52. The Propelling Pencil

[upbeat music] My name's Steve, and I love people who make things

You might need to take off your trousers, and we see-

The number of times people have asked me to take off my trousers in a, in a workshop, Hampton [laughs]

[laughs]

They sit at the heart of our communities, spreading wealth across the country.

I look forward to Mondays.

I love Mondays too.

And I'm gonna die here.

I'm never gonna retire [laughs] The isolation is great.

No crowds apart from the tourists, and sheep.

And the occasional podcaster like me.

And the occasional podcaster, yeah.

Sorry about that [laughs] These are uncertain economic times.

Keep our manufacturers alive, and we'll thrive.

We all learned how to do everything here because there's so few of us left.

It is becoming a little harder to get young kids out of college that want to get their hands dirty and learn some of these very traditional art forms.

Join me as we compile a list of the greatest items made in the UK, and hear stories from inside our factories.

My father has a phrase.

He said, "You should, um, plan like you're gonna live forever and live like you're gonna die tomorrow," which I think is a very good way of looking at it.

We need you to live much longer than that, Martin.

[laughs]

[upbeat music] Welcome to The Factory Next Door, and welcome back to Birmingham.

If I am sounding a little out of breath, that's because I am.

We're, uh, running ever so slightly behind schedule.

Now then, we're in the Jewelry Quarter, which, um, used to have a thriving pen industry, though, like many industries in Birmingham it has, uh...

Well, it's gone.

Well, I say gone.

There is one luxury pen maker left here, and we're gonna go in to see it right now.

Whilst I finish running up this hill, have a listen to what's coming up on today's show.

[wind blows]