Snacky Boy 🍟

I usually let this topic pass without saying anything.. but here’s my long winded hot take. Less about keychains and more about product manufacturing as a whole. The base of the issue here to me has always been research. Inability or unwillingness to research and trial/error manufacturers. Maybe because I’m old but I was taught how to research in elementary school, I just have a diff perspective. Most artists use Alibaba. They have public reviews, ratings, you can see their factory certifications etc., Don’t know how to sign up? Google it. There’s YouTube videos for everything. How do you pick colors? Materials? Look it up. What is a technical flat? I have books that explain how to draw up design documents. Buy some or look online. How do I communicate my design efficiently? Look it up. Get a sample made. Yes, it costs money. But that’s how it works? I’ve spent thousands of dollars over time getting things sampled before going into production. EVEN from manufacturers recommended to me by friends. You could actually become a part of your art community.. I’m in countless art discords where people give reviews good/bad on manufacturers etc., if you haven’t made any connections or friends in your own community, I don’t think it’s up to strangers to make your business work for you. Part of running a business IS doing research. Just asking someone who has already done that imo seems like you aren’t willing to even invest the time to find out if you like working with that manufacturer or not. I’ve moved manufacturers over the years, I’ve gotten recommendations from FRIENDS, not just walked up to some random person and asked them where did they get their stuff made because I like quality. It’s just bizarre and entitled. I’ve had people ask me for my manufacturers and I told them I wasn’t comfortable sharing and they’ve threatened me and said they can just reverse engineer my products if they wanted. I’m like sure ? I’ve recommended manufacturers to people and they’ve had negative experiences with the same manufacturer I’ve had good experiences with. I’ve had manufacturers quality seriously decrease after they had an influx of people due to recommendations. To the point of my sales rep and even some of their staff leaving and going to another manufacturer. I have been scammed by manufacturers, and gotten thousands of dollars worth of merch that’s INCORRECT. From manufacturers that I previously recommended. It’s all a risk one way or the other. At the end of the day, only you are responsible for your production and promises you make to your customers. People don’t know how to research their own manufacturers and think if they get the same manufacturer they can produce things the same way. The reality is a lot of manufacturers have similar processes, if you take the time to make a sample you’d know how it’s going to come out before you spend money on production. You don’t know what peoples technical documents look like, how they give instructions to the manufacturer. How many samples they go through to get the final one.. are you just vibe coding your sample or are you actually looking at swatch fabrics, printing methods etc., I come from a professional merchandise background. Your documentation makes the biggest difference in your final product more than anything else. This has been a conversation in this community for a decade. It always frustrates me.. the answer is do research, build community around the things that are important to you. If that’s transparency then make friends with artists who value that and share amongst yourselves. Anyways, best of luck to all the creators out there.