I'll add one word of caution, I've looked into getting a product made that had a textile component and a separate product that had a leather component.
Precision, automated stitching is either totally absent or completely unaffordable in the US. There are great shops India and China that can do laser cutting and CNC stitching super cheaply and if you want to make an inexpensive product to tight tolerances this is exactly what you want.
Unfortunately much of the consumer level textile industry has completely left the US. Same with leather. You can find boutique manufacturers, luxury manufacturers, and aerospace type companies, but the sweet spot of high quality and a good price just doesn't exist here. (I actually hope I'm wrong about that but I did a lot of searching before abandoning a couple projects.)
You're basically saying that laser cutting and CNC stitching - operations performed by robots based on files uploaded by computers - are done better in China than here.
That's like someone in China saying that we are better at standing. People on both sides of the ocean probably do just fine at both. ;)
> You're basically saying that laser cutting and CNC stitching - operations performed by robots based on files uploaded by computers - are done better in China than here.
There are boutiques that cater to the very high-end crowd, but they're few and far between.
If you want units of 100's, that just isn't going to happen. It's simple economics--if you want 100K units, you have more than enough incentive to go to China. If you want 100's of units, you're either too small and will go bankrupt or you will change over to China next round because you have the volume. So, you don't get future work, and you tie up one of my machines.
It's very hard to explain to people that the economics of automation dictate that a machine should either be operated nearly 100% or 0%. 100% is the obvious production mode. 0% is the non-obvious one. You want 0% because you need to be ready for when you get the 100% order. The opportunity cost of not getting the 100% order due to lack of capacity, machine needing maintenance, etc. far exceeds the profit you would make on that order for 100 units.
Precision, automated stitching is either totally absent or completely unaffordable in the US. There are great shops India and China that can do laser cutting and CNC stitching super cheaply and if you want to make an inexpensive product to tight tolerances this is exactly what you want.
Unfortunately much of the consumer level textile industry has completely left the US. Same with leather. You can find boutique manufacturers, luxury manufacturers, and aerospace type companies, but the sweet spot of high quality and a good price just doesn't exist here. (I actually hope I'm wrong about that but I did a lot of searching before abandoning a couple projects.)