Fashion Incubator » Production

Fashion Incubator » Production http://www.fashion-incubator.com How to start a clothing line or run the one you have, better. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:31:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 You need to start manufacturing yourself. Period. http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/you-need-to-start-manufacturing-yourself-period/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/you-need-to-start-manufacturing-yourself-period/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:33:14 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10612 Double-digit unemployment? These firms can't find workers bolsters my all too frequent lament that we are critically short on domestic production resources and with no improvement in sight. Here's an excerpt:

When local fashion firm Pinup Girl Clothing tried to ramp up production of its vintage-inspired apparel recently it hit a snag: It couldn’t find anyone to do the work. The company spent a year trying to add 12 people to its 32-person manufacturing team in downtown Los Angeles. As the search dragged on, Pinup Girl fell two months back in its production schedule.

Do read the entry, call it confirmation bias but this is nothing new. I've been talking about critical labor shortages in US sewing factories for years. Years. I feel vindicated that someone in the media has finally heard but not enough have. For example, anyone who complains that sewing contractors don't make it easy to find them, hasn't been listening. It's not a buyer's market and hasn't been for a very long time (they mostly don't need for you to find them). Anyway, the media is hip to the worker shortage problem in the apparel industry so let's hope new entrants to the business figure it out quickly too. As I've said more times than I can count, those who will succeed over the next ten years are those who will develop their own in house sewing operation. And I know well that statement will alienate a lot of people but it's the truth. You don't have to open a big honking facility; it's amazing what one or two stitchers can put out.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/you-need-to-start-manufacturing-yourself-period/feed/ 49 Getting a quote for children’s pattern making pt.2 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/getting-a-quote-for-children%e2%80%99s-pattern-making-pt-2/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/getting-a-quote-for-children%e2%80%99s-pattern-making-pt-2/#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:44:56 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10169 the first entry so I don't know if people are mulling it over or what but Simone came back with answers to the questions I posed that may be similarly helpful for us to discuss. In reference to my point that she needed to have fabric samples before hiring, Simone said:

I have not sourced my fabrics yet, although it is not for lack of trying being far from the fashion districts. I'm planning to use very basic fabrics (lightweight wovens) in dye-able white. I will be dyeing my garments post production in shades that complement one another.

We call it garment dyeing and it is common. You need to shop for PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabrics. There are quite a few dye houses that provide this service. As far as sourcing that I mentioned in the first entry, one reason it is critical to be aware of industry schedules is because fabric shows are also organized by season. Meaning, you may plan to attend a fabric show in August (for example) with the intention of buying summer fabrics but there won't be much there because they're mostly selling Fall. Simone continues:]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/getting-a-quote-for-children%e2%80%99s-pattern-making-pt-2/feed/ 12 Advice to sewing contractors pt.2 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/advice-to-sewing-contractors-pt-2/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/advice-to-sewing-contractors-pt-2/#comments Sat, 08 Oct 2011 00:46:21 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10144 part one, I'll address other common questions I've heard from start up sewing contractors. Specifically industry norms and standard practices among colleagues with respect to NDAs, contracts, payment, what you charge for versus what is thrown in with the deal. Again, designers are welcome to disagree but to keep in mind that this advice covers common policies. NDAs -Non-disclosure agreements As I have said many times, it is generally recommended that you don't sign an NDA because they do nothing to protect anyone's ideas and signing one imparts false confidence. Whether your customers can bring pressure to bear for you to sign an NDA depends on your operation, customer profile and scope of services. There are two basic kinds of contractors. The first are full package soup to nuts (part one, part two) and the second parcel out services specifically like cutting and sewing etc. The cut to the chase summary is that signing an NDA is more common in soup to nuts (full package) contractors that target DE clients. Signing an NDA is relatively risk free because their average customer is very short term, only producing for one season or maybe two. It is far less common for established sewing contractors (not full package) to sign an NDA because most are interested in developing a long term relationship. These contractors don't sign because NDAs are pretty useless (see links above) and also, they aren't interested in working with people who are paranoid and have misplaced priorities. Summary: Even though your customers may request it, credibility in the trade is higher for companies that don't sign them versus those that do -and since a contractor is more likely to get work from colleagues, it matters what they think. I wouldn't say this is true in all cases but being willing to sign an NDA creates the impression that a contractor is inclined to take advantage of customers with respect to pricing and what not, making other providers reluctant to refer customers to them.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/advice-to-sewing-contractors-pt-2/feed/ 8 Advice to sewing contractors pt.1 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/advice-to-sewing-contractors-pt-1/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/advice-to-sewing-contractors-pt-1/#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:09:54 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=9991 A Fact Sheet itemizes your assets in terms of

equipment,
plant capacity and facility,
key personnel,
experience and skills
related businesses you've worked with that provide services you don't

Equipment includes everything from CAD system, sewing machines, pressing equipment, cutting tools, tables, plotters, spreaders, digitizers, snap setters excluding hand tools like scissors etc. You need to be very specific with respect to equipment brand names. While some of your customers won't have the first idea what the products are, other customers will and they're looking for providers who have given kinds of equipment. The reason being that some customers own folders or attachments for given machines that they lend to the contractor for their production. This also goes for dies; it is not unusual for customers to own their snap or grommet setting dies so they need to know what kinds of equipment you have.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/advice-to-sewing-contractors-pt-1/feed/ 7 Why you should start your own sewing factory pt.2 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/why-you-should-start-your-own-sewing-factory-pt-2/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/why-you-should-start-your-own-sewing-factory-pt-2/#comments Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:17:42 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=9702 Psychologists say that one of the most stressful things a person can endure is to be responsible for something over which they have no control. I would say that is the perfect description of using a sewing contractor and it’s the worst part. You think all your problems are solved, but you are just trading one set of problems for another, and this time you are in the passenger seat. Your contractor ships late? Your customers don’t care about your excuses. They want their product. It’s YOUR fault. Your contractor does crappy work? Your customers will hold YOU accountable. And what can you do? The buck stops with you. It has to. You have to accept that you are responsible. I have spent more time growing ulcers and pacing the floor and applying pressure to my sewing contractor, and negotiating that relationship than I have done anything else. Well that, and fixing products that they didn’t quite manage to make correctly. The above is a quote I pulled from series written by an entrepreneur who has started her own sewing factory. She's a single mom with four young children, one of them disabled. The first three entries explain how she went from using contractors to setting up her own in house sewing operation -and why. Part four is a list of things she did that I feel optimized her success. I used to assess a line's viability with the idea that sales were the weak link but not anymore. These days it's production. Being that it's a seller's market on the services side and feeling as I do about developing domestic operations, I've only been working with people who either have their sewing (and are looking to improve it) or who are willing to develop their own sewing operation. The only long term sustainable way to grow a company will be to produce it oneself. The situation is worse when you consider changes in retailing. Retailers are increasingly less willing to commit to long term purchase orders -which you need if using a contractor- they want immediates. Price is only one facet of the sales equation. They'll pay a little more if they can buy smaller lots closer to season with the potential to reorder. You can only serve that up if you're sewing it in your own place. The biggest increase in manufacturing interest I see is coming from retailers. Of course just as many discard the idea once they realize it's not as simple as they thought but that they've thought of it should concern you.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/why-you-should-start-your-own-sewing-factory-pt-2/feed/ 11 Yes, jeans can cost $300 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/yes-jeans-can-cost-300/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/yes-jeans-can-cost-300/#comments Fri, 08 Jul 2011 23:45:15 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=9706 cost_of_300_jeans

Grace asks me if the math adds up on this WSJ article about the costs of premium denim. The details are posted at right. To answer the question, it is mostly accurate which isn't the same thing as agreeing it would cost you the same to produce a similar pair of jeans but I'll get to that in a minute. The only discrepancies I see are the costs of pocket linings, hardware and the waste allowance paid to the contractor. I can't speak to the cost of selvedge white oak denim but you can buy nice denim (not to be confused with premium denim) yardage costing between $5 and $8 a yard depending on any number of things, one of which is the number of yards one buys. Pocket linings: Obviously they want the best pocket twill there is but $1.90 seems very pricey indeed. Even half that price seems high. Hardware: All of the hardware to include the zipper seems high, you could probably get products in the same category for about half that. One thing to keep in mind is that all of their inputs are custom and being that the brand is prestigious, there's a lot of policing of hardware items that can inflate their costs. I don't know if this is factored into the hardware costs or overhead. Labor is probably on par with the LA market. LA isn't the only place to do 5 pocket cut and sew. I know contractors in Texas that specialize in denim; their prices are 20% to 30% less.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/yes-jeans-can-cost-300/feed/ 31 The 13 different kinds of samples http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/the-13-different-kinds-of-samples/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/the-13-different-kinds-of-samples/#comments Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:38:16 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=9231 it does not mean you will need to have all of these kinds of samples produced. There is also quite a bit of overlap depending on your operation. By way of example are fit samples. If you're managing your product development and having samples made from your patterns, your fit samples are the same thing as protos and would be fitted during the design phase. However, if you are outsourcing to a full package contractor, fit sampling might happen just before production. If you manage well, the different sample types can serve multiple purposes. For example, ideally your proto (prototype sample) is a fit sample and a sew by (pre-production) sample and maybe even a photo sample.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/the-13-different-kinds-of-samples/feed/ 11 Manual of Work Garment Manufacture http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/manual-of-work-garment-manufacture/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/manual-of-work-garment-manufacture/#comments Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:27:30 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=8332 coverall

For my fourth entry in this vintage book series available for download from the Library of Congress comes Manual of Work Garment Manufacture: How to improve quality and reduce costs copyright 1921 Union Special (Machine Company). I think this is a lovely book (100+ pages) -but then consider the source. Again I direct your attention to front matter of the old texts. Snapshots of life in a seemingly more genteel age is interesting -beyond the hilarity of infighting, feuds and libelous slanders between competing authorities. The second paragraph of this work's introduction is unintentionally a bit sad if not tragic. My comments appear in brackets:

That the sewing machine deserves credit for a good portion of this goes without saying, but it is generally conceded that Union Special machines revolutionized the overall industry [true] by doing away with the old bundle system [not true]. This enables each operator to remain continuously on one operation [this describes a bundle system as we know it today], resulting in greater and better production.

I regret if my comments lend a critical impression of Union Special; my intent is to draw attention to the migration of meaning as it relates to common work practices. The introduction continues:]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/manual-of-work-garment-manufacture/feed/ 5 Industrial sewing instructions http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/industrial-sewing-instructions/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/industrial-sewing-instructions/#comments Thu, 16 Dec 2010 23:49:11 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=8222 a conversation from comments, I thought to amuse myself by showing you typical industry sewing instructions. Seriously, this is it!

Or maybe I should say you're lucky if you get this much. If you think there's some vast repository of secret sewing instructions people are hiding from you, you may as well give it up. Perhaps the better question is why there are so few instructions. I can think of several reasons. First is chain of responsibility: the head of product development is in charge of getting this done. Not necessarily doing it but seeing that someone does it. Most heads of PD are none other than designers but few have the background in production to know all the details because they're doing well enough to get their own jobs done. It's a heady bit of industrial engineering if you see the full chart below.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/industrial-sewing-instructions/feed/ 36 Do you know when you’re on the wrong path? pt.2 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/do-you-know-when-you%e2%80%99re-on-the-wrong-path-pt-2/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/do-you-know-when-you%e2%80%99re-on-the-wrong-path-pt-2/#comments Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:25:03 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=8190 the first segment, I asked how it was one could know they were on the wrong path while in the throes of line love using Jana's example. We got a lot of good responses. My impressions overlap with some of yours but diverge too. Steps 1-4: I don't see a problem with what transpired in this stage. To recap, Jana decided to produce a line because a professor said she'd buy some stuff for her store; a deal that ended up falling through. The reason I think it's okay is because we all need some kind of push to get us going. It's that bit of incentive to inspire us to move forward. How you handle it is another matter. Step 5 is where things started to go awry. The first part is good. Jana hired a pattern maker, sample maker, used fit models etc and made some samples. These are all good things. However, she closes with "OK! its time for production" which is when she left the path because as several mentioned, she didn't have any orders. But it's more than not having orders. Before she sought orders, she needed to go to the contractor to have samples made. The samples made in house won't work. Not unless you'll be doing production in house.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/do-you-know-when-you%e2%80%99re-on-the-wrong-path-pt-2/feed/ 4