Basics About Production and Factory Manufacturing

[siamit]

Hi all,

I was perusing the Vera Wang website the other day and came across this section about internships. One of the divisions listed where one could get an internship is "production." It sounds interesting but I'm not really sure what it entails? I'm majoring in economics but I'm open to really any kind of experience I can get in the design industry. Anyways if anyone here could give me a heads up on what is meant by "production" (ie. actually, physically making the clohtes/products?, overseeing production?, etc.) I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[LostInNJ]

Hmmmmm, I'm not exactly sure what they mean in terms of production, probably working with the tailors and embroiders etc, but you should give the main office a call.

 

[Lena]

hello and welcome to tFS siamit ,
production could mean anything, from cut&saw to suprevising packaging and deliveries ..
why dont you drop them a mail and get back to us with the results?

 

[siamit]

Thanks for the replies. I called today and the lady who answered said that they dealt with both creation and logistical type things. I'm going to send in my resume and see how things turn out. Thanks again for your help!

 

[kspr]

The production stage in fashion clothes

Hi,

I've got a question about the production stage in fashion clothes, or clothes in genereally basically.
For quite some time, I've thought about realize some of my sketches(Men's clothing, skirts jeans and suitjackes at first), but where the process stops is in the production stage.

I'm quite ambitious, and I would really love if my clothes could be sold in some different fashion stores here in Denmark

But here's the problem, I can't sew at all, and I don't know anybody who can. At least not that good as I demand.

As far as I know, there aren't any good workrooms here in Denmark, so I don't think that the danish designer labels are getting their clothes produced here in the country either.
Do you think they would tell me where their production take place, if I mailed some of them ?

And do any of you know how the process between the designer and the production place is?

And the last question, what would be your advice to me?

Thanks!

BTW: I'm a relatively new member here at tFS so if a similar thread already have been posted, I'm sorry.

 

[softgrey]

hi there...
i really don't have any info about denmark...but i think you need to start doing some research about local production...why not try google...?...and then if you speak to some people at some factories...if they don't do what you are looking for ...maybe they can direct you to the right source...

good luck...

 

[Lena]

hey, welcome to tFS
why dont you place an ad in a local trade newspaper and start seeing people??
true most european production is done in cheap labour countries (EU or China)
BUT
for sure there should be some quality local ateliers you could work with.
Dont give up, good luck with your work

 

[macchiom]

Most Danish labels have moved their production to Eastern Europe, Turkey or Asia, it is however still possible to find skilled workers in Denmark, but they are not exactly cheap.


You can possibly find some useful information at “Dansk Textil & Beklædning” - http://www.textile.dk/ and you should be able to find some local ateliers on the internet. An example is http://www.strauss.dk/ with have ateliers in both Aarhus and Copenhagen.

Perhaps you could try to get in contact with some students who might have some interesting ideas and are willing to get the job done relatively cheap?

Some links to different schools can be found at [url="http://soeg.jubii.dk/indeks/Uddannelse/Uddannelsesinstitutioner/VideregaaendeUddannelser/Designskoler/"]http://soeg.jubii.dk/indeks/Uddannelse/Uddannelsesinstitutioner/VideregaaendeUddannelser/Designskoler/[/url]

Good luck!

 

[Twin85]

Sample Production

Can someone in the industry or anyone who knows explain to me how sampling works? Do clothing lines have samples made, send them to "open accounts" and then charge them if they don't return them? Or do they charge them either way? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[softgrey]

hi twin85...welcome to tFS...

so the question is not about samples sales...
but about sampling ....and sales...

right?...

 

[Lena]

hello and welcome to tFS twin
samples never leave the 'design house' they are the prototypes and where a company gets orders from..
new designers sometime are being pushed to leave items in boutiques without charging them and wait till sales start moving on, but the right way to do this, is to charge the order from the start..

thanks for the 'editing' tip softie

 

[Twin85]

clarification

Hey Lena,

Sorry I was sorta vague on my original question. So, let me sorta make it more clear what the situation is.

We are having custom t-shirts made (in the range of 1000) and the woman who is making them refered to it as a sample run. When she refers to them as a sample run, does she assume that we are going to be sending them out to stores as samples to gather orders and then come back to her with more orders. And is this what most people do?

Also, another question to go along with this, we are sort of new at this, and we found a woman that will do a total package t-shirt for us. But, she wants a lot of money per shirt (upwards of 10 dollars un-printed) then what we used to pay to have them made.

Are there other options to get the price down, would it make more sense to buy the fabric and take it to a cut and sew house? or even get the shirts made in China? Or is this just the price you have to pay to have custom t-shirts made opposed to printing on American Apparel?

Any help would be great thanks!

 

[stilista]

I've just realised I am replying quite late but hopefull it will still be of some help.

If all of your 1000 t-shirts are identical this should not be referred to as a 'Sample Run'. Even if within the 1000 they have slightly different styles e.g. long sleeve, short sleeve, round neck, v-neck etc. they should still not be classed as samples. Perhaps the factory making these for you is used to dealing with much bigger companies who would get runs of 10,000 upwards done? Be very wary as samples cost much, much more than the actual run will cost.

Why did you settle on the quantity of 1000? It seems rather high to me, if you're just starting out. If she's going to charge you sampling prices, why not get a lesser quantity done so that you can gauge popularity with stores and customers first? Much better on the cash flow, and save you being left with unpopular designs.

If you're considering buying fabric and going to a cut & sew house, what are you doing at present?

 

[Lena]

well, thanks for the reply and refreshing the topic stilista

Twin, 1000 pieces are sample quantity coming from the manufacturer, meaning they wouldnt sell you less than that.. yes they are expecting you to go back and order anything more than 1000 pieces..

Like stylista says, in retail world, sample means one unique item
If you sell to eg. skate shops and you have ten over printed t-shirts which could make a small 'print story' its ok for you to sample (show to the boutiques) the 10 pieces only.

Regarding this lady that gave you a 'package' price at 10$ more than the mass buy of the 1000 Ts , sounds much better to me.. because with this deal you can make a small line of 10 differently cut t-shirts and that would really be a starting point.
China is impossible for start ups and in anycase its way too out of your league as a start up label.. better try something more expensive/unique and then if it all goes well start 'opening up' to large orders.. i mean imagine what will happen if no one wants your 1000 identical Ts? you'll be stuck with them.. not clever..

excuses for the late reply and thanks to stylista for bringing this up again

 

[Twin85]

Just to update you on what we ended up doing...

We found a factory in the states that did the run for us, we did 5 designs, two colorways each, 144 of each design. So, we were not doing 1 shirt of 1000.

The factory we are using deals with very large orders and they said this is the smallest order they have ever done. Which is good that they took us, but bad because they bumped our production time from 2 weeks to a month.

I just posted a new thread on finding a pattern/sample maker. We are trying to get some sample jeans and sweatshirts made.

Thanks.

 

[Lena]

good move Twin
thanks for the update

 

[rockitgirl]

factory manufacturing

For those of you that have your own companies and have your clothing manufactured in a factory can you lend some advice?

I am not too sure where to start. On one hand I don't know how to find factories to do what I want and once I do find them I don't know how to ensure they are not taking advantage of me due to my lack of knowledge in the business. Also I am trying to find information on things to do with your patterns to lessen manufacturing costs. At this point all I really know is the obvious: the less fabric the cheaper, the less pieces to sew together the cheaper, the less notions the cheaper. But what I don't know is what type of manufacturing processes are more expensive than others (for example different finishing methods), what sizes of fabric are cheapest to plan your patterns for, what seam allowances are standard for factories, if the methods that are used at home for pockets, zippers, suit pockets, etc, are the same as what are used in the factory or if the pattern needs to be adjusted for factory work, etc.

Does anyone have any recommendations of books or have any personal advice to lend me? I am working hard right now to enhance my pattern making skills using the flat pattern method and will soon be working on the business and manufacturing aspect of this. I am serious about pursuing this and plan to have a proper company within 5 years. Any help you can be to point me in the right direction is greatly appreciated.

 

[mishahoi]

i'm really sorry that i don't have any advice to give, but i think its great you're planning on starting your own business and wish you good luck (don't forget about the quality aspect as well!!)

 

[stilista]

Some factories will try to take advantage so if possible get someone in your area from a fashion council or business start-up centre etc. to help from the beginning. They may also have a list of factories and know which one is suitable.

You may need to choose several factories to produce one collection. One will have machinery specializing in stretch knits for example so you will take your jersey items to them. Another may do coats, or shirts, or jeanswear or specialize in difficult fabrics like silk. Not every factory can do everything, and some may be very basic e.g. lockstitch, overlocker and buttonholing machines so they won't be able to cope with anything too complicated (even though they may still want to take on the business!)

It's also wise to choose several factories as this gives you a better chance of having your collection finished on time. Relying on one manufacturer is dangerous.

Your patterns need to be cut from card. All the usual markings need to be on them, and hiplines etc. should be notched, bottoms of darts & pocket positions drilled hung then punched & hung on a hook with any special instructions or working drawing attached. A sample garment can also be included. Try to make things as foolproof as possible for them as mistakes mean more time and are costly! They like things to run smoothly around the factory and patterns that need a bit of tweaking (the way we might do if making something at home, easing in a collar that's a little too big, for instance) won't do in a factory environment.

For a factory, it all comes down to time. If you want a hem that's overlocked and stitched up this will obviously be cheaper than finished with bias-binding then blind hemmed...overlocked seams as opposed to French seams, 5 pockets instead of 2. It's ultimately up to you. You are the customer, and if you are intending on having it manufactured locally, many factories will be very helpful....it's not a great time for them at the moment and they are learning to appreciate business!

Being able to cut your own patterns and make your own samples will mean you know what you're talking about when telling the manufacturers what you want, decreasing your chances of being taken advantage of

Sorry if this is all a jumble. I will try to reply later with some more stuff!

 

[rockitgirl]

stilista this was all great information, exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. I live in Winnipeg, MB and we have the 3rd largest textiles industry in Canada, it's one of our biggest employment sectors, so we have a good apparel organization here and I am trying to get in touch with them to see if they have any kind of mentoring program.

I just got a bit confused with what you said about the pattern, what things need to be marked, what need to be notched, and what need to be punched so when you've got some time some further explanation there would be great.

Thanks again for all this info!