There is cause for celebration in the Bridge and Stitch office this week as we reach four years in business. There have been many challenges and obstacles to reach this point and I’m sure that our director, Rachael Hobbs, would agree with that! It’s hard to imagine that we would progress this much in 4 years and are extremely excited to see what the next 4 years have to hold.
Bridge & Stitch provides design, sourcing and production support to clothing companies looking to manufacture their clothes in the UK.
Bridge and Stitch has come so far from the humble beginnings in 2009 as Rachael graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a BA Hons in Fashion Design. Having a keen interest in fashion, design and manufacturing, she saw a gap in the market for a production management company to connect clothing companies with UK manufacturers and suppliers. After visiting many trade shows, events and suppliers, Rachael was able to build up contacts and get an idea as to whether her idea would actually work.
Thankfully, the demand was there and the hard work could begin. Tracking back through old blogs originally written by Rachael, Bridge and Stitch finally got “an identity”, as she referred to it, when in February 2012 the first business cards arrived printed with the company name and logo; the rest is history. Bridge and Stitch was finally a realised ambition and we are now able to do the job that Rachael set out to accomplish.
Having initially worked from home and hotdesk space, Bridge & Stitch finally moved in to their first office in a specially designed business centre at Nottingham Trent University aptly named, ‘The Hive’, in August 2014. This allowed us to grow even more and now with over 500 clients and over 200 suppliers, we are able to effectively source and work along side factories and suppliers to suit your business’s needs knowing that we can deliver a professional service.
Bridge & Stitch provides design, sourcing and production support to clothing companies looking to manufacture their clothes in the UK.
One of the main objectives for us as a business is supporting UK manufacturing and production as other companies are increasingly tempted to look abroad. But we hope we have shown that the UK is a world leader in design and manufacturing, and produces quality at a competitive price.
Our belief in UK manufacturing has certainly been an asset for us and something that makes us stand out from the crowd. We have gained clients and completed projects that we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. Some of these projects were picked up by the local and national media so we have been fortunate enough to get coverage in the Nottingham Post Newspaper, Notts TV on their working week programme, BBC Nottingham Radio and The Times Newspaper in the Business Section, amongst others. Some of the projects we are particularly proud to be a part of have included the Olympics London 2012, Rugby World Cup 2015 and exporting filtration masks to China – going against the trend of production.
Actor playing William Webb Ellis, wearing traditional Rugby Kit produced by Bridge & Stitch, during the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony
We hope that you believe in us because we strongly believe in this and strive to inspire people to support British manufacture and show that it is an appealing employment prospect for everyone.
It has not been easy and there are many obstacles to overcome when it comes to starting a new business but when you have, the world is your oyster as they say. However, I’m sure Rachael would be the first to say that she couldn’t have managed it without help from contacts she built up over several years and that support and belief is crucial to making something like this work. So with that in mind, we would just like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us on our journey so far and we hope we can count on your continued support for many more years to come.
Bridge & Stitch provides design, sourcing and production support to clothing companies looking to manufacture their clothes in the UK.
