Anyway I dont want to turn this into a political conversation…Maybe someday I will have stuff made in the US.
Lmo isn’t being political. He is being objective, realistic, clear as water, and giving you another option that, I frankly think you should be very serious about exploring.
Theres no red white and blue here. Just greenbacks, furniture, and location.
And he’s right, furniture is huge right in your area. You’re arguing fact.
Wow, some good information going on in this thread, thanks Scott and others for sharing.
@Gnanda, I agree with Taylor, I really didn’t read LMO’s statement as one of “American or nothing” or even slightly political, bust just one of considering resources that may involve a more clear cut solution (less shipping, closer to production, +communication, +IP, etc) that in the light of the current economic times may be more flexible on pricing than in the past. Just an option to consider. Thanks for sharing on here and keep us posted.
The important thing to keep in mind if you’re designing something for manufacture in the US is to use processes where we can be competitive. CNC machining, casting, anything that doesn’t require somebody to put their hands on it at every step. Labor here just can’t compete with $1/hour. If you’ve got your heart set on making rattan chairs, it doesn’t make much sense to try to do it here.
In addition to the bread and butter Asian stuff, I’ve got a small business doing “cool” furniture that’s made here. It’s about as close to zero labor as you can get. It’s also a lot less hassle than anything we do in Asia, and a lot more fun. But it’s never going to be on the shelves at Target. It all depends on what you want to do.
But it’s never going to be on the shelves at Target.
Ya’s gets whats ya’s pays for.
Just got back from NECOCON and picked up a pamphlet from the Tekion booth. Thought it inspirational so posted for you guys.
Perhaps it’s time to consider what recession has to teach us about
optimism. What do General Electric and Disney have in common?
Caterpillar, HP and Microsoft? All of these successful, Fortune 100
companies, started up during periods of steep economic decline. GE and
HP- along with Motorola, Converse and Fortune Magazine- were founded
during the Great Depression that began with the stock market crash of
Black Tuesday, October 19, 1929. Still, these companies weathered the
deepest slide of the 20th century and are doing business successfully
today. How did they do it?
For some, the solution was to branch out and diversify; others created
demand with aggressive advertising and promotional campaigns. But
perhaps most successful were those who found new ways to satisfy
needs; those who had original ideas and could think outside whatever
boy they were in. Good ideas always have room to succeed. Charles
Schwab introduced discount brokering in 1974 when the economy was
reeling from the oil crisis of 1973-1974- a controversial new concept
that eventually became part of the financial mainstream. A year later,
with inflation still spiraling out of control, Bill Gates launched a
startup. Bold creative thinking- and a degree of optimism- played a
fundamental role in its success.
The global recession asks us to look beyond the current moment to
think about what business might look like on the other side.
Certainly, it will take some radical re-thinking- and all the human
inventiveness we can muster- if we are to clear a path for sustainable
growth. But untapped opportunities are there to be uncovered. And we
can pool the talents of people at every level to identify, design and
implement real solutions. In the end, it all comes down to people-
that’s where new ideas come from. So, it makes sense to design an
engaging, inspiring and healthy human-centered work environment that
creates a context for creativity, teamwork and innovation. And it
helps to remember that everything is temporary. Downturns become
upturns, and it’s smart to be ready when the upswing comes.
The sky is not falling.
hi
i just wanted to give you a quick updated if anyone was interested…
i went to china for about week and half.
met with about 10 different factories.
some were professional.
some were not.
before i went i was having a sample made from a factory which i paid for.
he took me around his factory. showed me the sample he created.
it needed lots of work…then…after i told him we need to discuss options to fix it… he stop returning my calls.
i found another manufacture which i feel more comfortable with (maybe…jury is still out). he is working on a sample (which i have also paid for).
sample still not correct yet. it is not strong enough…so it will require more design changes to get it correct. ( i have not told him about the changes yet)
maybe it is me or maybe it is the china culture…but I want instant feedback.
i get nervous and stressed when i don’t hear something from them in a few days.
i think…“maybe they just gave up on the sample”…
well…i guess it is constant pursuit
It sounds like you should seriously consider manufacturing in the US. 300 pieces is a pretty small order. You will struggle mightily to get what you want from half a world away. I deal with it every day and we have our own China factory! I can’t even picture trying to do it on my own dime with no solid connections.
Can you change the designs to better fit the circumstances? Competition in the low end spectrum is pretty fierce. If you want to sell to big box chain stores they will squeeze you for every red cent they can. There are furniture stores out there that sell the good stuff, where people expect to pay top dollar. You could maybe upgrade the materials and make it more expensive. Good design, quality and craftsmanship is worth money. Especially if we slide out of the “throw away” consumer mentality. (hopefully)
You’ll also save a ton on time, airfare to China, the cost of a shipping container, the cost of rail or trucking just to get it to you…and you already live in a part of the country famous for furniture and manufacturing correct? Its worth checking out.
Considering the economic situation in the United States, and your low production volume, why aren’t you considering US shops? I imagine many would go to extremes right now to keep their doors open. > Consider: shipping, import regulations, communications (time and clarity of translation), legal, etc.)
Have you told them what your expected volume is? Or have you made it clear that you’re not shopping for the lowest price? The average factory over there is cutting their throat to save pennies, because buyers are demanding the lowest possible price on everything (especially now). The margins are so low, as soon as you start making changes and showing them that you are going to require more than their bare minimum effort, they will bail unless you’re buying multiple containers a month, because they know they can’t make any money on your little project. You may be running into some of that. Subtlety doesn’t work over there, you need to be very clear about what you’re looking for and what you’re willing to pay.
The other thing you’re probably finding is that most factories just aren’t very good. If you don’t have any real first hand recommendations and you’ve just been finding places online, it’s going to take forever to find a good one. I agree with cdaisy, on the face of it this doesn’t sound like a good candidate for Asian manufacturing, but I would think any kind of woven rattan stuff is going to be very hard to source in the US unfortunately. It’s just not something we do a lot of.
Is it just me, or does there seem to be an echo in here. … . ?
wow. i can’t believe i missed this discussion.
300pcs?! that’s barely a pilot run in china.
have you considered eastern europe?
for a run like that, domestic is probably the way to go, but now i sound like an echo.
to deal with china, you have to be aggressive. i mean REALLY aggressive, especially in furniture. you also have to realize that despite their crappy economy, too, the factories that DID survive aren’t going to give a damn about you unles you can push out about 5+ containers/mo. 300 is probably one container. no one wants to setup a factory to do a run like that, let alone someone without the capitol to back it up with more orders.
i admire your fortitude. good luck!
Just a little update. I have been sending out emails to find a manufacture in the USA. Nothing has worked out so far.
Once company told me:
A similar chair without the assembly could run between $150.00 and $750.00 the higher number being a small run.
$15,000.00 to $25,000.00 in tooling.
This is way too expensive. So I am still working with suppliers in China. Hopefully things will work out.
Lately I have been wondering why there are so few good furniture design companies in the US. I don’t know many.
If you know any, please share. Thanks.
Check out this article…
Have you considered Mexico? I’m not sure if they do rattan but manufacturing in Mexico is easier than China for smaller runs.
Have you try Indonesia? Especially a city named Jepara. They are really good at any kind of furniture and they are also well-known for rattan products. I take some of my stuff there and the good thing is they don’t sell it too expensive. If you want to know more, I think you can google it. You will find a lot of manufacturer there.
Right now, I’m trying to outsource some groups of manufacturer, I hope everything is ok. I’ll update you later 
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Any update gnanda? Would like to hear how the search is going.