A friend of a friend introduced us to a manufacturer, and suddenly we were pretending to be great friends with “Michelle.” Dropping her name got us in the door. When they asked, “So how do you know Michelle?” we did not know what to say, so we just laughed.
In this new world we were jumping headfirst into, we only knew how to say “soft.” The manufacturers spoke a different language.
What type of terry cloth?
What GSM do you want?
What kind of collar? Kimono, shawl, hooded?
What about the tie, the pockets, the shoulders? Do you want those dropped?
Needless to say, we had a lot to learn. Beyond “soft,” we learned about lead times, MOQs, Pantone colors, and dye lots. The vocab list kept growing. We love our manufacturers. They have been amazing to work with and patient through every change we had to make because we just did not know how things worked.
We are not fluent in fashion yet, but we have learned how to say thank you.
Thank you to the people who dye, who cut, and who sew our robes. We may never meet you, but we know you are working hard for your families too.
And thank you to Michelle for getting us in the door.
