Samples Before Bulk: A Guide for Cafes
One garment in your hand answers questions that no mockup can. Here is what a cafe should actually do with the sample once it arrives.
Branding Options for Cafes
Most branding on cafe kit is for the people wearing it. Here is which parts a customer sees and which parts are about running the place.
Picking a Clothing Supplier: Cafes
Two quotes for the same shirt can differ by a third and still be honest. The difference is usually in what each one leaves out.
What Societies Pay for Branded Clothing
A society budget is fixed and the membership is not. Here is how the per-piece price works and which garment gives a committee the most room.
Minimum Orders Explained for Societies
Fifty pieces per design is the number every society order has to clear. Here is how committees get there without carrying dead stock.
Lead Times Societies Should Plan For
Society orders miss their date on the committee side far more often than in production. Here is the calendar that prevents it.
Sizing a Clothing Order for Societies
Members pick their own size, which is both the easiest and the least reliable way to build a curve. Here is how committees make it work.
Restocking Branded Kit for Societies
Society kit dies at the handover, not in production. Here is what to write down so next year can reorder in an afternoon.
Samples Before Bulk: A Guide for Societies
A sample costs a committee £150 and usually pays for itself at the sign-up stall, where people buy what they can put their hands on.
Branding Options for Societies
A society crest can go on the chest, the back, the sleeve or the collar. Here is where each placement works and what it costs you in detail.
Picking a Clothing Supplier: Societies
Society kit is usually bought by people who will hand the job over in a year. Here is how to pick a supplier that survives the handover.
Societies: Freshers Order Deadlines
Freshers week does not move. Here is the count-back from the stall to the day the order has to be approved, with the artwork stage included.
Societies: Leavers Season Order Deadlines
Leavers kit has to land before the final term ends, and the term end does not move. Here is the spring order deadline, worked backwards.
What Retailers Pay for Branded Clothing
A shop needs a landed cost, not a from-price. Here are the per-piece figures, the quantity tiers, and the extras that sit between them.
Minimum Orders Explained for Retailers
Fifty pieces sounds small until you split it by colour and size. Here is what actually counts against the minimum, and what does not.
Lead Times Retailers Should Plan For
Shelf gaps are a scheduling problem, not a supplier problem. Here is the real timeline from order to stock, with the buyer-side stages included.
Sizing a Clothing Order for Retailers
The size split decides how much of a run actually sells. Here is how to weight a 50-piece order for a shop, and what the till data should tell you.
Restocking Branded Kit for Retailers
A design that sells needs restocking before the rail empties. Here is what changes between run one and run two, and what stays fixed.
Samples Before Bulk: A Guide for Retailers
A sample costs £150 and comes back off the bulk invoice. Here is the checklist a shop should run against it before approving a production run.
Branding Options for Retailers
Private label turns a blank into your product. Here is what can be branded beyond the print, and how it arrives ready for the shop floor.
Picking a Clothing Supplier: Retailers
Most supplier comparisons fall apart because the quotes are not built the same way. Here is how a shop should line them up.
Retailers: Christmas Order Deadlines
Christmas stock has to be on the shelf in late November, not late December. Here is the count-back that puts the order in October.
Retailers: Black Friday Order Deadlines
Black Friday is a fixed date with no second attempt. Here is when the order has to be placed and how deep the run should be.
What Agencies Pay for Branded Clothing
An agency estimate has to hold once the artwork lands. Here are the per-piece figures and the costs that usually get left off.
Minimum Orders Explained for Agencies
Campaign briefs rarely arrive in units of 50. Here is how the minimum works and how agencies structure a brief around it.
Lead Times Agencies Should Plan For
Campaign dates are fixed and client approvals are not. Here is the production timeline and where the slack has to sit.
Sizing a Clothing Order for Agencies
Campaign kit often gets ordered before anyone knows who receives it. Here is how to split the sizes without creating a cupboard of smalls.
Restocking Branded Kit for Agencies
A campaign that runs twice should not be briefed twice. Here is what carries forward between production runs and what needs checking.
Samples Before Bulk: A Guide for Agencies
A render cannot tell you how a logo reads on a garment. Here is what the sample stage gives an agency before a client signs off bulk.
Branding Options for Agencies
The print is only part of the branding. Here is what else can carry a client mark, and how campaign pieces should arrive.
Picking a Clothing Supplier: Agencies
An agency is judged on the box that lands at the client, not the factory behind it. Here is what to ask a clothing supplier before you commit a campaign to one.
Agencies: Trade Show Season Order Deadlines
A trade show date does not move, so the order deadline is arithmetic rather than judgement. Here is how to count back from the day the stand goes up.
Wholesale Polythene Bags: cost
Polythene bag pricing is quoted per job because size and print change the cost more than the bag itself does. Here is what actually moves the number.
Wholesale Polythene Bags: minimum order
Fifty pieces per design is the minimum on polythene bags, and the word design is doing most of the work in that sentence.
Wholesale Polythene Bags: lead time
Bags run on the same 10 to 15 working day window as everything else, measured from artwork approval rather than from the purchase order.
Wholesale Polythene Bags: artwork setup
Bag artwork is simpler than garment artwork but less forgiving, because a flat film shows every soft edge. Here is what to send.
Wholesale Polythene Bags: samples
A packaging sample answers questions a screen cannot: whether the bag fits your product folded the way you fold it, and whether the print survives handling.
Wholesale Polythene Bags: choosing a supplier
Most bag quotes look identical until you ask what is in them. Here are the questions that separate two suppliers before you commit a run.
Wholesale Bottles: cost
Branded bottles are quoted per job because the bottle itself varies so much. Here is what actually determines the number you get back.
Wholesale Bottles: minimum order
Fifty bottles per design is the floor. What counts as a design is the part worth understanding before you plan a colour range.
Wholesale Bottles: lead time
Bottles run to the same 10 to 15 working day production window as the rest of the range, measured from the day artwork is approved.
Wholesale Bottles: artwork setup
A bottle is a curved surface with a small usable area, which changes what artwork works. Here is what to send and what to expect back.
Wholesale Bottles: samples
Weight, closure and how the branding sits on a curve are things only a physical bottle can answer. That is what the £150 sample buys.
Wholesale Bottles: choosing a supplier
Drinkware quotes hide more than garment quotes do, because the bottle itself is the variable. Here is how to make two of them comparable.
Wholesale Keychains: cost
Keychains are quoted per job because material and finish swing the cost so widely. Here is what decides the number you get back.
Wholesale Keychains: minimum order
Fifty per design is the floor on keychains. The reason it sits on the design rather than the invoice is worth understanding before you plan a range.
Wholesale Keychains: lead time
Small items do not run faster. Keychains take the same 10 to 15 working days from approval as everything else in the range.
Wholesale Keychains: artwork setup
A keychain is the smallest surface we brand, and small surfaces are unforgiving. Here is what artwork to send and what to cut.