Making Overseas

Making overseas can be very difficult. Finding the right fabric for your project on average takes a new person to the industry about 80-100 hours. If you're gearing up to dive in to this portion of product development yourself, we have a few tips to help you have more success in the fabric sourcing arena.

Watch the video below for helpful information from our in-house experts.

Tips for Overseas Fabric Sourcing Interactions with Mills:
-Be personable. Friendliness, deference, and professionalism go a long way.
-If you're not coming in as a high-volume customer, don't expect huge savings. However you may be able to negotiate minimums. See if you can piggy-back a smaller order savings on another larger client's product order on your fabric of choice.
-Communication is key. Be clear, concise, with quick response-time.
-Be flexible. Remember you are at their mercy not the opposite way around. 
-Always be considerate of their timing. Don't ask a million questions, AKA being high-maintenance. And keep superfluous brand/product information limited. 

If you don't want to tackle this yourself, we happen to be very good at it! We can help you avoid a lot of headache by handling this part of your product. We have systems in place and communications so you can focus on fittings and prototyping rather than worrying about mill negotiations. Remember how it takes a new product developer 80 hours weekly to fabric source? It'll take us 5-10 on your behalf. We have an incredible vendor list and a substantial degree of knowledge of the fabric company's existing inventory. Let's start the conversation. Email us at info@clothierdesignsource.com.

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