I know, I know, I haven’t even gotten my product launched and I am already putting energy into planning for the next wave of production. Seems a little crazy, but given how long it took to order many of the materials for the launch wave, I’ll likely have to place orders for the next production round in the next few weeks.
I had a good conversation with a leather vendor based in Santa Cruz. I met one of the company’s sales reps at the trade show I went to last week, and I requested samples of veg-tanned leather today. I am finding that the leather community is VERY small, and there really are only a few reputable tanneries worldwide that do a good veg-tanned leather. I let him know where I was sourcing my leather from, and he said that the supplier I chose was very high-quality. Then he asked me if my bags were higher-end based on my leather choice, to which I replied YES. He said the only leather that would be comparable to the leather I’m using now would be imported leather from Italy. The price he quoted me per square foot was less expensive than the domestic leather, but I had to remind myself of the additional costs associated with importing materials, specifically the freight charges, shipping fees, and import duties. After you take these importing costs into account, the costs for high-end Italian leather ends up comparable to me buying the leather domestically. Still, I think it would be good to see what other leather options are available.
I looked at my to-do list today and I remembered that I need to ask the photographer if he has a mannequin so we can do a few product shots where you can see the size of the bag relative to someone’s body. If he doesn’t have one, I may need to find one. Where the heck do you get a mannequin in Seattle? And one that isn’t too creepy? They are usually missing arms, hands, or a head. I guess worse case scenario I can beg someone to model the bags. If you know anyone who is photogenic and likes Korean-Americans, please let me know.
I may be stuck in Tukwila all day tomorrow, trying to get those laptop sleeve samples (ugh). This will likely lead to a very boring, angry blog entry, so I may resume blogging on Wed so I can have a cool-off period.
Have a good night!
I think that locally-sourced sounds like a great option for you, and you seem to stick with that by and large. Also if the dollar continues to weaken, which I read it will, that should be a consideration. Oh and think of the ship time, which could factor.
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