That’s Not My Age Podcast Episode 7: Patrick Grant
For our first male podcast guest I am chuffed to bits to introduce award-winning Savile Row tailor, champion of British manufacturing and judge on the BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee (new series out February 2020) Mr Patrick Grant. Seriously, I could not have asked for a finer man of style and substance. Grant is enterprising, engaging and down-to-earth (though known for his dapper dress sense, he answered the door in his slippers). And despite his hectic schedule – the 47-year-old runs five clothing companies, consults for top fashion labels and is on a mission to restore the manufacturing industry in the UK – he didn’t mind when our interview was interrupted by a neighbour’s noisy leaf blower. Well, he shrugged off the extra time required to finish recording and slagged off the environmentally-unfriendly gardening tool. Good man.
Grant has no formal training in fashion (he studied material sciences and engineering) and yet over the last 15 years has rescued two struggling Savile Row tailoring businesses and set up a social enterprise. Aged 33, he spotted an advert for the sale of Norton & Sons in the Financial Times, quit a career in engineering, remortgaged his house, sold his car ( he now rides a bike) to buy Norton & Sons. Next came E. Tautz, another historic London label pulled back into profitability by Patrick Grant. In 2016, after years of working in high-end menswear, Grant founded Community Clothing. The Blackburn-based social enterprise and design co-operative makes good quality basics for men and women, around the UK. Garments are sewn in Blackburn, printed in Blackpool (hooray!), woven in Leicester and knitted in Hawick (the list goes on…)
‘Of course it’s about making good affordable clothes,’ Grant says of Community Clothing when we meet. ‘But, even more so it’s about providing great jobs, and the prospect of a fulfilling future for people growing up in those towns. People who 60 or 70 years ago would have had a long, fulfilling career in manufacturing career ahead of them. That’s been taken away from them. With nothing in its place. It’s about keeping talent in those areas and helping to keep the local economy alive.’
In this episode, Patrick Grant joins me to talk about men’s style, facial hair, the Great British Sewing Bee, big pants and implementing social change. Along the way, we discuss why we should care where our clothes comes from and the importance of restoring the UK manufacturing industry. I loved this interview, it moved me and made me think about the enormous social changes that losing our factories has caused. I hope it does the same to you.
Patrick is: reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, watching: Season two of Succession and wearing a sweatshirt his nan bought from a charity shop.
Menswear from E.Tautz and Patrick Grant’s favourite footwear:
PODCAST LINKS
Listen to the podcast on Spotify HERE
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PODCAST CREDITS
Producer and audio engineer: Linda Ara-Tebaldi
Host: Alyson Walsh
Guest: Patrick Grant
Music: David Schweitzer
Artwork: Ayumi Takahashi
Digital technician: Tom Hole at Stirtingale
Coordinator: Helen Johnson
Discussion (26 Comments)
Thanks for commenting Lily Kate – I’m so pleased that you listened to the podcast (do go back and listen to the others!). It was so good to talk to Patrick Grant about these issues, I feel very strongly about the state of industry and employment across the UK and he is doing such a brilliant job resuscitating garment manufacturing in some quite deprived areas.
I may have lived in London for years but I will always be a northerner at heart.
Mrs Tonia says:
Thanks for another interesting conversation on the podcast. These get better and better and more engaged. I really enjoyed hearing about Patrick Grant and his businesses which are attempting to revive manufacturing here especially in the north in Blackburn and elsewhere. This is an important initiative which is much needed to supply jobs in areas in decline. I was also heartened to hear about wooden darning mushrooms and the like. I have these in my sewing box. And use looking up the procedure in old sewing manuals.
I have seen him on Sewing Bee which I watch occasionally and shall certainly tune in to the new series on a more regular basis next spring after hearing this discussion. Well done. It’s clearly worth the effort.Fiona J says:
Loved this podcast, it made me feel quite emotional about the lasting impact of losing so many of our industries, especially up North. What Patrick is doing is fantastic! What an excellent man!
Oh me too, it is a very emotional subject and it’s brilliant to find someone who’s not in it just for the money (unlike other fashion businessmen…)
Victoria Kirkman says:
Can’t wait to listen to this. I love The Sewing Bee and Community Clothing is such a fantastic company. I also enjoyed reading Lily Kate’s comments! So thoughtful and inspiring.
Joyce Morris says:
Podcast……soooooo good, enjoyed it immensely. What a gorgeous man! Absolutely luscious in many ways. We know about how amazing he is , from Sewing Bee, but weren’t aware of his ongoing passion for manufacturing good clothing, recycling etc. and reinstating businesses. Thank you muchly for this.
This was a super podcast. Thank you Alyson! I am already a fan of Patrick Grant, of Community Clothing and love “The Sewing Bee”. It was great to hear him talking in such a relaxed way and I think what he is doing for clothing and for communities is amazing. More power to him!
Varina says:
I loved this podcast with the amazing Mr Grant, he is inspirational. Thank you too Alyson for such a great blog. I have been reading it for months now and as a result, I have : resurrected old garments and re-styled them for my now ‘non- working’ wardrobe; allowed my hair dye to grow out to discover my gorgeous silver curls; and dressed more adventurously and I hope more stylishly to celebrate my age, rather than shrink from it. I have had a lot of fun doing this! Thanks for flying the flag for those of us in their 60s and over and keep up the great work that you are doing!
maudie says:
Fantastic! Patrick Grant’s ethos of maintaining and hopefully reviving northern factories is inspirational and vocational. As a through and through Londoner I TOTALLY support his aims in keeping all those fantastic factories and mills open and those amazing skills going. My sister-in-law lives in Cumbria and we used to drive into Yorkshire to visit the woollen mills and textile factories in the most beautiful buildings where such amazing craftspeople produced goods to be so proud of. I love Community Clothing as the items are all ‘keepers’ in a wardrobe and as so well made and classic. This is another company that one can wear with the gentlewoman style/MHL aesthetic…the colours and styles are classic and made in the UK. I have just bashed the button on ebay for a deep red St Michael woollen, Made In The UK coat as having searched around the (boring) shops for a decent winter coat that doesn’t cost the price of a car I had almost given up. St Michael to the rescue AND I shall be proud to wear it. ps Oxford Street – possibly the most soul-less and mind-numbing shopping street on the planet?
Vivien Hallberg says:
Loved, loved, LOVED, this podcast! What an interesting and enterprising man, all power to his elbow. I knew he wasn’t just a pretty face when I first saw him on Sewing Bee. So hope his vision for the future of British manufacturing in the clothing industry comes to fruition.
Karen Hendrix says:
Best episode yet! Very relaxed and great to hear a championing of the North.
Karen says:
I’m a big fan of your blog Alyson – I love that you cover a wide range of issues and talk to such interesting people. This podcast is the first I’ve listened to and it has cheered me up no end to hear what Patrick Grant has to say about the possible future of the textile and fashion industries in this country. My dad worked in the shoe manufacturing industry in Northamptonshire and as a family we were directly affected by the outsourcing of manufacturing and importing of cheap shoes. The company still exists in the luxury, bespoke end of the market and sells all over the world – which tells you everything you need to know about British craftsmanship. I became an engineer and love sewing my own clothes so I must have inherited the gene for making!
Thanks for recording this podcast – good luck to Patrick. We could do with a few more like him.Absolutely loved listening to Patrick Grant, he is an inspiration. I wish this was broadcast nationally, his views on manufacturing and consumption are what we need to hear and the clothing/fashion industry should listen to this and change before it’s too late. I’m telling all my friends and relations to listen to this podcast. I wish Patrick was running for PM!
The Podcast with Patrick is so interesting, I am amazed at all he does but especially impressed by Community Clothing. I really hope he gets backing and support to revitalise UK clothing industry. I’m definitely interested in shopping Community Clothing & will encourage my teenager to be more ethical in his purchases. Thanks Alyson this was very inspiring.
Lesley W says:
I so very much enjoy your podcasts. This one was especially refreshing. I have become discouraged the quality of clothing available for sale at mass,market retailers. I appreciate any clothing that is timeless in design and high quality fabric. What I have,not been able to buy, I make for myself. (BTW have you heard of Merchant and Mills patterns and fabrics / “haberdasher” – I don’t recall whether you featured them before but there’s an idea for another podcast)
I had not heard of Community Clothing or E Tautz here on the other side if the pond but I went to check them out straight away. I would totally buy these – in multiples. Thank you for sharing about them to a wider audience.
Shona Patterson says:
Another fantastic listen, anyone who can talk passionately about pants ie knickers is a star . I listened to it twice I enjoyed it so much. Congratulations
Carol McAneney says:
Such a great interview, very refreshing to find someone so down to earth, that seems to totally love his job. Wish there were a few more around like Patrick. Love all your Podcasts, but really enjoyed this one.
LisaBee says:
Finally had time to listen to this – love it. Can’t wait for the pants. So true there are no good pants. And thanks Alyson for the plug for big pants – high waist, full bum coverage. I will buy them!
Julia says:
I really enjoyed this podcast & also listened & enjoyed 2 others on the same night on my journey back home to the North. My only slight hesitation is that it occasionally veered into the ‘it’s grim up north’ territory. Use of phrases such as sink towns, ‘manky’ kebab shops and discussions about areas of poverty reinforce beliefs that’s all the north is about when those is us who live here (& follow you avidly) know there is a whole more vibrant tapestry.
Jayne Tunnicliffe says:
Fantastic podcast. I really enjoyed this one with Patrick Grant and the one with Esme too. Very inspirational, thank you. I am based in the North of England and try to re-use and recycle fabric as much as possible in my business, Crafted Creatures.
Anne 
Margot Taylor 
Fiona 
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I’ve been reading your blog for a short while now and this is the first podcast I’ve listened to – it certainly won’t be the last! I’m only 22 but love reading about the lives and experiences of women older than me. I think we share similar taste in clothing and shopping styles too. I’ve experienced plenty ageism in my life but on the other end of the spectrum – having worked in the hand knitting and designing industry since age 12, I’ve been dismissed and not believed more times than I can count!
As an avid watcher of The Sewing Bee I knew I’d like this episode, and Patrick Grant is fascinating to listen to. Just checked out Community Clothing and you have definitely influenced me to buy a piece!
I hadn’t realised how many businesses he was involved in or that they were based in the North West – I live in Preston and my dad’s side of the family are all from Blackburn, so this is very close to home for me. Definitely knew what you meant when you said Blackpool is a different world beyond the promenade! It’s great to see an initiative that isn’t so London-centric for a change, as it can often feel like the North is forgotten about. I recently collaborated with a shoe brand who make all their products here in Lancashire – they’d probably be up your street style and ethics wise.
Thanks for making such an interesting podcast!
Lily Kate
jolihouse.com