How do you find a manufacturer for your own collection?

You have a product in mind. A cushion, a throw, a bed for dogs. You want it made under your own brand and you are looking for a manufacturer. And then it starts: you do not know where to begin, you do not know the rules around importing, you cannot fly to India to take a look, and you have no idea whether the factory you found online can be trusted.

That makes sense: this is a trade.

Where do you start if you have never had anything made?

Not with the factory. With the product. A manufacturer can only speak about price and feasibility once he knows what he is making: what size, what fabric, what filling, what finish. A sketch, a photo or an existing product that comes close is enough to start. The more concrete it is, the sooner you hear a real price instead of an estimate.

How do you know which region suits your product?

Every production country is good at something and weaker at something else. That difference often matters more than the price per unit.

India — woven work and craft finishing, and scalable textile production.

Pakistan — bed and bath textiles: towels, terry and bed linen.

China — volume, large runs and sharp prices.

Europe — short lead times, premium finishing, certification and sustainability.

So there is no single supplier for everything. Anyone building a collection across product groups usually ends up with several partners.

How do you know whether a factory is reliable?

From behind a laptop you cannot tell. A website, a listing on a trading platform and a quick reply say nothing about what comes off the machine, or about what happens when an order runs into trouble. Reliability shows in the second and third order.

That is why Orange King works with a fixed circle of partners in India, Pakistan, China and Europe. That circle was built over decades and selected on quality and delivery reliability.

Do you have to go there yourself?

No. Samples are shipped to you, so you assess them at home or at your desk before anything goes into production. Checks at the factory run through Ed's own network, which is exactly why you do not have to go there yourself.

What is involved in importing?

More than ordering and waiting. Someone has to stay on top of production, approve samples and step in when quality drifts, arrange shipping and make sure the goods arrive complete. For the European market, certification comes on top. Those are all the moments where things go wrong if nobody is watching.

How long does it take from first question to delivery?

For India, Pakistan or China, count on roughly three months of production plus a month at sea. With a European manufacturer it is four to six weeks after the sample is approved.

That period only starts after approval. Before it come working out your idea, finding the factory that can make it, and producing and reviewing samples. How long that takes depends on how sharp your brief is and how many rounds a sample needs. There is no fixed number for it.

Can you start small?

Often you can, though there is no fixed number. The minimum order differs per manufacturer, per product and per region: for one product you can begin with a small run, for another the floor sits higher. You only know for certain once it is clear what you want made and which factory makes it.

So small quantities are usually possible, but they raise the cost per piece. What a sample costs is quoted up front, so you know the amount before it is made. It usually comes off your first order.

What can you hand over?

In practice the whole route: the conversation about what you want and whether it is feasible, developing the product and finding the partner that fits it, approving the samples, and production and shipping. One point of contact instead of steering every link yourself.

Not sure yet what you are looking for? That is usually the best moment to call. Ed thinks along from the idea.