uses only hides and skins that are a by-product of the food industry and through versatile manufacturing turns them into leathers that can be used in a wide range of products, from gloves and footwear to apparel, upholstery and saddlery.

In this episode, we speak to Paul Vincent, Co-Owner of S.E.H. Kelly. A timeless menswear brand, producing enduring utility garments. What makes them stand out from other British Brands? Well, these guys source all their materials from the British Isles and behind each supplier, is a unique maker's story.  We discuss with Paul the reasons for setting up a luxury menswear brand off the back of the 2008 economic collapse and what it takes to be a source and manufacture in the UK today, as well as some sound sourcing advice along the way.

S.E.H Kelly, in our opinion, is the epitome of a true British brand.

In this episode, we speak to Michael Kilger, owner of Kilger Tannery in Germany. Kilger Tannery has been around since 1856 and now form part of the vertical supply chain to Sedgwick Leather.  In this episode, we sit down with Michael to discuss Kilger’s tanning process, how they filter out only the best hides for Sedgwick Leather and peoples' biggest misconception about the leather industry.

Listen now to episode 2 and if you like what you hear, please subscribe for more.

In this episode, we celebrate our 40th Anniversary with Abbey England’s CEO, Richard Brown. Richard starts from the very beginning and tells us how Abbey England started round his parent’s kitchen table. We also discuss the positives and negatives of working with 11 family members across 3 generations, as well as the biggest challenges and achievements Abbey has faced so far.

This week on the Abbey England Podcraft, we speak with Mark Romain, MBE and Master Saddler. 

Mark’s career started in 1973 and he has been a key player in the British Saddlery industry ever since.

Having trained over 300 saddlery apprentices and well over 2,000 saddlery short term applicants, Mark KNOWS what he’s talking about when it comes to discussing the different pathways to become a Master Saddler. In 2014, Mark was awarded an MBE in recognition of his contribution to the saddlery industry and in 2019, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from BETA.

We discuss all of this and more in episode 5.

In today’s episode we speak with The Irish Saddler, Lucy Cushley. Winner of the RDS Craft Award and crowned ‘Future Maker’ by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland. We discuss how she got to where she is today, how she funded her saddlery training, mental health and what it means to be your own boss – the good and the bad!

For those interested, QUEST Scholarship applications open Monday 11 July to Monday 15 August 2022. For more information, visit www.qest.org.uk/apply/scholarships/

In this episode, we interview leatherworker Jason Stocks-Young. Jason’s leather career started in 2014 when he started his business Diamond Awl Workshop and subsequently JS-Y Leatherworks. Since then, Jason has starred in the BBC’s Made in Great Britain and Saved and Remade TV series. We discuss Jason’s career, his time on the show, why making products in the UK is so important and his response to vegan leather.

This week, we speak with Operations Director Michael Crawford from the Crawford Hide Company in County Down. Crawford Hide are the leading hide and skin processing operation in the UK and supply tanneries all over the world. Back in 2018, Crawford Hide, Kilger Tannery and Abbey England, saved Sedgwick Leather and together invested £1.5m. We discuss everything from saving Sedgwick Leather to animal welfare and traceability AND the impact of Brexit.

We interview Nigel Armitage from Armitage Leather. Nigel is a published author and a seriously GOOD leatherworker. We discuss Nigel’s early career, challenges along the way, his new book ‘Leathercraft’ and some useful tips for all you aspiring leatherworkers!

Host – Ishbel Watson

In episode 6, we celebrate International Women's Day with Helen Reader. A female saddler at the top of her game. In 2018 Helen became the only SMS member to hold the titles of Master Saddler, Master Harness Maker, Master Bridle Maker and Master Saddler Fitter. This year, Helen has also been named one of the UK’s 100 inspirational entrepreneurs by Small Business Britain’s f:Entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign  as well as being named as the next President of the Society of Master Saddlers. 

In episode 5, we meet and greet our 2021 Scholarship Winners Christie Farren, a British Army saddlers apprentice to The Kings Troop RHA and Ross Miller, a website designer turned leatherworker. We discuss their drive for saddlery and leatherwork and their future plans.

In episode 4 we interview Suzie Fletcher, Master Saddler and leatherworker. We discuss Suzie’s expansive career from her harness work being used by the Queen of England to her move to Colorado and why restoration is so important in today’s world.

In this episode, we interview award-winning Saddler Jo Heard from J H Leather. Jo’s wealth of experience in the leathercraft and saddlery industry has enabled her to build up 100,000 YouTube subscribers. Jo tells us about how she got to where she is today and the challenges she faced along the way.

Today we discuss the phenomenon behind Biothane belting and why more customers are choosing to make their goods from the PVC coated webbing. Hear from Biothane's International Sales Manager Scott Hanna and Abbey England's Marketing Manager Ishbel Watson.

In our first episode, our guest host Business Development Manager Jessica Aiers from Leather UK, is joined by Sedgwick Leather General Manager, Phil Bevington and Operations Manager, Mark Abraham. They delve into the reasons why Sedgwick leather has the premium price it has and why customers using Sedgwick leather, can market their goods at a premium price.