July 1st, 2015
Made in America is thriving. With a heritage spanning over 200 years, the manufacturing industry continues to reinvent itself, with an upswing in local production leaving no doubt that American…
June 29th, 2015
Starting a business is hard enough, but imagine having to rebrand after being in business for less than 6 months! The first cease and…
June 25th, 2015
The unsung hero of leather goods, hardware detailing rarely takes center stage. But the…
June 24th, 2015
Feature photography credit: Dunja Von Stoddard Even the most talented designers hit…
June 6th, 2015
When it boils down to sourcing fabric and manufacturers for your production run, there are several variables to consider. We hosted our…
June 4th, 2015
If you’re just launching your brand, obstacles like production budgeting, minimum order…
June 2nd, 2015
Transforming your design from a sketch to a sample can be incredibly exciting, but it can also be a challenging part of the process. This…
June 1st, 2015
You’ll spend countless hours working alongside your manufacturer. But like any…
May 23rd, 2015
One day an amazing idea pops into your head and you think of how much other people would…
May 14th, 2015
One year ago, I shared some lessons I learned while going from design to sample. In this article, I want to take it a step further and…
February 16th, 2015
Before I’m a designer, I’m an artisan in love with the traditions, heritage, tools and artistry of a craft that goes back centuries. In many ways, Slightly Alabama’s designs are a…
January 23rd, 2015
Before I launched my collection I had no idea how jewelry was actually made. I thought a jeweler’s bench was something that you sat on, Hephaestus-style, and the process was some shiny mystical…
December 29th, 2014
As a designer, it’s easy to get hyper-focused on the creative side of your brand. Where is this pocket going to go? What weight…
August 27th, 2013
‘Minimum Order Requirements’ (MOQ’s) can be a stumbling block for many new buyers. It’s not uncommon for a fabric supplier to require an order of 1,000 yards, or a cut/sew supplier to require…
August 15th, 2013
Have you had the experience of reaching out to a factory for pricing or more info, and…
July 10th, 2013
There’s one thing all new and young businesses have in common; they need money to grow. But not every entrepreneur is lucky enough to win…
June 6th, 2013
There are so many opportunities for emerging designers and being able to seize what comes up starts with getting organized. You never know…
May 21st, 2013
One of the main advantages of domestic versus overseas production, is that the turnaround time on orders made here in the US can be significantly faster than ones made further away. Because shorter…