I work at a large toy company. Great video. The design document is called a design spec in the industry. Your comments back to the factory are called redlines/bluelines. Thanks for putting helpful knowledge into the webiverse!
Omg thank you so so much for commenting!! I worked at a toy company previously but have been doing this myself for years so I am always insecure that idk what I’m telling people lmao. I have always called them blue lines based on previous jobs but I decided to limit the new terminology in this video (i lowkey regret but i though it might be easier to consume this way haha) also I’ve noticed some of my manufacturers don’t know what I mean when I say blue lines?? Idk if you’ve experienced that haha. But yeah thank you!!!! I wanted to be a small part of demystifying the topic and empowering artists 🫣🫣🫣💕
@@stasiaholl I bet if you’re using either smaller manufacturers or making things like bags/pins that they probably don’t call them redlines/bluelines. That might be a toy industry thing (which is the only one I’ve worked in). You perfectly outlined the process without it being too overwhelming for someone coming to it first time. Thank you for making this video!
I also work at a toy company and design plush every day. However, I want to start making my own niche plush. Would it be weird to ask my boss if I could use our manufacturer? I am not sure if it's improper.
@@sylvia9290 Depends on the company. The place I work uses big manufacturers that have huge MOQ requirements. If you feel comfortable and are allowed to make and sell your own plush, you can ask. But if you’re nervous, the tips in this video for finding a company should be helpful.
"Always remember their English is probably better than your Chinese!" Love that!! We as Americans have an "English" bias naturally. Also GREAT tips, this was very helpful, thank you!!
I was raised by an immigrant and English is NOT my first language so I love to remind people of their English biases!!!!! I'm so glad it was helpful!!!
I remember people on tiktok accusing a woman of gatekeeping her manu costs because they were curious how to start manufacturing, so when I told them to expect to spend around at least 8 grand for 500 plushies they were like.....SO shocked LMAO one commented like "....USD? " This was a great video! Im familiar with the process but you had tips i've never considered before and will absolutely be using in the future :D
That price seems reasonable! $16 each. It sounds like a lot up front but that's why many people do Kickstarter or pre-orders. That's my plan... It's my dream to sell plushies and apparel some day ❤️
omg YEAH people really throw that word around on tiktok way too easily and then! get mad!!!! at the answer!!!! hahaha like yes that's....just what this costs! Don't say I didn't warn you!!! hehehe I'm glad you found this helpful! :DDD
@@stasiaholl if you did a video on doing a Kickstarter for plush I would be soooo appreciative ❤️, it's scary to navigate all of this for the first time 😅 this video helped me feel like I'm capable of creating a plushie one day though, so thank you!! 🙏
Yay!! This is such a well done video about everything! I’ve not dipped into the plushie manufacturing but if I did I’d definitely be coming back again to watch because you were so detailed and I think it’s gonna help a lot of people! - also I love the color grading and edits you did! 💖💖💖
omg thank you!!!! i decided to have fun with the technical aspects of this one hehe I'm so glad to hear that tho, I really wanted it to be something useful to anyone that wanted to try while not being overwhelming with too much info coz.....i can ramble sometimes heeeee
This tutorial was super helpful (even though I have no interest in making plushies or merch it’s very informative!) however something that never sits right with me is how certain artists will say “I don’t want to tell you who my vendors are because I worked so hard to find them” gives me a gross feeling like I understand you don’t want to just give people the “correct answer” as they should absolutely be looking this up and researching options themselves However the gross part comes where artists are preventing other businesses (manufacturers, printers ect.) from getting business because they feel their time was way more valuable than the business they work with getting more business Like if you sold one of your plushies and a friend asks the buyer where they got it and they said “oh no I did the research YOU have to find this on your own” with that logic now you’ve been denied a potential sale Frankly this ideology is selfish and immature mainly because other creative business like printmakers and photographers actively share their vendors in their community because what sells is the quality of their artistry All in all this sort of behavior is very gatekeeper like and comes off like you have no confidence in your own merch
Thanks for your comment! I'm happy to elaborate a bit- I cut a lot of this convo out of the video because it's sort of a separate issue from the main goal of the video which is more of a tutorial. Several points here- first of all, it's not really any comparison. Since you have never manufactured you may not realize that it’s a completely different business model to that of an independent artist. Factories are large (or even huge) operations, and as such they EITHER have their own team just to find clients and make sales (the reps), OR they are using middle men as their representatives. Most of the reps you talk to are just sales coordinators of a sort. I have never really had a manufacturer ask me if I know of any other potential clients, as you might expect them to do in a typical sales environment. Taking business away from small shops IS problematic, but in this case it's typically multimillion dollar companies that I've spent years stewarding. I actually do love referring friends to my manufacturers! But not strangers- I don’t know if you're going to be unreasonable or demanding or misinformed or frankly! sinophobic, etc etc etc. so I would only ever refer new partners to them that I've personally vetted. I’m not going to potentially damage my own long standing relationship with a factory- something I value in and of itself. And on that note, personally I find this to be a misuse of gate keeping- this video is the gate! Walk on through! I know the term has changed some in modern usage, but this is how it was initially coined. It seems that you got angrier as your comment was written so I'm so so SO sorry you were grossed out by my content! and as to your final note about not having confidence in one's own merch I'll just say: lol. This process (and running an art business of any kind) requires a lot of confidence, and all the artists I know that go through it are incredibly talented and confident. There's no need to project! Hope this is helpful!
@@stasiaholl in your video you very clearly stated that you “worked hard to find these vendors” even stating that we the viewers will need to find our own if we want to go down this path which is completely understandable except it implies your time is more valuable than the financial success of your business partners which is the issue I have with this point. What you’re saying now simply is not what you stated in your video, as it was all about your time being the most valuable component instead of helping a business you partner with. If your main intention was to “protect” your manufacturers from strangers on the internet then why not just say that? Or better yet don’t event mention it at all? Also a business is a business, believing they are different because of the scale of their work or even the industry in and of itself (which is a strange argument to make to begin with?) doesn’t stop them from always needed business to grow and thrive and as a small business owner you should very clearly know that Anyway best wishes I hope you “project” positive vibes to your manufactures as clearly that’s more important to you
ahhhh for the most part I only ever really design hang tags and butt tags, the occasional pin backing card so I'm probably not the best to talk about packaging!!!
This was a super useful guide!! I saw you mention safety testing briefly and do overseas manufacturers manage all necessary safety testing for US selling standards? I know that places can get strict about selling things that could be perceived as toys used by children, and it would be super useful it was things that manufacturers could handle. Thank you! ❤️
Hey there! In my experience with my small scale plush, my manufacturers have handled this aspect and they provide the relevant tags as well! Therefore, I think if you were to make something you wanted to be safe for specific ages (like, infant) you may have to find a specialized manu or at least pay extra for them to coordinate the required testing. But for example, my Chef Bear plush had magnets in the hands and the tags all outlined specifically that they were NOT suitable for ages under three etc because of small parts, and my manu handled all that :) And as a side note, I think you sort of hit the mark when you say "perceived as toys" too, because for example for my purses all LOOK like plush but they are imported as bags, which has different standards for import (mostly taxes lol)
Thanks so much for posting this video and sharing all your knowledge, it’s so helpful! I’m in this process now and glad to have learned some tips! And your plushies are so adorable! ❤
Thank you for sharing all of this! I’ve been a fan of your work for many years and it’s so cool to hear more of the behind the scenes! One question - with the manufacturers you work with, is there a way to make sure that they are companies you ethically want to work with? I know “ethically” can mean different things but for example, paying their workers fairly or trying to be more sustainable. Is that info that little peeps like us can find out?
Hey! Long answer incoming! That is a common question and to really get to the heart of the issue would require like, a dissertation. “Ethical” is extremely broad in terms of what people mean in regards to goods and manufacturing, so artists need to establish their own sets of questions to ask manufacturers in that research stage, and to a certain extent it's impossible to know every detail of every step of the way- this would even be true if you're sewing at home buying fabric from Joann. For me, and super basically put: I work with factories that are very transparent about their facilities and staff (photos, answering questions about workload and production lines, for example). I had plans pre-pandemic (rip) to visit my factories and hope to do so in 2023 and 2024. I make sure my factories don’t outsource work to other factories and that they are open to visitation from their clients. I'll also say: this question should be posed to anyone manufacturing anywhere, INCLUDING within the United States. I should also note there are NO large-scale plush manufacturers located in the US at the time of writing this, so to produce plush that aren't artisan-grade, you pretty much have to outsource. Hope that helps a bit!
@@stasiaholl thank you so much for replying! This helps a lot. And definitely, this is true for any manu in any country, I just wasn’t sure how to approach it and your answer really really helped so thank you!
It really depends! I reached out to an old manu recently to see if they could still produce a plush design from 3 years ago and they said sure! With a pin manu or something that requires a mold they may get rid of it, but in my experience they'll often re-create it for free if that's the case (since you paid for it you technically own it hehe)
I was wondering if you know if companies will allow for you to order custom clothes, jewelry, and shoes along with the plushies; like ones you can take on and off?
sorry this is so slow, but whatever company is making your plush should be able to make these also! just a matter of asking them to make it removeable! That's what I did with chef bear's apron
My most egregious issues with copyright have been on items i handmade- it's never been from my own manufacturers, often western companies finding my items on pinterest tbh :') it's the same gamble as posting anything to the internet in the first place- it can and will happen to all of us at some point, so I just dont let it hold me back!
tbh I think a lot of the skills I've learned doing this over the years have helped me in other areas too!!! you never know! it's also not all limited to art-related manufacturing :D
I work at a large toy company. Great video. The design document is called a design spec in the industry. Your comments back to the factory are called redlines/bluelines. Thanks for putting helpful knowledge into the webiverse!
Omg thank you so so much for commenting!! I worked at a toy company previously but have been doing this myself for years so I am always insecure that idk what I’m telling people lmao. I have always called them blue lines based on previous jobs but I decided to limit the new terminology in this video (i lowkey regret but i though it might be easier to consume this way haha) also I’ve noticed some of my manufacturers don’t know what I mean when I say blue lines?? Idk if you’ve experienced that haha. But yeah thank you!!!! I wanted to be a small part of demystifying the topic and empowering artists 🫣🫣🫣💕
@@stasiaholl I bet if you’re using either smaller manufacturers or making things like bags/pins that they probably don’t call them redlines/bluelines. That might be a toy industry thing (which is the only one I’ve worked in). You perfectly outlined the process without it being too overwhelming for someone coming to it first time. Thank you for making this video!
I also work at a toy company and design plush every day. However, I want to start making my own niche plush. Would it be weird to ask my boss if I could use our manufacturer? I am not sure if it's improper.
@@sylvia9290 Depends on the company. The place I work uses big manufacturers that have huge MOQ requirements. If you feel comfortable and are allowed to make and sell your own plush, you can ask. But if you’re nervous, the tips in this video for finding a company should be helpful.
"Always remember their English is probably better than your Chinese!" Love that!! We as Americans have an "English" bias naturally. Also GREAT tips, this was very helpful, thank you!!
I was raised by an immigrant and English is NOT my first language so I love to remind people of their English biases!!!!! I'm so glad it was helpful!!!
I remember people on tiktok accusing a woman of gatekeeping her manu costs because they were curious how to start manufacturing, so when I told them to expect to spend around at least 8 grand for 500 plushies they were like.....SO shocked LMAO one commented like "....USD? "
This was a great video! Im familiar with the process but you had tips i've never considered before and will absolutely be using in the future :D
That price seems reasonable! $16 each. It sounds like a lot up front but that's why many people do Kickstarter or pre-orders. That's my plan... It's my dream to sell plushies and apparel some day ❤️
omg YEAH people really throw that word around on tiktok way too easily and then! get mad!!!! at the answer!!!! hahaha like yes that's....just what this costs! Don't say I didn't warn you!!! hehehe
I'm glad you found this helpful! :DDD
I hiiiiighly recommend Kickstarter! Then the up front cost is completely balanced out hehe I want to do another video about Kickstarter for plush too!
@@stasiaholl if you did a video on doing a Kickstarter for plush I would be soooo appreciative ❤️, it's scary to navigate all of this for the first time 😅 this video helped me feel like I'm capable of creating a plushie one day though, so thank you!! 🙏
I make my own plushies at home, so thinking of doing this and just sending my handmade pattern templates
For sure!! that's basically what I did wit my bat bag, and I have a close friend who literally did this with all her plushies. Its so doable!
Yay!! This is such a well done video about everything! I’ve not dipped into the plushie manufacturing but if I did I’d definitely be coming back again to watch because you were so detailed and I think it’s gonna help a lot of people! - also I love the color grading and edits you did! 💖💖💖
omg thank you!!!! i decided to have fun with the technical aspects of this one hehe I'm so glad to hear that tho, I really wanted it to be something useful to anyone that wanted to try while not being overwhelming with too much info coz.....i can ramble sometimes heeeee
This tutorial was super helpful (even though I have no interest in making plushies or merch it’s very informative!) however something that never sits right with me is how certain artists will say “I don’t want to tell you who my vendors are because I worked so hard to find them” gives me a gross feeling like I understand you don’t want to just give people the “correct answer” as they should absolutely be looking this up and researching options themselves
However the gross part comes where artists are preventing other businesses (manufacturers, printers ect.) from getting business because they feel their time was way more valuable than the business they work with getting more business
Like if you sold one of your plushies and a friend asks the buyer where they got it and they said “oh no I did the research YOU have to find this on your own” with that logic now you’ve been denied a potential sale
Frankly this ideology is selfish and immature mainly because other creative business like printmakers and photographers actively share their vendors in their community because what sells is the quality of their artistry
All in all this sort of behavior is very gatekeeper like and comes off like you have no confidence in your own merch
I had that thought too like.. I get it, but why are you preventing your manufacturer from getting more business?
Thanks for your comment! I'm happy to elaborate a bit- I cut a lot of this convo out of the video because it's sort of a separate issue from the main goal of the video which is more of a tutorial.
Several points here- first of all, it's not really any comparison. Since you have never manufactured you may not realize that it’s a completely different business model to that of an independent artist. Factories are large (or even huge) operations, and as such they EITHER have their own team just to find clients and make sales (the reps), OR they are using middle men as their representatives. Most of the reps you talk to are just sales coordinators of a sort. I have never really had a manufacturer ask me if I know of any other potential clients, as you might expect them to do in a typical sales environment. Taking business away from small shops IS problematic, but in this case it's typically multimillion dollar companies that I've spent years stewarding. I actually do love referring friends to my manufacturers! But not strangers- I don’t know if you're going to be unreasonable or demanding or misinformed or frankly! sinophobic, etc etc etc. so I would only ever refer new partners to them that I've personally vetted. I’m not going to potentially damage my own long standing relationship with a factory- something I value in and of itself.
And on that note, personally I find this to be a misuse of gate keeping- this video is the gate! Walk on through! I know the term has changed some in modern usage, but this is how it was initially coined. It seems that you got angrier as your comment was written so I'm so so SO sorry you were grossed out by my content! and as to your final note about not having confidence in one's own merch I'll just say: lol. This process (and running an art business of any kind) requires a lot of confidence, and all the artists I know that go through it are incredibly talented and confident. There's no need to project! Hope this is helpful!
@@stasiaholl in your video you very clearly stated that you “worked hard to find these vendors” even stating that we the viewers will need to find our own if we want to go down this path which is completely understandable except it implies your time is more valuable than the financial success of your business partners which is the issue I have with this point.
What you’re saying now simply is not what you stated in your video, as it was all about your time being the most valuable component instead of helping a business you partner with. If your main intention was to “protect” your manufacturers from strangers on the internet then why not just say that? Or better yet don’t event mention it at all?
Also a business is a business, believing they are different because of the scale of their work or even the industry in and of itself (which is a strange argument to make to begin with?) doesn’t stop them from always needed business to grow and thrive and as a small business owner you should very clearly know that
Anyway best wishes I hope you “project” positive vibes to your manufactures as clearly that’s more important to you
Thank you this was a very clear and well intended video. Have a great day
I would love to see this same video but on like custom packaging, any tips/tricks/etc.
ahhhh for the most part I only ever really design hang tags and butt tags, the occasional pin backing card so I'm probably not the best to talk about packaging!!!
This is such an incredible video! Thank you so much for taking the time to share all this valuable info! 💓
Aww you're so welcome!! I'm glad you enjoyed it, I hope it was of some kind of use!!
This was a super useful guide!! I saw you mention safety testing briefly and do overseas manufacturers manage all necessary safety testing for US selling standards? I know that places can get strict about selling things that could be perceived as toys used by children, and it would be super useful it was things that manufacturers could handle. Thank you! ❤️
Hey there! In my experience with my small scale plush, my manufacturers have handled this aspect and they provide the relevant tags as well! Therefore, I think if you were to make something you wanted to be safe for specific ages (like, infant) you may have to find a specialized manu or at least pay extra for them to coordinate the required testing. But for example, my Chef Bear plush had magnets in the hands and the tags all outlined specifically that they were NOT suitable for ages under three etc because of small parts, and my manu handled all that :)
And as a side note, I think you sort of hit the mark when you say "perceived as toys" too, because for example for my purses all LOOK like plush but they are imported as bags, which has different standards for import (mostly taxes lol)
I'm so happy to see you back on UA-cam! I ADORE my egg hat I bought from you at A-Kon! 🍳
Aww I'm glad to be back, and I'm so glad you're loving the hat!!! Egg hat has a special place in my hear hehehe thank you!!!
Thanks so much for posting this video and sharing all your knowledge, it’s so helpful! I’m in this process now and glad to have learned some tips! And your plushies are so adorable! ❤
Thank you for sharing all of this! I’ve been a fan of your work for many years and it’s so cool to hear more of the behind the scenes!
One question - with the manufacturers you work with, is there a way to make sure that they are companies you ethically want to work with? I know “ethically” can mean different things but for example, paying their workers fairly or trying to be more sustainable. Is that info that little peeps like us can find out?
Hey! Long answer incoming!
That is a common question and to really get to the heart of the issue would require like, a dissertation. “Ethical” is extremely broad in terms of what people mean in regards to goods and manufacturing, so artists need to establish their own sets of questions to ask manufacturers in that research stage, and to a certain extent it's impossible to know every detail of every step of the way- this would even be true if you're sewing at home buying fabric from Joann.
For me, and super basically put: I work with factories that are very transparent about their facilities and staff (photos, answering questions about workload and production lines, for example). I had plans pre-pandemic (rip) to visit my factories and hope to do so in 2023 and 2024. I make sure my factories don’t outsource work to other factories and that they are open to visitation from their clients. I'll also say: this question should be posed to anyone manufacturing anywhere, INCLUDING within the United States.
I should also note there are NO large-scale plush manufacturers located in the US at the time of writing this, so to produce plush that aren't artisan-grade, you pretty much have to outsource. Hope that helps a bit!
@@stasiaholl thank you so much for replying! This helps a lot. And definitely, this is true for any manu in any country, I just wasn’t sure how to approach it and your answer really really helped so thank you!
Do manufacturers usually "save" blueprints/ your design - so that you can easily request a restock of the same quality/build/specifications?
It really depends! I reached out to an old manu recently to see if they could still produce a plush design from 3 years ago and they said sure! With a pin manu or something that requires a mold they may get rid of it, but in my experience they'll often re-create it for free if that's the case (since you paid for it you technically own it hehe)
Thank you so much for this info!! Your products are lovely and I feel super inspired to start my own little manufacturing journey 💛💛
Yay omg!!! Good luck!!!! And thank you!
Thank you for the information! I love your aesthetic!
aww thank you!
This is a fabulous video.. Thank you. Wishing to order on Alibaba but a bit nervous...will let you know how ut went.
Just stumbled across this video nicely done!
I have a specific question on your Pantone book, is it better to use Coated Pantones or Uncoated?
Coated! But always double check with whoever you're working with to see what book they have :)
This was an excellent video! Thank you so much😊💗
Awww I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I could be helpful!!
Thank you for sharing! Great video 😊
I was wondering if you know if companies will allow for you to order custom clothes, jewelry, and shoes along with the plushies; like ones you can take on and off?
sorry this is so slow, but whatever company is making your plush should be able to make these also! just a matter of asking them to make it removeable! That's what I did with chef bear's apron
This is so helpful Ty!
Thank you so much for making this video and sharing your knowledge and experience 🥹💖 finally going to try to make my first ever plush
oooo so informativeee
Thank you hehehehe
Are you worried about copyright and trademarks with manufacturers through Alibaba?
My most egregious issues with copyright have been on items i handmade- it's never been from my own manufacturers, often western companies finding my items on pinterest tbh :') it's the same gamble as posting anything to the internet in the first place- it can and will happen to all of us at some point, so I just dont let it hold me back!
Thanks! I appreciate that perspective
Their English is much better than your Chinese:
That’s when I hit the subscribe button! 👏
Hahaha I appreciate that!!! It's one of those if you get it you get it.... I'm american so I'm used to people around me really not getting it 🙃
me watching this entire video like im about to start a business (I'm not even an artist)
tbh I think a lot of the skills I've learned doing this over the years have helped me in other areas too!!! you never know! it's also not all limited to art-related manufacturing :D