Made in London; From Workshops to Factories

Walking through London’s busy streets, you would not imagine that the city boasts one of the world’s most diverse manufacturing scenes. But throughout its 32 boroughs, people are making propellers, bicycles, ballet shoes, military uniforms, cardboard packaging, neon signs, umbrellas, chocolate truffles, craft beer and much more. Today there are around 4000 manufacturers based in Greater London, building on the city’s rich heritage of making. While producing world-class goods, they are all jostling for space and dealing with familiar challenges, such as rising rents and trying to keep developers at bay. This book provides a fascinating glimpse behind the doors of London’s making and manufacturing companies: the processes and spaces that are so often hidden from view, and the people who work there, from sole traders to workforces numbering in the hundreds. Fifty businesses are featured, ranging from the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery in Silvertown, one of the capital’s largest plants; to William Say, fourth-generation tin-can makers, in Bermondsey; Growing Underground, a salad farm in old air-raid shelters under the streets of Clapham; and Jost Haas, Britain’s last glass-eye maker, in Mill Hill. Made in London is a timely celebration of the vibrant manufacturing scene that contributes so much to the creativity, vitality and economy of the city.