Flimby is probably a name that means nothing to you; a place that appears on no trending destination list and in no influencer’s feed. But what if we told you that this is precisely where one of the world’s most coveted pairs of sneakers is born? Yes, we’re talking about New Balance. Because beyond celebrating its long history, the Made in UK line is a manifesto on craftsmanship, tradition, and culture.
Some context: Flimby is a small coastal village in Cumbria, in the north-west of England, nestled between the towns of Maryport to the north and Workington to the south, with the Irish Sea as its backdrop. Fewer than two thousand inhabitants, a train station where trains only stop on request, and yet New York, Tokyo, and Melbourne are watching closely what comes out of here. Its name, curiously, derives from a Norse settlement and literally means ‘the village of the flamingos’, a nod to the history of migration and trade that has always defined this region. Cumbria is a place with a deep-rooted tradition in footwear manufacturing, with a work ethic passed down from generation to generation.
That is precisely what Jim Davis and his wife Anne saw when, in 1982, they opened their first factory in Lillyhall, just a few kilometres away, laying the foundations for what we now know as Made in UK. When the business grew, they did not relocate to Asia in search of lower costs, as so many other brands did at the time. Quite the opposite. Jim and Anne were firm believers in domestic manufacturing: being close to the production process allowed them to understand it, refine it, and control it. So, in 1991, they moved to Flimby, where the factory continues to operate today. Its three hundred workers produce thirty thousand pairs of sneakers per month, each one built by hand using European-sourced materials, destined for the finest footwear stores in the world. At a time when slow fashion, supply chain transparency, and traceability dominate industry conversations, New Balance has been doing exactly that for over forty years.
Why ‘Modern Craftsmanship’? Because in Flimby, two worlds coexist that might, at first glance, seem opposed, yet here they function in perfect harmony. The most advanced technology in the footwear industry shares space with something no algorithm can replicate: the hands and judgement of people who have dedicated their entire lives to this craft. The process begins long before a sneaker takes shape. Specialists hand-select fabrics and materials, assessing texture, resilience, and finish with a precision that goes beyond any scanner. Then come the patterns, the cutting of each section of the shoe, and while embroidery and printing machines do enter the picture, there are expert eyes behind every one of them, ensuring the eight-stitch logo sits exactly where it should, that every line holds the right tension, and that nothing is out of place.
What makes Flimby truly special is that quality control is a mindset that permeates every stage of the process, with specialists reviewing each phase: from the moment the pieces are joined to when the finished pair is boxed and ready to leave. But beyond the product, there is something equally powerful: the people. Many of the families working in the Flimby factory today have been connected to it for generations: fathers, children, even grandchildren who have grown up with the smell of leather and the sound of machinery as part of their daily lives.
Championing the mastery that New Balance embodies – quality, character, and innovation – the Made in UK collection makes far more sense once you know what lies behind it. Because each model in the line is not born in a boardroom or from a trend brief: it is born in Flimby, from its hands, from its history. Three models stand as its pillars: the 991v1 is the inevitable starting point, having spent more than two decades as Flimby’s reference model, and in 2026 it continues to be reinterpreted with Italian leathers selected for their ability to develop character with wear.
The 991v2 shifts the conversation: the first model in the 99X series conceived entirely in the United Kingdom, featuring FuelCell technology and a redesigned silhouette with one distinctive detail: the tongue bears the inscription Made in England. Then there is the Allerdale, the model no one saw coming. Named after the district where the factory stands, it answers a question New Balance had long been asking itself: what happens when you apply everything you know to a silhouette that goes beyond running? Premium leather and suede, an outsole with hiking-inspired details, and on the tongue, a woven label illustrated with scenes from the Lake District. These models have served as a foundation that has been reinterpreted over the years through colourways, textures, and technical innovations right up to the brand's most recent campaign featuring Rosalía.
In a market saturated with fleeting launches, that is precisely what sets a brand apart from a legend. Made in UK is the most honest answer New Balance can offer to a consumer who increasingly demands truth over noise. And Flimby, that village of fewer than two thousand people on the Cumbrian coast, remains the most unexpected and most logical place in the world to find it.
