The only tennis ball maker left in Britain and Europe! In this fascinating episode, Louise talks through the passion behind the business, the challenges they’ve faced, and how they’ve adapted to stay fresh and innovative. Watch now: bit.ly/4g21rIr

British manufacturing is doing some amazing things and with more encouragement it could be doing even more. As a proud Brit, I’m passionate about things being made in Britain and helping to drive much needed growth. So I’ve teamed up with @MadeinBritainGB to tell some of the stories of the businesses actually making stuff here in 52 films. First up is Louise Price, Director at @PriceBalls, the UK’s only manufacturer of tennis balls. Please share widely and spread the word. m.youtube.com/watch?v=pIvtNW…

Game, set and match to @hawley_caroline! Caroline visits the UK’s only tennis ball manufacturer, where she learns about the origins of the tennis ball and how it gets its all-important bounce! ➰🎾 Watch again: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0020zp… @wimbledon #tennis

2023 was really tough for many small businesses and in 2024 there needs to be plenty of positive change in order for them to flourish once again. Small businesses are the lifeblood of any developed nation, these are the places which make your coffee just how you like it, design clothes that you are proud to wear, ensure you aren’t overpaying for your tyres and most importantly, care about you. So far this year, four businesses which I really care about have had to close their doors for good. Some have decided that they need to take some time to enjoy their retirement, some have family commitments and others ran out of road financially. So I felt compelled to write something about how important small businesses are. My dad sold fabric to private quiltmakers and dressmakers across the land. He would load up his van and take his wares to village halls and youth centres, selling his fabric (which he got for an honest price from a wholesaler) for a fair price. He had people queuing for hours to buy his fabric and when they had bought it, they would go and sew at home or in groups, have a chat and at the end they would have something to show for their work. A big company wouldn’t do what my dad did as it required a lot of effort and it needed a lot of patience from customers too. My dad didn’t really advertise and relied on word of mouth and good service to get him booked at new venues to sell his fabrics. This was something that I always wanted to replicate at TRiCKETT, beautiful products, sold at an honest price. Then, people would hopefully pass on their positive thoughts about the service and product. This is how small businesses operate and why they are so special. Each one is unique. It isn’t about how quickly the package arrived on your doorstep, beautiful copy, the posh adverts, whether they posted a reel, whether their Instagram was curated or which influencers used it, it was about the service, product and attitude. Small businesses are usually tiny operations, where one person is probably doing the job of seven or eight people in a normal-sized enterprise. At TRiCKETT, we make clothing that will last for years and we are passionate about every single product that we sell and we are obsessed with the details. On top of this, we charge a fair price for what we release. Portuguese-made sweatshirts for under £120 are a rarity nowadays, so offering some which are under £70 is even rarer, just Google it! Socks which remain perfect wash after wash and sweatshirts that get better with age should be part of anyone's 'forever wardrobe'. All the while we proudly deliver best-in-class customer service. Our sales aren’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet, every bit of support means that we can continue with supplying people with the best product that we can and delivering great service. Support for your favourite small businesses doesn’t have to be financial, write a review, post a lovely comment, send them a nice email, repost their posts, do whatever you can to help. Otherwise we are all going to be facing a world of automated responses and anonymous deliveries from big corporations which only care about what you have in your wallet and not how you like your sweatshirts to fit. Thank you again for your continued support, I really do appreciate it and I write this to you as one of the fortunate businesses which can plan a little further ahead than next month, but as with anything, we aren’t infallible and without you lot, we really aren’t anything other than a few people in Accy hoping that someone goes on the website. Don’t worry. Be Accy. Iain Trickett

Your 2023 British Nationals champions! 🏆 @MoElshorbagy X @JasmineTHutton Congrats, guys 👏 #BritishNationals