27. The Doorman's Umbrella

Around 1.5 million umbrellas are reportedly made in the UK every year. We need them. The UK gets around 171 days of rain every year (though that’s across the entire country, thankfully not in one spot!)

On this week’s The Factory Next Door we head to East London to visit one of our last remaining umbrella makers.

Number 27 on our list of the greatest things we make in Britain is The Doorman’s Umbrella by Ince Umbrellas.

Managing Director Richard Ince chats about the pressures of running a 215-year-old family business, the need to move away from plastic components, and reflects on what he believes are his weaknesses as a boss.

Richard also tells us about making umbrellas for Coldplay, why he entered the business as a 17-year-old, and questions the industry stats as his company doesn’t tell anyone how many umbrellas they make!

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