About Us (Ella & me - Beautifully British Lingerie)

The 'Ella & me' brand of British handmade lingerie was originally born from our involvement in a television documentary, 'Mary's Bottomline' in conjunction with Channel 4 & passionate retail guru Mary Portas.

Mary's been in the fashion & retail business for over thirty years and owing to her enduring & absolute passion for quintessentially English products, in 2011 she wanted to create an entirely British lingerie brand, with specific attention given to styling & comfort, delivering huge heaps of glamour to the wearer. 

Ella & Me Limited, has over 85 years of specialist lingerie & sleepwear manufacturing knowledge, the company was originally named Headen & Quarmby Ltd. after it's founders Mary Headen & Eric Quarmby and we were delighted to partner Mary on the journey to make the most beautiful British lingerie.

Each garment's made with all the love & care you'd expect by our amazing factory production team here in Middleton, Greater Manchester and it’s our mission to shine a light back on Great British Manufacturing, the jobs & skills it creates in our local community and also those in our uniquely British supply chain.

At one point in time, Manchester was a manufacturing colossus, fondly remembered as 'Cottonopolis' and was once a centre for high quality lingerie production.  Unfortunately, in response to ever increasing market pressures over the last three decades garment production rapidly moved offshore leaving only a few, small and very specialised businesses behind.

Ella & me was one of those businesses!

As well as producing the 'Kinky Knicker' garment range, under Mary's watchful eye & close involvement, Ella & me work continuously & diligently on new design ideas in order to bring beautifully made, comfortable & inspired lingerie to as many people as possible...

...and the best thing is... it's truly British through & through.