Find A Maker

02/10/2016

Offer sample: This is the sample offered by the exporter to the buyer to get orders which may be newly developed styles or designs or samples from already sent orders.

Final Sample: You should always keep a final approved sample in house as a means to verify production results. It shouldn’t be loaned to anyone. In effect, your production counter sample should be the final sample but your contractor may use it in production as a sew by so you will need two.

Counter Sample: In the broadest sense, a counter sample is akin to a counter offer and is produced by a full package service or sewing contractor. The counter sample reflects the contractor’s ex*****on of what they perceive your expectations to be for whatever kind of sampling you’re doing at the time. As a practical matter, it is most often a pre-production or production sample used for costing. Ideally, it should be the final version.

01/10/2016

| The different kinds of sample you need to know |

12 # Ship sample (shipment sample, fulfillment sample)

A sample that reflects what buyers will receive down to QC, folding, tagging, bagging, pre-packs, labeling and final packaging included.
And even if the manufacturer get some comments from buyers like changes in price tag or changes in the assortments, the manufacture will adopt the changes in the process.

30/09/2016

| The different kinds of sample you need to know |

11 # Production sample (counter sample, spec sample)

This set of samples is taken off the line during your first production order. The number of samples you receive is typically a percentage of the full production order in each variation, but this can get expensive. One way to save costs would be to keep your percentage very low. For small batch orders, one or two garments per variation should suffice.

30/09/2016

| The different kinds of sample you need to know |

10 # Sizing samples (size run, size set)

Once the proto sample is approved, based on the pattern of the approved sample the grading for the other sizes are done and then patterns for other sizes will be made. Then the samples for all the other sizes are made to check the fit and workmanship.

To put it in a nutshell, it is the sample lot production of a style in all the intended sizes. Ideally you design sizes to target your customer profile early on in product development.

29/09/2016

| Tool of the week |

TokyWoky is a revolution to keep your customers community alive!

1.Though a chat open to anybody, TokyWoky enables your visitors to help each others in real-time.
2. Your best visitors become your ambassadors.
3. TokyWoky provides your visitors with the information they need, when and where they need it.
4. You know in real time what are the top concerns of your visitors.

28/09/2016

| The different kinds of sample you need to know |

7 # Salesman’s samples (duplicates, sales samples, selling samples)

Ideally the pre-production sample above can be used for sales and marketing.

This sample is required by the buyers who are selling the goods to the other retail stores throughout the country. These buyers are normally termed as ‘wholesale buyers’ because they import the goods and sell it to the order retail stores through their salesmen. So these buyers require salesman samples from their salesman to carry and sell the goods to the local retailers.

Salesman samples are also made to put on display in the retail showroom. Salesman sample (SMS) are displayed for assessing customer's feedback and according to customers response buyers forecast demand of an particular style.

Sales samples are made with actual fabric and trims and accessories.

27/09/2016

| Article of the week |

You will get familiar with an apparel prototype! You must have a look at this article!

“Samples are the heart of apparel production. They make up the collection, lead to the perfect fit, instruct production, and act as the showpieces that bring in business. Arguably, they are the most essential part of apparel production. But how do you go about making one, what are the types of samples, and how exactly are they utilized?”

Samples are the heart of apparel production. They make up the collection, lead to the perfect fit, instruct production, and act as the showpieces that bring in business. Arguably, they are the most…

26/09/2016

| The different kinds of sample you need to know |

6 # Photo sample (model sizes, flat samples, editorial samples)

This sample is required by the buyers who are having own retail chain stores throughout the country. These buyers do buy for their own stores and they regularly make catalogue of the products what they sell.

These samples are made in smaller sizes for photo shoots intended for editorial and marketing, previously a size 4 but these days maybe a size 0.

Some people know they will need smaller sizes for photography so they use this as their base size. Please don’t do that.

Of course, size 0 has raised fierce criticism. If you have time, read this article and make your own opinion about it:

The fashion industry is not a pretty business. Here, one of its own, the former editor of Australian Vogue Kirstie Clements describes a thin-obsessed culture in which starving models eat tissues and…

25/09/2016

| What can Find A Maker bring to you? |

Find A Maker will allow you to meet the ideal manufacturer easily. You will take advantage of our platform because you will:
-SAVE TIME: Projects connect you with manufacturers instantly. They also allow you to easily keep your network of factories informed and updated.
-BETTER COMMUNICATE: A simple and efficient way to tell factories exactly what you need. Projects will deliver all the information needed for manufacturers to know if they are interested in you
-FREE TO USE: Just log in and start working on a project to find the manufacturers you need.

Find A Maker vous aide à trouver le bon fabricant facilement. Dites-nous ce dont vous avez besoin, et laissez les fabricants venir directement à vous. Nous permettons aux marques de mode et aux…

24/09/2016

| The different kinds of sample you need to know |

5 # Pre-production (costing sample, sales sample)
[part 2]

Always ask for perfect pre-production samples.

It is very common for factories to make a really nice sample that they can’t duplicate reliably in industrial quantities. Then they say “of course, this is bulk production, so it is not as nice as the P-P sample”.

It seems like an obvious principle, but many do not follow it.
You are in a hurry, it seems like the factory is just one step away from getting there (and promises that “it will be fine in production”)… And you surrender.
The problem is, by doing so you are not setting a clear standard. If it’s actually not feasible technically, the factory will never admit their responsibility. And potential issues that would be uncovered on a fully functioning sample are left aside, for a later stage… When it costs much more to solve problems.

23/09/2016

| The different kinds of sample you need to know |

5 # Pre-production (costing sample, sales sample)
[part 1]

The pre-production sample should be conducted before starting the bulk sewing. It is done to check the feasibility of the sewing operation during the bulk operation because so far the samples are made in the sampling section, sewn slowly taking enough time by the sampling men. But the production should be done at rapid speed to meet the targets. The sample is conducted to check the workmanship or any other quality parameters like puckering etc. at high speed operation.

This sampling stage is to prove the pattern, test cost effectiveness and consistency in production whether it is done in house or outsourced to a contractor. If the sample is approved, it would become the production sew by. Ideally, pre-production samples are used to pre-sell the product.

23/09/2016

| The different kinds of sample you need to know |

4 # Prototype

After the fit sample is approved, then proto sample is made with the actual fabric of the particular order in any color.
Contractors use this sample to create a costing or pre-production sample. The quote will be built on this.

Among other things, a prototype is a proof of:
-the final design details and ex*****on,
-the proof of fabric and hardware allocation (yield or utilization),
-and perhaps most importantly of all - costing.