Betty Spoke is a Glasgow based luxury brand that began life creating custom suiting and occasion wear for bespoke clients. They have since expanded into manufacturing high end tweed accessories with a strong focus on adaptable style and quality materials for a durable yet stylish garment. Betty herself tells us about where she makes…

Renting my first creative space was an amazing feeling. I was progressing. It was terrifying of course, but adding a major outgoing onto your life and your income is going to be daunting for anybody. I’d been working from home for over a year with clients visiting for consultations. My equipment was far from minimal. I was slowly going insane.

As a compromise, I rented the biggest unit I could afford. It’s split into two rooms, the first of which has three massive windows along the south wall. These allow in endless light during the summer months. When Scotland decides to do summer. 2014 was a comparative heat wave & these long days somehow charged my limbs into working more effectively.

The first half of this area is where I do fittings and talk to clients. Here I store all my fabric samples and inspiration books, next to comfy chesterfields and a large looking glass. I talk about design ideas, perfect toiles and have one last gaze at the final garment.

The second section of the room is a little more chaotic. A large whiteboard reminding me what tasks need to be accomplished. A continuous roll of paper and card for pattern drafting. A large bag of fabric ends that I slowly fill then donate to my local community centre (for stuffing up-cycled draught excluders). Mannequins stand dressed in various examples of my work; currently a bias cut pinstripe dress with a tailcoat feature. A green ribbed jersey dress matched with a navy crop lambs wool jacket. A pair of strobe effect dropped crotch trousers and a pink check Harris Tweed Poplet scarf with magnetic fastenings (the accessory I am focusing on for the Christmas period).

They all crowd around my worktable, admiring the colourful array of fabrics stored on its built in shelves yet embarrassed by the clutter associated with my latest project strewn across the surface. I tend to sprawl myself over the whole space pretty effectively. And enjoy discarding pieces of paper and thread on the floor while focusing on the task in hand – only to grumble when the time comes to clear up after myself.

A second door directly opposite the first leads off into a smaller back room. This area oversees the construction side of things and is occasionally used as a large dressing room for my more modest clients. Here hides two mammoth industrial machines and a steam iron as well as a plethora of thread, shoulder pads, sewing needles and garment fastenings.

The building was created to barrel whisky originally. And the room I reside in was a recording studio before I set up shop. Every wall had been painted black. It was both dramatic and depressing simultaneously. Now it is white. With patterns, pictures and materials pinned on every surface.

You can find Betty at her studio 674 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow (contact her first on tailored@bettyspoke.com).

Images and video kindly provided by Make Works. For more about Make Works on Central Station, go here.

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‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

Make Works are factory finders for designers and makers. Originally started out of designer, Fi Scott’s frustration with not being able to find suppliers or workshops where she could to make things; the platform sources local manufacturers, material suppliers and workshop facilities that are all too often hidden away in industrial estates. The aim is to make local production more accessible and inspiring.

Fi has given us five of her recommended ‘hidden’ Make Works factories.

1. William Love – Woodworker

Willy Love is an incredible cabinetmaker based in Maryhill. You won’t find a website on him – but he makes pieces for Glasgow artists such as Martin Boyce and Simon Starling – Jay Z even has something made by him. He has been there for the last 18 years, his attention to detail is impeccable and he is brilliantly passionate about what he makes.

2. Andrew Muirhead – Leather Tannery

If you didn’t know it was there you would walk past this place. In the middle of Glasgow, we still have a working tannery that supplies leather for companies worldwide, including the seating on British Airways, Emirates and SAKS Fifth Avenue. The best part is that individuals can equally walk in there and purchase a singular hide; or have pieces bespoke dyed to colour.

3. William Johnston and Company – Gaskets

When Sandy first got in touch with us, we were unsure that anyone we knew was using Make Works would have a use for ‘gaskets’ – it just seemed like a very industrial process for an artist or designer to need. Once we walked in there however, we realised very quickly that manufacturing gaskets was simply pattern cutting for flat rubber, in any shape or size. We were impressed by the craftsmanship in the work that goes on in this place – and can’t wait to start seeing sculptures, flooring or even fashion come out of here!

4. Jamiesons of Shetland

Down a one track road in the middle of Shetland, you’ll come across Jamiesons. Visiting here was like finding a Willy Wonka factory of wool in the middle of nowhere! In the middle of a field, the factory is filled with wool, vats of dye, and noisy spinning and knitting machines everywhere. The company are still family run; making jumpers and yarn that sell across the world for the likes of Selfridges, Oi Polloi and Japan.

5. Halley Stevensons

Right in the city centre of Dundee is waxed cotton factory Halley Stevensons. Again, if you didn’t know it was here you could have lived in Dundee all your life and not be aware that this the city where the fabric for Barbour jackets comes from. Taking cotton fabrics from just 5m and having it weatherproofed through bubbling pots of  wax – this manufacturer has a unique process and supplies high fashion rain-wear and luggage brands in Scotland and across the world.

Find out more about how Make Works got started on Central Station here.

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For more recommendations on what to read, watch or listen to, go here.

Launching this year, The Make Works Directory makes it easy to find makers, manufacturers and material suppliers.

Detailed information in each listing includes high quality photography and short films about factories that Make Works have visited themselves. They offer information on what each manufacturer/maker does and what you need to know before approaching them.

Think of it like digital video dating for creative professionals with fabrication.

Here is a selection from The Make Works Directory so far:

Bespoke Atelier are a textile based screenprinting studio in Glasgow working on commissions, their own collections and renting out their studio facilities to other designers.

NPI Solutions are a subcontract machinists based in Irvine, mainly working in metal. They will work with entrepreneurs looking to manufacture prototypes and small batch runs of products.

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For more creative delights we’ve Spotted on the web take a look here.