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[usaclothingmanufacturers]

Custom Clothing Manufacturers in the USA

Introduction

The demand for custom clothing has been on the rise as consumers and businesses alike seek unique, high-quality apparel that reflects their personal style or brand identity. The custom clothing manufacturers in the USA has responded to this trend, offering a wide array of options from bespoke suits to custom activewear. Choosing the right apparel manufacturer in USA is crucial to ensure the best fit, quality, and overall satisfaction with the final product.

Understanding Custom Clothing

Custom clothing refers to garments that are made to order based on specific measurements, designs, and preferences of the customer. Unlike off-the-rack clothing, custom pieces are tailored to fit perfectly and often involve higher quality materials and craftsmanship. Benefits of custom clothing include:

Perfect Fit: Garments tailored to individual measurements ensure a comfortable and flattering fit.

Unique Design: Customers can choose their own fabrics, colors, and styles, resulting in truly unique pieces.

Quality and Durability: Custom clothing often uses higher quality materials and superior construction techniques, leading to longer-lasting garments. Key factors to consider when opting for custom clothing include the reputation of the manufacturer, the quality of materials used, and the level of customization available.

The Market Landscape in the USA

The custom clothing market in the USA is vibrant and diverse, catering to various needs from corporate uniforms to high-fashion pieces. Key trends driving this market include the growing desire for personalization, the rise of sustainable and ethically-made clothing, and advancements in technology such as 3D body scanning and digital design tools. Major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago are known for their thriving fashion scenes and numerous custom clothing manufacturers.

Top Custom Clothing Manufacturers in the USA

Pearl Global: Specializes in high-quality custom activewear and athleisure. Known for innovative designs and sustainable manufacturing practices, Pearl Global combines cutting-edge technology with eco-friendly materials to produce stylish and functional garments.

Custom Threads: Focuses on bespoke suits and corporate uniforms. They emphasize craftsmanship and personalized service, offering a range of luxurious fabrics and precise tailoring to create professional, elegant attire.

Fashion Forward: An eco-friendly custom clothing manufacturer that offers a wide range of styles made from sustainable materials. Their commitment to sustainability and ethical practices makes them a popular choice for environmentally conscious consumers.

Trendsetters Apparel: Known for trendy custom streetwear, Trendsetters Apparel blends urban fashion with individual customization options. They offer a variety of styles and designs that cater to the younger, fashion-forward crowd. Comparing these manufacturers involves looking at their offerings, pricing, and customer feedback to find the best fit for your specific needs.

The Manufacturing Process

The custom clothing manufacturing process typically involves the following steps:

Consultation: Discussing requirements, preferences, and taking measurements.

Design: Creating a custom design based on the customer's specifications.

Material Selection: Choosing high-quality fabrics and materials.

Pattern Making: Developing patterns tailored to individual measurements.

Cutting and Sewing: Crafting the garment with precision and care.

Fitting: Conducting fittings and making adjustments as necessary.

Quality Control: Ensuring each piece meets high standards before delivery. The emphasis on materials and craftsmanship, along with rigorous quality control measures, ensures that custom clothing stands out in terms of fit, comfort, and durability.

Choosing the Right Manufacturer

Selecting the right custom clothing manufacturer involves several considerations:

Reputation: Research the apparel manufacturers reputation and customer reviews.

Experience: Look for manufacturers with extensive experience in the specific type of custom clothing you need.

Quality of Materials: Ensure they use high-quality, durable materials.

Customization Options: Check the level of customization they offer.

Communication: Evaluate their customer service and willingness to collaborate. Key questions to ask potential manufacturers include:

Success Stories and Case Studies

Real-life examples and detailed case studies demonstrate the value of custom clothing:

Pearl Global: A sports team collaborated with Pearl Global to create custom activewear that improved performance and team spirit. The high-quality materials and precise fit resulted in enhanced comfort and durability.

Custom Threads: A corporate client needed bespoke uniforms that reflected their brand image. Custom Threads provided tailored suits that not only looked professional but also fit perfectly, boosting employee confidence and brand perception. These success stories highlight how custom clothing can meet specific needs and exceed expectations.

The Future of Custom Clothing in the USA

The future of custom clothing in the USA looks promising with several emerging trends:

Technology Integration: Innovations like 3D body scanning and digital design tools streamline the customization process and improve accuracy.

Sustainability: Increasing demand for sustainable and ethically-made clothing is driving manufacturers to adopt eco-friendly practices.

Personalization: The trend towards personalization continues to grow, with consumers seeking unique pieces that reflect their style. These trends suggest a bright future for the custom clothing industry, with continued advancements and a focus on sustainability.

Conclusion

Custom clothing offers numerous benefits, from perfect fit and unique design to high quality and durability. Choosing the right manufacturer is crucial to ensure the best results. The USA boasts a diverse and dynamic custom clothing market, with top manufacturers like Pearl Global, Custom Threads, Fashion Forward, and Trendsetters Apparel leading the way. By understanding the manufacturing process, asking the right questions, and considering the success stories and future trends, you can make informed decisions and enjoy the many advantages of custom clothing.

Call to Action

If you're considering custom clothing, contact the featured manufacturers to discuss your needs and explore their offerings. Visit their websites, follow them on social media, and get inspired by their innovative designs and successful collaborations. Share your custom clothing experiences in the comments and join the growing community of satisfied customers.

Additional Section: Notable Custom Clothing Manufacturers

Pearl Global: Known for its high-quality custom activewear and athleisure, Pearl Global excels in innovative designs and sustainable manufacturing practices. They are also recognized as leading sportswear manufacturers and denim manufacturers in the USA.

Custom Threads: Specializes in bespoke suits and corporate uniforms, emphasizing craftsmanship and personalized service.

Fashion Forward: Focuses on eco-friendly custom clothing, offering a wide range of styles made from sustainable materials. As sustainable clothing manufacturers, they prioritize ethical production practices.

Trendsetters Apparel: Popular for trendy custom streetwear, blending urban fashion with individual customization options.

This comprehensive blog provides a detailed guide to custom clothing manufacturers in the USA, featuring profiles of top manufacturers, insights into the manufacturing process, and tips for choosing the right partner for your custom clothing needs. Whether you're looking for sportswear manufacturers, denim manufacturers, sustainable clothing manufacturers, or general apparel manufacturers in USA, this guide has you covered.

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Bespoke Tailor Companies: What Can make It Specific?

Hugo Manager satisfies expense about $900 in Neiman Marcus. For the same price tag, you can purchase three Iphone 4s 32GB models or remain at the Waldorf Astoria in New York for two times. The idea of owning a suit as magnificent as that is flattering. Nevertheless, there is no sense in shelling out that considerably funds when you have a hundred other people searching just as dashing as you are. If you intend to spend a good deal of cash on good official use, it would be better if you strategy a bespoke tailor and have him or her recreate a exclusive style for your actual flavor, at a reasonable price. Bespoke tailoring truly indicates personalised suits, and it is equivalent to the haute couture for women. As implied, you can only anticipate high calibre tailoring, leading-notched components and impeccable artistry, among other issues, when you spend for a bespoke go well with. The phrase was derived from the word "bespeak which translates to " Bespoke tailors  speak for something" or "to give distinct instructions on how anything ought to be manufactured". It is conventionally patterned towards a design and style produced for a specific client and is equipped accordingly to his dimension. Now, it's simple to miscalculation bespoke tailoring for made-to-evaluate counterparts since they are acquired outside the house of retail retailers. But the latter is produced from a pre-present pattern, while the previous is minimize from scratch. One particular of the advantages of customized tailoring has been emphasised in the previous paragraph, which is top quality clothing. Although it may well be somewhat steeper than that of all set-to-dress in Hugo Manager suits, they definitely make up for it in kind. An further edge to acquiring bespoke tailoring solutions is that you can decide on the fabric you want, and you even get to handle the price selection of your formal use initial hand. In addition, you will not have to fear about your outfits becoming ill-fitting, because custom tailors supply totally free alterations, even so extended you have had their items. With bespoke providers, you can also choose to get objects produced 1 at a time without having having to fear of currently being overbudget, or receiving items that will not fit collectively. You can ask for a shirt to be produced first, and then a jacket, then trousers, and have the tailor develop them in these kinds of a way that they would match. Bespoke tailoring organizations typically have their possess set of materials, so you also do not have to fear about not getting capable to use the identical textile for your suit established, if you do decide to comprehensive gradually. Finally, you can also trust that the thousand dollar match you pay out for is made by an specialist bespoke tailor relatively than a team of housewives in some element of Asia that are used by American and European garment organization. You can method the tailor any time for suggestions, and get him to improve the way your entire body is perceived by means of the clothes you activity. Individuals usually get intimidated with the notion of obtaining bespoke tailoring solutions simply because of the notion of getting to pay $5,000 to $10,000 for a suit established. There are in fact a quantity of alternatives you can tap, that provide assistance at a value equal, or just a tad more expensive to what retailed branded official dress in costs. Business Name: Royal Hong Kong Tailors (mcr) Tel:- 0161 327 0789 EMail:- info@rhktailor.com

[topiron]

The Best Clothing Iron Reviews 2019

Why you should trust us

We spoke to experts, including professor Ingrid Johnson of the Home Products Development Department at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Tod Greenfield, co-owner of bespoke New York City tailor Martin Greenfield Clothiers, to determine what makes a great iron and which models or features are best. We heard from Pat Slaven, engineer and project lead on Consumer Reports’s annual irons guide. And we chatted with Kimberly Chaveco, senior product manager at Rowenta.

To winnow down our list of irons to test, we read product reviews from Amazon, looked at specialty blogs like The Ironing Room, and spoke to members of the New York City Metro Mod Quilt Guild. Wirecutter’s readers answered a survey we designed. And we turned to existing research from other sources; Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Slate, and Consumer Reports have all tested or rounded up models from class-leading brands like Rowenta, Black+Decker, Hamilton Beach, T-fal, and Panasonic.

I’m a sleep writer at Wirecutter, and I’ve worked on our guides to ironing boards, sheets, blankets, and robes (among many others). I’m also a quilter. My mom taught me to sew in third grade, and I’ve been doing it seriously for more than 10 years, making commissioned quilts for private clients and for Cloud9 Fabrics (PDF), and publishing my original patterns in Generation Q and Make Modern magazines. I’m ironing something almost every day.

How we picked and tested

After talking to the quilters from the NYC Metro Mod Quilt Guild, our professional experts, and everyday iron owners, we’ve found that this is what makes a good iron:

Strong steam bursts: The amount of steam whooshing out of an iron’s soleplate affects how quickly you can press an item, especially with heavier fabrics. A well-made iron can exhale close to 30 grams of water vapor a minute, but lesser irons exhale only a couple of grams.

Wattage: The faster an iron heats up, the sooner you can get through this chore. You want an iron that heats up in seconds, and the wattage affects this. The irons we looked at and liked used 1,500 to 1,800 watts—the higher the wattage, the faster it heats up, according to Kimberly Chaveco of Rowenta. She told us the highest cotton setting is typically 365 to 400 °F, and a 1,600-watt iron takes approximately 75 seconds to reach a full 400 °F; a 1,800-watt iron takes just 65 seconds to get there.

A large water tank: The quilters we spoke to from the NYC Metro Mod Quilt Guild told us a large water tank is helpful when you iron a lot, reducing the amount of time you’re refilling the tank and waiting for water to heat. Tailor Tod Greenfield concurred. We looked at widely available irons that could store at least 8 ounces of water.

Durability and a good warranty: In the owner reviews I’ve read for steam irons, the most consistent complaint I’ve seen is that they aren’t built like they used to be. I’ve owned enough irons to know how frustrating it is when you’re pressing something last minute, trying to get out the door on time, and the iron just doesn’t heat up, or the steam function gives up while you’re pressing something. Readers have told us they generally don’t iron things as much as their parents (or, let’s be honest here, probably their mothers) did, but when you need an iron it should be dependable. Irons do break—our runner-up pick from Black+Decker has durability issues—but if it has a strong warranty (two years for the Black+Decker), that could still make it worthwhile.

We also recommend several other features common in mid-priced irons:

vertical steaming to relax drapes or clothes on a hanger

anti-drip and anti-calcification mechanisms that allow the use of tap water

lights to signal the iron has reached its temperature

an 8-foot-long cord

inspection stamps such as “UL” or “ETL” that signify the manufacturer opted to pay for (and passed) rigorous third-party iron-safety tests

I set up boards and irons in my dining room and ran the irons through some basic tests: heat-up time, water tank size, and wrinkle-busting ability on a variety of fabrics. I used cotton quilt fabrics, acrylic sweaters (known to melt onto the plate of a hot iron), t-shirts, some synthetic fabrics, and a piece of silk for testing. Referring back to the feedback from our 2016 testing with staffers in the Wirecutter office, I noted how each iron felt to hold, how easy it was to use, and how much steam each seemed to release.

Because durability is hard to gauge in one testing period, we’ve continued to use all of our picks to see if they maintain their great performance over time.  We’ve tested each one over a span of a year and a half to three years.

Our pick: Maytag M400 Speed Heat Iron and Vertical Steamer

Our pick

The Maytag M400 Speed Heat Iron and Vertical Steamer packed the best combination of features in our testing: quick heat-up time, good steam, agility, reliability, and a great price. We also like that this iron comes with a longer-than-average two-year warranty.

According to Maytag, the iron doesn’t reach its highest temperature for 55 seconds, but in our tests it started producing steam on its highest setting in only 24 seconds. That’s the fastest overall, and it’s truly impressive. If you iron a lot like I do, or if you’ve ever been in a hurry to iron something and get on with your day, you know that we rarely wait for the iron to be 100 percent ready. You’ve probably hummed most of the Jeopardy! theme song standing there waiting to hear that magic Darth Vader steam sound. In contrast, the powerful Rowenta Steamforce, our upgrade pick, took a whopping 54 seconds to make that sound.

This is a 1,500-watt iron, which is the least powerful iron we tested aside from the Maytag M1200 Digital Smartfill Iron (also 1,500 watts). Though it didn’t give off as much steam as the Rowenta SteamForce or even the Black+Decker Allure, the M400 felt more powerful than many irons we tried with more wattage. Some of that might be ergonomics. I really appreciated the shallow steam burst button on the Maytag. I have small hands, and most irons we’ve tested have a steam button that’s about an inch high off the iron. I found that a taller button can cause hand cramps. The Maytag M400’s shorter button was easier to push repeatedly, which helped produce a lot of steam quickly. But we think this design would work for anyone, small hands or not.

The Maytag was actually the lightest iron we tested overall, and it still managed to push out wrinkles with barely any pressure. It passed smoothly over every fabric we tested, and the light weight meant we could glide quickly and get those wrinkles out faster. It was as agile as the Rowenta Steamforce and even smoother than the Black+Decker Allure and the Shark Ultimate Professional.

The M400 outperformed two pricier, higher-wattage Rowentas we tested—The Everlast and the Pro Master—when it came to reliability. While the Rowentas dripped water, the Maytag didn’t leak and had no problems with the delicate fabrics I used. Long-term testing will show us if the M400 can outlast the Black+Decker D3030 Allure, our current runner-up.

The Maytag M400 retails for about $50 on Amazon, which fits squarely in the price range our survey respondents preferred. It’s similarly priced to our runner-up, the Black+Decker D3030 Allure. Several of the other models we’ve tried in this price range (the Panasonic NI-E660SR and the Hamilton Beach Chrome Electronic 14955) felt cheap: Their temperature dials didn’t stay locked in place, they took longer to heat up, and they just didn’t have much oomph when it came to getting out wrinkles.

While a one-year warranty is common and, we think, a minimum, the Maytag offers two years for their irons. A longer warranty can cover problems that crop up later in the product’s lifetime—ideal for people who iron infrequently. Maytag irons are actually licensed by Storebound, who handle warranties and repairs. We called and asked what to do with a broken iron, and, no questions asked, the customer service rep offered to send me a UPS return label that day and get a new one out to me in two or three business days. We think that quick, no-hassle turnaround from Storebound edges their warranty ahead of that of Black+Decker.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The Maytag may be too light to get creases out of some fabrics. If you’re ironing something big and heavy, or something with stubborn creases (like linen), extra weight is useful for pushing out and smoothing those wrinkles. We still think the Rowenta Steamforce’s combination of heft and powerful steam bursts are worth the investment if you iron a lot or iron anything with precision creases like quilt seams. But for occasional ironing, or even light everyday ironing, we think the Maytag’s agile design more than meets those needs.

We wish the Maytag had a longer cord, which is only eight feet. Sometimes extra length helps you maneuver the iron around an ironing board. And it would give a little more flexibility for setting up your ironing station if you have limited space and limited outlets.

Our pick: Long-term test notes

We’ve been using the Maytag iron in our NYC office, for all of our photo shoots and kitchen-linens testing, since March 2017. Our staff hasn’t had any problems with reliability, and we still find it comfortable to use.

Runner-up: Black+Decker D3030 Allure

Runner-up

If the Maytag M400 is sold out or unavailable, we would recommend getting the Black+Decker D3030 Allure instead. The Allure is one of the lightest irons we tested, weighing 3.1 pounds. It also has one of the most comfortable handles we’ve tried. Its stainless steel soleplate glides more smoothly across fabrics than most of the competitors in the same price range. The Allure is a 1,600-watt iron, but its steam function feels more powerful than the Rowenta Steamcare or the significantly pricier 1,700-watt Rowenta Pro Master and 1,750-watt Rowenta Everlast. And only the Maytag M400 was faster to produce hot steam in our testing.

But there’s a big reason we had to demote this iron from the top spot: We are worried it may have longevity problems. The heating element on the Allure we were long-term testing failed after about a year (we were using the iron twice a week). There are a little over 300 reviews for the iron, and about half (23 out of 45) of the one- and two-star Amazon reviews for this model note the same problem. But with its two-year warranty, it was pretty easy to get a replacement. (We mailed in the plug with the serial number and waited for the replacement, which took 17 days from mailing to receiving.)

Having an iron fail in less than a year was really disappointing, but it can happen even with higher-end irons. We can’t deny what a strong competitor the Allure is—especially since it’s only about $38. Even with this big reliability issue, we would still recommend the Allure as an affordable backup option for the Maytag over everything else we’ve tried.

Runner-up: Long-term test notes

Black+Decker sent us a replacement iron in 2016 after the first one we tested in 2015 failed. I haven’t had any reliability problems with it in the past two years, and it’s still a fantastic iron for everyday use and for sewing. If this one fails after the warranty runs out, I will probably buy another one myself.

Upgrade pick: Rowenta SteamForce

Upgrade pick

If an iron can be dreamy, the Rowenta SteamForce is dreamy. This German-made iron performed best in our tests. At 3.9 pounds, it’s too heavy to be the most comfortable to hold, and not all of our testers loved the layout of the buttons and dials. But none of us could argue with the way it beat every wrinkle we threw at it. The stainless steel soleplate has more holes than any of our other test picks, and the tip has Rowenta’s Precision Shot, a group of holes that emits a concentrated blast of steam for tougher creases. The SteamForce also has an extra-large tank, so you need fewer refills for big jobs.

There are drawbacks to the SteamForce. The cord is only 7 feet long, which felt a little puny. It has a one-year warranty in the United States, which is less generous than the two-year warranties offered by Black+Decker and Maytag. And we did run into an issue with our test model, which Rowenta assured us was a fluke. The cover to the water tank crumbled away in my hand as I was filling the tank. We couldn’t find any reviews that mentioned this as an existing problem, and Rowenta sent us another one to try. We haven’t had any problems with it in a year of long-term testing.

The biggest problem is that this one costs about twice as much as the Maytag M400. It has come down in price by more than half since we originally tested it in 2015, though. We think the SteamForce is worth the price if you’re a sewer or quilter and your iron is an essential tool. The same goes if you regularly tackle mountains of everyday ironing and you want something to help get the job done. But first go to a store and make sure the weight isn’t a problem.

Upgrade pick: Long-term test notes

I’ve been consistently using this iron since December 2015, and it is almost as good as when it was new. I hear the occasional sputtering from the water tank, but it still heats up quickly and flattens wrinkles. I reach for the lighter Black+Decker for big loads of ironing to save my wrist and arm, but this model is still the one I reach for when pressing quilt seams, ironing on transfers, and making other craft projects.

Care and maintenance

Whichever iron you end up with, take a minute to read the manual. We’re not kidding. It sounds obvious, but it’s the best maintenance tip we can give you.

According to Pat Slaven, project lead on the Consumer Reports iron test, frustration could be prevented if people emptied the water reservoirs when they’re finished ironing or used the burst-of-steam function to flush mineral deposits once a month (or otherwise followed the instructions). Failing to read the manual, Slaven insisted, is why so many irons end up leaking, spitting, or broken.

Water seems to cause most of the problems. According to Consumer Reports, almost all irons are designed for tap water these days, but you need to read the manual to confirm what your iron requires. Hard water leaves damaging calcium deposits (“scale”) on valves and materials intended for use with soft or distilled water, while distilled water strips essential minerals from internal bits designed for hard water. So if a manual asks about the mineral richness of your water and you don’t know, find out. (Here is a loose guide. This will test your tap water.) Then follow the instructions. Doing so could add years to the iron’s lifespan.

How many years? Unfortunately, no one tests longevity. And it was difficult to decipher the credibility of user posts about durability. More than one well-intentioned ironer griped when after using distilled water, his iron, designed for hard water, went kaput. Our general sense was that an iron used according to its instructions should last about four years, but even higher-priced irons get dinged for early failure.

The competition

The Shark Ultimate Professional GI505 was our previous runner-up. It isn’t a bad iron, but its design is frustrating. The steam burst button is tall and hard to press, making it tough to iron and use steam in one fluid movement. We also don’t like the push-button temperature control that always defaults to the lowest setting. You have to push the button several times to get to the highest heat when you first plug it in, and if you’re not paying attention you could waste time waiting for it to heat up before realizing it’s on low heat.

The Rowenta DW 3180 Steamcare only took 36 seconds to generate steam and has a decent-size water tank. But it has no temperature settings at all. You just plug it in and iron. It was an okay iron, but the lack of temperature control meant it wasn’t as quick or as powerful as our other picks. The steam burst button is on the far right side of the handle, which also made it really uncomfortable to use. It might be ideal for left-handed folks, but for me it was awkward to stretch my thumb that far while ironing.

I’ve owned the Rowenta Pro Master for a few years, and I’ve always had problems with it leaking. It gives off a good amount of steam, but before testing it again for this guide, I’d barely touched it for about a year. The leaks became too problematic for delicate quilt work or favorite clothes.

The Rowenta Everlast leaked right away during our testing. We don’t think there’s any excuse for a $100 iron to leak right out of the box. It also was the least effective iron in this round of testing for getting out wrinkles. It’s a heavier iron, and it still needed a lot of brute strength to smooth out wrinkles that the airy Maytag M400 barely touched to flatten.

The Maytag M1200 is the digital offering in the Maytag line of irons, and it was disappointing all around. The “digital” element means that instead of having a dial to set the fabric and temperature, it has three lights with a button that you push to select low, medium, or high temperature. The buttons seemed to beep at random, and even reading the manual we struggled to identify all the noises or how to stop them. And it took a long time to produce steam—52 seconds. The M1200 also didn’t do a great job of getting wrinkles and creases out.

The Hamilton Beach Chrome Electronic 14955 was a pain to fill with water. The cover to the water tank was so tight it took two hands to pry it open. (Not fun when it’s time to refill or empty the tank.) It also didn’t do well with our wrinkly linen napkins, and it took quite a while to heat up.

While the T-fal FV4495 Ultraglide took the top slot in a previous iteration of this guide, the iron wore poorly over a year in our office, raising significant questions about its long-term reliability. (We’ll revisit our other current picks over time as well.) I had heard complaints from staffers who’d used this iron throughout the year that it leaked a lot, but leaking is an understatement. When we plugged it in, it spewed so much water out of the steam holes that we immediately unplugged it in case it was a fire hazard. That depleted its water tank, and when we finally plugged it back in to try ironing something, it leaked water on our test fabrics. It did get the wrinkles out of some fabrics we tested, though.

The Panasonic NI-E660SR is inexpensive, and you can tell: It felt like cheap plastic. At 1,200 watts, it took a lot of elbow grease to get out even small wrinkles. Speaking as a former college RA, though, I could imagine it in a dorm room. The price is right in a student’s budget (especially if it gets lost or “borrowed” and needs replacing) and it won’t trip any circuits.

[rainfallshowerhead]

Know More About Coding Shirts

If you haven't previously, you should read my guide to printing economics. It essentially describes the distinctions between screen printing and digital printing, as well as the corresponding costs. It will assist you in better comprehending the following information. Color is quite important. If you're ordering a large quantity of custom shirts (say, 12 or more), selecting fewer colours in your design will help you save money. This is because you have the option of screen printing your design onto your shirt when you place a large order. Do you want to learn more? Visit Science teacher shirt.

Screen printing has minimal printing costs but a hefty setup cost based on the number of colours in your design. The setup price is modest if you only need one colour, and your shirt printing will be reasonable. If you have a lot of colours, the setup fee will be considerable, and it will hurt your wallet even more than a single solid colour print would.

If your design contains a lot of colours (say, five or more), screen print setup is usually highly expensive, therefore printers will opt to digitally print it instead. There are no setup expenses with a digital print, and you can use as many colours as you like on your template, but the cost of each print is much more than with a screen print.

To save money on printing, make sure your design only employs one or two solid colours if you're ordering 12 or more bespoke shirts. If you're only manufacturing a few shirts (less than 12), go ahead and use as many gradients and colours as you want because it'll almost certainly be a custom t-shirt produced digitally. To understand more about colours, check out my colour advice guide.

It's also crucial to think about the colour of your shirt. Screen printing dark-colored shirts is usually more expensive than printing light-colored shirts. This is because an ink underlay is required to display ink colours in their full brilliance on dark clothes. The ink underlay is applied first, followed by your design's genuine colours. Many screen printers refer to this process as "flash," and it adds a minor cost to each print.

If your design necessitates a digital print, you won't be able to do it on a dark shirt. Print on a light-colored shirt if your template contains a lot of colours (5 or more). If you want to print it on a dark shirt, you'll have to utilise screen printing, which will almost probably increase the total cost much more than if you print it on a light shirt with digital printing. Printing your design on light-colored shirts is generally less expensive than printing it on dark-colored shirts (as a sidenote, light coloured shirts are normally cheaper than dark coloured shirts as well).

  A Guide To Buy Geek Hoodies

What exactly are hoodies? Hoodies are a type of adaptable and comfy clothing that is popular among the younger generation, particularly those aged 18 to 24. The name "hoodies" refers to pullovers with a distinctive hood. Large front pockets and drawstrings to modify the hood opening are common features of hoodies.

A Brief History of Hoodies

You may not realise it, but hoodies have been worn by Catholic monks since the Middle Ages. If you look closely at the monk's robe, you'll notice that it has a design that is identical to the cowl. Catholic monks wear cowls over their tunics or robes as a decorative hood. In the 1930s, labourers in New York wore the hoodie in its current form. These workers are employed in frozen warehouses. Claire McCardell, the American fashion designer who popularised casual wearing in the United States, popularised the hoodie by developing entire collections around it. The hoodie became more popular than ever in the 1970s. Because of the secrecy that the hoodie provides, the hip hop culture that flourished along New York streets adored it. High fashion, such as Norma Kamali's designs, glamorised the hoodie, while movies like Rocky boosted its popularity.

Hoodies and Their Popularity in the United Kingdom

When hip hop culture became more widespread, hoodies made their way to the UK. Because of the promise of mystery, obscurity, and anxiety, hoodies were unmistakably popular among 18 to 24 year olds. The hoodie, according to Angela McRobbie, a lecturer at Goldsmiths College in the United Kingdom, is part of the 18 to 24 year olds' distance from the school uniform and the workplace suit. She claims that the hoodie is a sign of revolt, similar to the leather jacket and bondage pants of previous youth cultures.

The hoodie acquired attention in May 2005, when Bluewater, a Kent shopping centre, banned hoodie wearers from their premises. The populace was incensed when Prime Minister Tony Blair backed the anti-hoodie campaign. Lady Sovereign, a London rapper, wrote "Hoodie" as a protest song. People became involved in the "Save the Hoodie" campaign after the bitterly harsh winters of 2009 and 2010 required them to  wear hoodies to stay warm.

Hoodies are making a comeback in the wardrobes of 18 to 24-year-olds. This age group prefers the hoodie because it is comfortable enough to wear to the gym, despite their hectic existence. It is, nonetheless, elegant enough to be worn to a party. Add in the fact that they're easier to clean thanks to the wash-and-wear hoodie.

[oddfactory21]

Shop Bespoke & Custom Clothing Manufacturers for Startups in New-York | Odd Factory

Get the Amazing deal and Shop Bespoke & Custom Clothing Manufacturers for Startups in New-York. The Odd Factory has Excellent Clothing Manufacturers & Supplier with World-class technique & 100% quality. We also deal with amazing bespoke clothing manufacturer for STARTUPS at a Affordable price. Visit our website to know more.

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Turn Your Kids’ Artwork Into A Treasured Keepsake With Crumb Kids!

Turn Your Kids’ Artwork Into A Treasured Keepsake With Crumb Kids!

Creative People

by Sally Tabart

Photo – Bri Hammond for The Design Files.

Photo – Bri Hammond for The Design Files.

Photo – courtesy of Crumb Kids.

Photo – Bri Hammond for The Design Files.

Photo – courtesy of Crumb Kids.

Photo – Bri Hammond for The Design Files.

Photo – Bri Hammond for The Design Files.

Photo – Bri Hammond for The Design Files.

Photo – Bri Hammond for The Design Files.

Photo – Bri Hammond for The Design Files.

Once upon a time, Bindi Howarth of Crumb Kids worked as a textile designer for high-end fashion brands in New York and London. A few years after returning to Melbourne, where she was freelancing as a graphic designer, a friend asked her to help turn a student’s artwork in a print, to be printed on fabric and made into a dress. This sparked a unique business idea, specialising in creating bespoke one-off products based on kids artwork!

Bindi’s small but mighty business operates out of her home in Fitzroy North. Customers submit their kids artwork online, which she then designs into a custom print before sending it off to a family-run printer nearby. When she gets the fabric back, she cuts and sews each product into tea towels, tote bags, pencil cases and cushion covers, packages and sends them out to their new homes.

We chatted with Bindi a little more about Crumb Kids, and how she manages to keep her small business as low-impact as possible.

Hey Bindi! Tell us a little about your background? What has been your creative journey so far?

I studied graphic design, but found I was drawn to working with textiles having sewn from a young age (thanks Mum!). After I graduated, I went on to work overseas, both in New York and London at high-end fashion brands as a textile designer. I continued to freelance in textile and graphic design when I returned to Melbourne in early 2016.

Starting my own business felt like a natural progression, but I was particularly conscious about creating a brand that encompassed concepts that were important to me – manufacturing locally, creating no waste with excess stock or unused fabric, using high quality fabrics and an idea that felt fresh.

When did you start Crumb Kids, and why?

In mid-2019 I was asked by a friend to create a bespoke print. She’s a teacher and wanted to create a dress using students’ artwork, as a going away present for a colleague. I’ve always loved those end-of-year class memento tea towels with everyone’s little faces on them, and those personalised plates you give your grandparents, but the concept had the potential to be modernised. My friend’s project sparked the idea to revamp made-to-order keepsakes by creating meaningful, bespoke, all-over textile designs using children’s artworks, and making them into everyday products.

The idea of creating something with children’s work really interested me – there is something so special about their creations, and they come with a certain naivety that you lose as you become older.

What has been the process of starting your own business been like for you?

I feel very fortunate coming from a graphic design background with an interest in photography. Being able to shoot the product, create the website and do the branding myself made the initial outgoing costs minimal. My customers have predominantly come from word of mouth, which I love. I have recently started employing assistance where the business needs it and get help with sewing during busy periods.

Together with freelance textile design work, Crumb Kids has been my main focus for the past few years. I enjoyed working with children’s artworks so much that it prompted me to start studying primary teaching part-time last year as a little diversion through COVID. So, I keep myself busy to say the least!

Can you breakdown the process of creating a Crumb Kids product – from submission, to design, to manufacturing?

Orders and artworks are received through the order form on Crumb’s Instagram and website. I create each artwork into its own personalised bespoke print design, ensuring I only print exactly the fabric I need. The file is sent off to a Melbourne-based family-run printer who prints onto Ethical Clothing Australia accredited fabric which is made from 100% natural fibres. I pick the fabric up, then cut, sew and package the products before sending them off!

What products can Crumb Kids turn artwork submissions into?

Bespoke tea towels, tote bags, pencil cases and cushion covers. 

Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

Crumb Kids is not just for little artists but also big artists as well! We had couples and groups of friends over lockdown creating artworks together, helping to stay connected from afar. These were made into keepsakes to treasure after a pretty grim year.

Bindi at Crumb Kids will be transforming the artworks of 15 x runners up in TDF Kids Art Awards into custom pencil cases! You can submit entries to the TDF Kids Art Awards here (entries close this Sunday!).

Check out more of Crumb Kids offerings here and follow them on Instagram.

[sirsedric]

Customize New Designs For Local Trades

Customize New Designs For Local Trades

As one of the leading companies for exhibition design, we design more than just exhibits. Our services in the field of interior design are not limited to the services we provide. If you need a design that you will continue to use for a number of shows, we can provide services tailored to your needs and goals. In this article, PRI Graphics, our printing specialist, offers you the opportunity to customize new designs for local trades.

We also strive to work with local traders and suppliers to the manufacturing industry to sustain the local economy by building lasting relationships. If you need to help create a banner to present your products, services or even a new logo for your company, PRI will help you prepare for the next big trade show. We can help you redesign the existing trade fairs and stands or help you design a brand new display for a special event, such as a trade fair or trade fair.

If you are interested, you can contact us by email or click here to see our work. For more information on when to purchase a custom-made booth, or for more details on our services and services for local trade fairs and exhibitions, please contact us at [email protected] or on our contact page.

Be sure to check out our video with the best trade fair graphics for local fairs and exhibitions. Browse other designs and layouts and keep your creative juices flowing by signing up to start customizing for your local construction, flooring or HVAC business. Ask a Phoenix printer or designer what your company or brand will present. Check out the full list of marketing products we offer on the market – the booths are for marketing purposes and browse through more design layouts.

If you are going through a large amount of shirts, this is a great opportunity for a sale. We are available for a wide range of real estate services – such as property appraisals, property taxes and property management.

This is a competitive field, and it is rare to meet a designer who is not willing to share information, advice and tools of commerce. For this reason we have our own service for custom design of individual shirts called Easy Prints (r), and you will find our work. Our designs can be as simple or as complex as the design heat we can apply. As we are a professional printer, our customers already have a logo design that they can print on their clothes.

The QBU 350 layout is designed for heating and cooling companies and can be customized by simply changing the clip type and changing the text. Construction companies of various kinds will find the layout QBU 334 in easy prints (r) for their logo design. With this new layout, creating garments for business is so easy and creates professional artwork for your business, this methods will definitely help you customize new designs for local trades.

We have also incorporated Easy View into our custom designs for a wide range of different types of clothing, such as shirts, pants, jackets, hats, t-shirts and more.

If your trade fair presence can help you build your brand, look for inspiration for designing trade fair banners that match the color of your stand and your company. Talk to PRI Graphics about the variety of colors available to print your tablecloths. Keep your logo and colour in mind while coming up with a customised stand design. You want the logo, company colour and stand to merge seamlessly and your branding to be further enhanced by printing an individual logo.

If you are looking for a way to highlight your business at a trade show, and customize new designs for local trades, investing in a bespoke booth for the trade shows you attend, such as the New York International Trade Show, can help your business stand out and attract more attention than a generic rental booth would.

Make sure your printed promotional items are different from all the others and are so different that the person who makes the decision to come to your stalls and want one will come. If you want to highlight and promote your corporate brand in retail, it’s time to buy a custom trade exhibit in New York that makes more sense than renting one, PRI Graphics says.

PRI Graphics can help you design a cut-out stand that gives your stand a unique three-dimensional aspect and help you customize new designs for local trades something that very few other stands will likely have. Once you have created your own brand exhibit, you can find a stand design company that will allow you to get started with your idea, but don’t forget to start with an idea.

This customized stand offers the possibility to adapt the stand to the needs of your brand. When planning your booth, here are some important things to keep in mind, such as the size, shape and color of the booth. This is a great way to have the design you want without having to compromise, but you have to be aware that it is not always possible.

Related content: Marketing Your Own T-Shirt Store

from Teewonders Shop https://teewonders.com/customize-new-designs-for-local-trades/

[atwoztailor]

How Can Tailors Gain Momentum with Clothing Creator Software?

We’ve reached an inflection point. As the global response to COVID-19 evolves, communities around the world have moved from an era of “remote everything” into a more hybrid model of work, learning, and life. And here, fashion can’t be left behind as it is the sole representative of society. As we have become more socially distant, fashion technology too became about practicing social distancing. And to continue the trend and keep the momentum going, we offer the online clothing design software. This is a customization tool allowing tailors and brands to let their customers have a say in designing their apparel through the virtual mediums.

Clothing Creator Software Enabling Tailors to Turn Imagination into Reality

Virtual product development is a natural but long, overdue progression for the fashion industry. The benefits are apparent: digital files send a lot faster than a mailed package; draping virtual garments doesn’t require spending money on real fabric; design changes happen instantly, etc. Anyone can infer from these facts that virtual solutions offer numerous lucrative opportunities for brands, retailers, and manufacturers who want to make the most of the technology and compete in the evolving apparel industry. But 3D must do more than visualize a design for it to revolutionize the development process truly. For those tailors who wish to use 3D product development for fit as well as design, here are some key things to look for when selecting a technology solution.

Let us look at the various factors that can help propel in the tailoring business:

Pattern Integration

The key to a successful virtual fitting session is that what is seen on the screen can be replicated in real life for production. The fashion industry experts believe tailors and brands shouldn’t focus only on creating beautiful 3d clothes; instead their job is done when that apparel is translated into reality. And with the help of digital platforms using technology like AR, VR, and AI, they can let their buyers make corrections that need to be made. These can be applied to the actual pattern, and the change is immediately reflected in 3D. This helps to ensure that there is zero tolerance between virtual approval and physical execution.

Arden Reed, a New York-based start-up, wants to take this personalized approach further with its bespoke suits. Six months ago, the company began sizing customers using a remodeled truck equipped with a 3D body scanner. Likewise, the 3d clothing design software also enables tailors to scan their consumers with the latest technology.

To know more - https://blog.a2ztailor.com/how-can-tailors-gain-momentum-with-clothing-creator-software/

[schmidtclothingcom]

Fifty years ago, the notion of Australian fashion may have been regarded as an oxymoron. This is not a critique of Australians’ capacity to be intrinsically stylish, as there is plenty of evidence to reflect the contrary.

Rather, the Australian fashion industry, historically, was based on adopting and adapting the looks that evolved internationally, predominantly from Europe. The contemporary fashion industry in Australia has really only developed an individual identity in the past 20 years.

Maggi Tabberer modelling a classic 1950s Phillipa Gowns dress in a photograph taken in Melbourne in 1958. AAP Image/Powerhouse Museum, Bruno Benini

To put this into some context is to also understand the evolution and shifts in the Australian fashion system over the past four decades.

My early memories of the Australian fashion industry in the 1970s are clustered in two key geographical locations: Flinders Lane in Melbourne and Surry Hills in Sydney. These two locales housed industrial spaces in multi-floor buildings where the heart and soul of the fashion industry thrived.

Fast track to the 2000s and the industry had dispersed. With the rising costs of inner-city locations, fashion houses moved their bases out across suburbs and designers and brands spread across Australia. Local manufacturing has now shrunk to a level of being minute or bespoke and most production now takes place in offshore factories with no connection to the local scene.

Australian model Maggi Eckardt modelling Ninette fashion in a photograph taken in Melbourne in 1968. AAP Image/Powerhouse Museum, Bruno Benini

The geographical displacement of the fashion industry and the shift in manufacturing practices has resulted in a move from an Australian large-scale manufacturing hub to the development of fashion clusters across major cities in which creative collaborations thrive and emerging designers prosper.

Australian fashion is in a unique position, with approximately 85% of its industry representation being small to medium businesses. As a cohort of enterprises, they are spread across the nation, often working in isolated pockets.

Across Australia, many smaller practitioners are flourishing, despite the efforts of mainstream media to create alarmist commentary on the industry going into a downhill slide and no future for our creative designers.

Commercial viability has been in the headlines recently, with a number of mid-sized businesses going into voluntary or forced administration. At the moment, we are working through a period of major shifts in the fashion system globally.

Models on the runway for the Christina Exie show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney this year. AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy

New challenges

As more designer labels struggle (Lisa Ho, Bettina Liano and Kirrily Johnston to name a few), they often do not have the infrastructure and resources to deal with higher overheads such as increased shop rents, volatile global supply chains and shifts in purchasing patterns of major retailers.

It only needs one thing to go wrong for a business to be destroyed.

One of the key issues for many fashion labels is that they have continued to work within a system that worked ten years ago but is less successful today. Designers who rely on wholesaling are finding it increasingly difficult to survive in a world where long lead times requiring investment in production and materials are no longer offset by retailers with a fat cheque.

Retailers now commonly demand payment terms of 90 days or more (meaning the designer gets paid 90 days or more after the invoice is issued) and all the risk sits with the designer supplying the product. If merchandise doesn’t sell then, the retailer demands a discount – or worse, returns all the goods within the 90-day period.

In the case where goods may be faulty, the designers are finding it increasingly difficult to make a claim against suppliers in other countries with different trade rules and retailers equally refusing to accept the goods.

Cautious optimism

There is light at the end of the tunnel with two areas of specialisation having the capacity to strengthen businesses.

The first concept is: “keep it small, keep it special.” Emerging designers are opening engaged and experiential retail spaces, offering informed and positive service (by staff who know and love the product). These are often pop-up stores that encourage the consumer to buy now, before it disappears.

Lulamae Pop Up Shop in central Melbourne. Andrew Wuttke and Breathe Architecture.;

A second commercial proposition and an incredible growth area is the world of online retail. Online shopping has become the new norm and allows designers to be in control of their own supply chain.

Engaging websites enable smaller scale enterprises to test the retail market, react to consumer demand and offer merchandise globally, without the constraints of potentially expensive and volatile international expansion.

The online world is providing Australian designers with a fertile interface with global fashion advocates, without the constraints of trying to make it big overseas. But this does require shifting the processes and systems embedded with the fashion industry – something not easily done.

The online shop of Melbourne brand Alpha60. http://www.alpha60.com.au/

Northern exposure

There is also the sometimes-unrealistic benchmark placed on designers to expand into international markets; a difficult burden to endure.

I often get asked who are Australia’s most successful designers? The global guide for fashion success has historically been embedded in the concept that a designer needs to make it in one of “the big four”: New York, London, Paris or Milan. They also need to attract the attention of the global press.

To do this requires significant investment and often minimal return. My advice, using Australian vernacular, is to focus on your own backyard first. The shining light of global expansion is not so rosy when you are chasing creditors in foreign lands, dealing with multitudes of different customs requirements and hit with overwhelming freight bills.

The global fashion scene is shifting and we are on the brink of a new era. The assumption that Australia is a season behind is no longer relevant. In fact, the concept of a “fashion season” is an unrealistic construct altogether.

Global fashion has not followed weather patterns for years (which is why, for some obscure reason, sweaters are delivered into stores as we swelter through January and swimwear adorns shelves in July as the temperatures hit their lowest of the year and snow falls in surrounding mountains).

The concept of trans-seasonal fashion – clothing that is adaptable for many climates – has become quite the norm across the globe. This has been predominantly fuelled by the need for large scale fashion conglomerates to attract some of the lucrative share of the Middle East and Asian markets, where climates are often distinctly different to Europe and the USA.

Australian designers Nicky Zimmermann (left), Simone Zimmermann (far right) with Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales from Sydney label Romance Was Born. AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy

Australian designers benefit from this shift, as they create collections adaptable to varying temperatures – a criterion that works across Australia as it does for global market penetration.

The way we wear clothes has also changed, as we move from our air-conditioned houses to our air-conditioned cars and then to our air-conditioned offices. The need for weather-specific wear has fallen significantly and this opens opportunities to develop designs of varying weights and fibres that are adaptable to many environments.

All of this is, of course, only relevant if an Australian designer sees the need to pursue the dream of global expansion. To be an Antipodean designer in an industry that is run on Northern Hemisphere seasons is only a problem in a Northern Hemisphere-focused industry or if a designer perceives being aligned to the big four fashion cities as a priority. Many do not.

Goodbye New York, hello Melbourne

The world balance is shifting and markets are changing. “Same old, same old” – a phrase that equals devastation in the world of fashion – has been heard on the streets of Milan, London, New York and Paris recently. Not referring to specific collections but rather to the painfully exhausting Fashion Week system that grinds through each season, with the endless runway shows at enormous expense, promoting many of the same big name brands in an incessant cycle to sell more lipsticks, sunglasses and perfumes.

As proposed in the New York Times during that city’s recent Fashion Week in September this year: “New York Fashion Week officially starts tomorrow, but according to the Times, it’s already passé.

The newspaper of record spoke to a group of fashion folks and heard essentially the same message from everyone – "we’re tired and we don’t feel like doing this”.

Front-row at New York Fashion Week. EPA/Peter Foley

Fashion is an industry that prides itself on quick response, change, innovation and creativity, yet is perpetuating a cycle of boredom for many involved. The time is ripe for change as the world embraces innovative digital interfaces and newly emerging fashion cities such as Melbourne challenge the “big four” for fresh experiences and stimulating style.

An up-and-coming tier of creative cities are becoming hot spots for fashion innovation clusters. Around the globe, cities such as Amsterdam, Shanghai, Istanbul, Seoul, Berlin and Melbourne are being touted as incubators of inspiration.

In part, the evolution of an Australian fashion identity is constrained by the geographical dislocation of our country. Rather than discuss Australian fashion style, it is more pertinent to address the ethos of major cities.

Melbourne street style: relaxed, stylish and wearable. AAP Image/Julian Smith

Living in Melbourne and as an advocate for that city’s creative energy, I am most expert to address how, in this city, fashion flourishes under the auspices of what I have termed “fusion fashion”.

In fusion food, a mix of different culinary references combine to create a new palate. In fashion, the term relates to the synthesis of fashion references such as English bespoke tailoring mixed with the quirkiness of Asian style with a referential nod to Australian casualness – all blended together into a genre that Melbourne holds as uniquely its own. Fusion fashion provides for a one-of-a-kind wardrobe that is relaxed, stylish and wearable.

This style ethos is well suited to inspire global fashion advocates. It might just be what puts Antipodean fashion on the map.

by Beth Daley

Licensed from The Conversation

Written by Becky Heldmen for Schmidt Clothing.

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[kentonramsey]

I Heard It on MR Thoughtline: “Where Can I Find a Cloth Mask With Flair?

The necessity of wearing a mask when going outside has become part of our cultural reality—and thus, by default, it has become part of our sartorial reality, too. The best masks for civilians are those made from cloth (leave surgical masks and N95s to healthcare professionals and essential workers). And while the functional significance of any protective mask makes it much more than an object of style, there’s still room—and desire, we’ve found—to inject some personality into the equation. This was made clear during a recent conversation on MR Thoughtline, during which a subscriber asked: “Where can I find an effective cloth mask with flair?”

According to the CDC, an effective face mask should fit snugly but comfortably against the sides of your face, can be secured with ties or ear loops, includes multiple layers of fabric, allows for breathing without restriction, and can be laundered and machine dried with damaging or changing the shape. (Check out their website for tutorials on how to DIY a mask that conforms with these guidelines—they offer instructions for using a sewing machine, a T-shirt, or a bandana.) If you’d like to purchase a mask from a brand that is donating to charity–or from an independent Etsy seller making and shipping masks directly–see below for a rundown of efforts to give back, and scroll to the bottom for a curated, flair-centric shopping edit courtesy of our market strategist Elizabeth.

Man Repeller will be donating any affiliate revenue generated from this story to MasksOn.org, a non-profit working to mass-produce reusable, sanitizable Emergency Use face shields for clinicians who do not have access to FDA-cleared equipment.

Charitable Efforts

Reformation – Partnered with the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Eric Garcetti on LA Protects, an initiative to organize local manufacturers to make five million non-medical masks for essential workers. Collina Strada – For each mask purchased, Collina Strada will provide five masks to healthcare workers in New York City. Outdoor Voices – 100% of proceeds will benefit Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization. Christine Alcalay – Making masks to donate to health professional across the United States. Rowing Blazers – Donating one mask to the NYC Food Bank for every mask sold. Clare V. – Donating non-medical-grade masks to frontline and essential workers. Batsheva – 25% of proceeds go to NY Food Bank. Misa – Partnered with L.A. Protects to produce non-medical grade masks for essential businesses and in limited quantities to the general public. Nili Lotan – 100% of profit goes to NYU Langone. String King – Donating both two-ply washable cloth face masks and three-ply disposable 3-layer face masks for free and at reduced cost. Steele Canvas x Food52 – For every mask sold, Steele Canvas and Food52 will donate a second mask to medical facilities across the U.S.—or you can choose to buy two masks and together, and they’ll donate both. LAMade – Over 22,000 masks donated.

One for One: Brands Donating 1 Mask for Each Mask Ordered

Abacaxi Lykke Wullf LoveShackFancy Araks Hyer Goods Casetify Camp Collection J. Papa

  And now, masks arranged lovingly, by style…

Perfectly Patterned

With elastic backs…

Abacaxi

Safe Styles

Smokey Mountain Fabric

Lena By Hailey

Christine Alcalay

Sew Cute She Sparkle

Vicki of Vienna

VIVIT Handmade

Serendipity Des Studio

Pearian Bespoke

Social Masks

Mask My Face

Find Your Mask

Lykke Wullf

Rowing Blazers

LAMade

See All 16

With adjustable ties…

Clare V.

LoveShackFancy

Collina Strada

Micheles Primitives

Araks

Sweet Gia Boutique

Hyer Goods

Misa

Nili Lotan

Batsheva

See All 10

Solidly Satisfying

With elastic backs…

Crystal Rose Label

Castify

Tailored By Narine

Mini and Company

Los Angeles Apparel

Outdoor Voices

Lynet Designs

String King

J. Papa

LAMade

See All 10

With adjustable ties…

Reformation

Steele Canvas x Food52

Vida

RedStitchQuilts

Camp Collection

SuSuDesignStudio

LittleQTUTUS

See All 7

If you know of any other brands or designers who are rising to the occasion by making or donating masks to those in need, please feel free to shout them out in the comments—we’d love to hear about it.

Feature Photos via Collina Strada.

The post I Heard It on MR Thoughtline: “Where Can I Find a Cloth Mask With Flair? appeared first on Man Repeller.

I Heard It on MR Thoughtline: “Where Can I Find a Cloth Mask With Flair? published first on https://normaltimepiecesshop.tumblr.com/ I Heard It on MR Thoughtline: “Where Can I Find a Cloth Mask With Flair? published first on https://mariakistler.tumblr.com/

[dippedanddripped]

Why ‘Made in Italy’ has such appealBY AMANDA RUGGERIMade On Earth

The story of the world's trading networks told through eight everyday products.

The luxury handbag is a symbol of style and craft like no other.

As Italian artisans face competition from emerging markets, the traditional model of design has been thrown into flux.

Ever since humans have needed to cart around their belongings – particularly tools – they’ve carried bags. Prehistoric rock art in northern Australia, for example, shows a warrior-like figure with a satchel over his arm. The 5,300-year-old mummy of Otzi the Ice Man, carried a backpack – and wore a pouch attached to a leather belt – on his journey through what are now called the Tyrolean Alps. Ancient Roman soldiers carried satchels made from leather or goat’s hide that look almost exactly like the kind of messenger bag you might see in a shop today.

In some ways, these bags are a far cry from the expensive “it” bags you see being carried today. In other ways, they’re not so different at all – each of those early bags will have been skilfully crafted by hand, an approach that still underpins many modern luxury handbags.

One of the main threads that runs through the history of handbags – and persists even in today’s industrialised economy – is the power of craftsmanship. This belief in the value of a bag made by experts steeped in experience has held sway ever since handbags became more than a practical necessity. Today, the heart of this artisanal trade in handbags, as it has been for decades, is Italy.

Looking over the colourful harbour of Palermo, Sicily, Studio Sarta is one of some 4,500 leather businesses in the country. Established in 2017 by siblings Giorgia and Fabio Gaeta, it is also one of the country’s newer handbag companies. Much of the studio’s approach is modern, too. Studio Sarta’s handbags are chic and elegant, featuring clean lines and a contemporary aesthetic. Their business sense is equally up-to-date. Their Instagram account, which features striking shots of their products modelled against moody landscapes and industrial-chic interiors, is one main aspect of their marketing strategy.

But the foundation of that Sarta style is traditional Italian craftsmanship. Their creations use Vienna straw, a traditional material used in Sicilian bag-making, handwoven by local artisans in Palermo, as well as leather sourced from Tuscan tanneries.

“Studio Sarta was born from the idea of developing contemporary design objects both for the person and the house – not just bags – that use the know-how of our local artisans,” says Giorgia. “The Italian tradition of tailoring and craftsmanship is one of the fundamental elements.”

In fact, every step of the process – from design to prototype to production – is done by hand. At the Tuscan tannery, workers clean the raw hides, then tumble them in a giant tanning barrel with vegetable-based dyes – a process that can be as much as five times more time-consuming than industrial tanning, but which cuts out many chemicals and toxins.

“It is hand-dried and buffed entirely by hand to obtain the characteristic aged effect,” Giorgia says. “The ‘vegetable tanning’, which has origins in prehistory and in Tuscany is at its maximum splendour, is a traditional and widely recognised technique.”

When the leather arrives at Studio Sarta, it is cut and sewn together with Vienna straw, according to Giorgia’s designs.

This blend of craftsmanship and contemporary style has resonated with buyers. In the company’s first year, Studio Sarta sold 200 bags. Now, they sell 1,000 a year. Most of their clients are in Italy, France and the UK. In the next few years, they hope to expand to China.

Made In Italy

Across Italy, the tradition of leather-making has such deep roots that even many of the country’s major fashion houses got their start with leather, despite being known for a plethora of different products today.

Prada began as a leather goods store in Milan in 1913; Gucci, a leather goods store in Florence in 1921; Ferragamo, a leather shoe store in Florence in 1927; Bottega Veneta, a leather goods store in Vicenza in 1966. In the 1970s, even Roberto Cavalli, best known today for his sand-blasted jeans and vibrant, wild prints, first made a name for himself by inventing and patenting a procedure for printing on leather.

“You think about the story of the handbag, and you think about Gucci 100 years ago,” says Riccardo Braccialini, chief executive of the international bags and leather goods fair Mipel. “We have a tradition.”

“But,” he adds, “the real movement came after the Second World War.”

Before that, handbags were manufactured in several areas: around Frankfurt, Germany; Geneva, Switzerland; Paris, France; and parts of England. But after the war, as fashion became industrialised, there was a need to make products at scale. And to do that, it was best to have all of the necessary components – from fabric manufacturers to designers to distributors – in one place. Italy was that place.

By the 1960s, benefiting from their booming economy and from the fact that their goods were cheaper than those made in other parts of Europe, Italians had become “the most powerful force in the market”, says New York Times European style correspondent Elizabeth Paton.

That was boosted by the Italian tradition of artisanship – one that continues today.

“‘Made in Italy’ is one of the most powerful brand names in the world. It has a global cachet,” Paton says. “That reputation for high-quality craftsmanship and design has made Italy, until now, the beating heart of luxury manufacturing.”

But in today’s industrialised world, can that tradition continue?

Industrialisation

“It is certainly not easy, but we like to think that it is possible to make the artisan tradition coexist [with industrial manufacturing] in the global market,” says Giorgia of Studio Sarta. In fact, she notes, e-commerce and social networks mean it’s possible for artisans to sell straight to consumers, reducing the distribution and resale costs of traditional retail via high-street shops.

The internet also means a brand can communicate directly to its consumers – and in as little as a single Instagram post, can tell a story about “what only artisan products can offer: the humanity that there is behind the entire production chain, from the procurement of raw materials, to the realisation of the product”, says Giorgia.

On a larger scale, research collected for Assopellettieri, Italy’s national leather-goods association, paints a complex picture of the Italian industry. Italy is far and away the biggest exporter of leather goods in Europe, selling €6.8 billion (£6bn) of them in the first 10 months of 2018 alone. France, which exported €5.7bn (£5bn) of leather goods over the same period, is the only other EU country that comes close. Italy’s industry also is growing: from 2017 to 2018, Italy’s leather exports increased by 10.3%. And the majority are handbags, which make up more than 60% of Italy’s leather exports by value.

But that growth wasn’t evenly spread – while sales grew, the number of businesses fell. Italy saw 45 leather goods companies become inactive, a 1% drop in overall business numbers from the previous year. Meanwhile, the most growth has not been in traditional leather-made bags, but those made from alternative materials like plastic, cloth or straw. While leather handbag exports rose 6.2% in value compared with 2017, exports of bags made from substitute materials rose by 19.4%.

Italy’s workforce also is ageing. “The next generation in Italy are just not proving that interested in learning a lot of the craft of their parents and grandparents,” Paton says. “So, a big task for luxury brands and artisans is, how do we convince the youth that there’s something worthwhile about maintaining this reputation for the country and learning these skills, when so many want to move to cities and work on computers?”

Underlying all of these challenges, of course, is the economic reality of artisanship: making bags by hand is far more laborious and expensive than it would be in a factory.

Even Braccialini admits that some of these pressures are taking a toll.

“It’s becoming more industrialised and less artisanal,” Braccialini says of Italy’s handbag industry. “In one way, it’s what globalisation is: the smaller disappear and the bigger take over.”

But, he points out, “That is not an Italian story – that is a world story.”

Demand

Even so, artisanship isn’t likely to disappear from Italy’s handbag industry anytime soon.

Some of that is thanks to Italy’s big brands themselves, many of whom depend on handbags and accessories to keep their profit margins high: one report by Deloitte found that handbags and accessories were the fastest-growing part of the luxury market aside from perfumes and makeup. It’s no surprise that these same brands have popularised the concept of the “it” bag.

In the 1950s, major fashion houses like Chanel began to make what are now iconic bespoke handbags. It wasn’t until the 1980s and 1990s, though, that the trend exploded. In the 1980s, Hermès introduced the Birkin bag and Prada its nylon backpack; in the 1990s came the Fendi Baguette, Christian Dior’s Lady Dior, Balenciaga’s The City, and a relaunch of Gucci’s Jackie bag. And compared with other trends, the values of some of these “it” bags have endured: in 2017, an Hermès Birkin bag sold at auction for HKD2.9 million (£284,000).

But many labels recognise that it isn’t just the branding that is important to consumers, but the craftsmanship too. In fact, in some cases, people want something more than an “it” bag. “The truly wealthy, the real millionaires, they will not want to buy LV Louis Vuitton or Gucci because they are too commonplace,” Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group, told CNBC back in 2012. “Rich people are getting richer and they want exclusiveness and more self-indulgence.”

And few products are more exclusive, of course, than something hand-crafted or bespoke.

As a result, some major fashion houses are investing in manufacturing schools in Italy to help train new generations to craft bags by hand. This is also a necessity so that they can keep up with growing demand. By value, the biggest importers of Italian leather goods are Switzerland (an international hub that then ships many products out to other countries), France and the US – followed by Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.

China is ninth. But its demand for Italian leather goods is growing fastest of all. The country’s market for these products has increased in value by 21.3% and in quantity by 18.8% year-on-year. Already, the country is the world’s second-biggest market for luxury goods worldwide.

But there’s an irony at the centre of Asia’s demand: despite its appetite for Italian handbags, it produces an extraordinary number of its own. The difference? Asia’s tend to be mass-produced… and far more affordable.

In fact, there are so many Asian handbags, at such seductive prices, that even Italians buy them – lots of them. From January to October 2018, 123 million kg of leather goods entered Italy from abroad. Almost 60% were from China.

In terms of value, these goods paled in comparison to what Italy was sending out. The average price of the imports was €21.42 (£18.74) per kg; Italy’s outgoing goods cost €134.19 (£117.37) per kg. Still, the convenience and cost of these imports are yet another challenge for Italy’s handbag makers.

“Globalisation has really put pressure on the traditional Italian market, particularly that boom in cheap foreign labour from close by, like eastern Europe, to further afield – India, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam. That’s lured many companies, including luxury brands, into moving abroad,” Paton says. “Luxury is still a really big deal for Italy – it’s 5% of GDP and employs half a million people – but these changes have really put a lot of pressure on the country.”

Still, it seems unlikely that the power of the luxury handbag is going away anytime soon. Part of its pull is how it combines function with status. “Obviously, a handbag has a utility. It has a purpose. We all need to carry phones and wallets from A to B. But it’s also value for money,” Paton says. “A thousand pounds is a huge amount to spend on a bag. But if it goes with everything, and you wear it for the next 10 years – you feel like you own a piece of that heritage or brand or culture.”

Unlike some clothing patterns, a handbag is also something that can appeal to people of all shapes, sizes and ages. “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what size you are or what shape you are. Any woman can hold a handbag,” says Paton. “Much like jewellery, a luxury handbag for lots of people is associated with a moment in their lives – an anniversary, or a work cheque. That’s what makes it so powerful.”

Even as the price gap between hand-crafted bags and their mass-produced counterparts grows ever larger, people are increasingly seeing value in owning a unique product not quite like any other.

As long as we continue to see a handbag as an investment worth making – and while the most high-end brands, and customers, continue to see artisanship as the heart and soul of a luxury product – we will, much like our ancestors, be carrying our belongings in artisanal, hand-made bags for some time to come.

Image credits: Lion TV

Graphics sources: Assopellettieri, Observatory of Economic Complexity

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The world’s trading routes have been crafted over centuries and yet remain in a constant state of flux. Made on Earth looks at eight everyday products – from bicycles to whisky, spices to semiconductors – and explores the people, countries and intricate global networks that go into making and bringing these goods to market.