Steps to Success in Apparel Manufacturing with Satsuma Designs

MADE Apparel Services Podcast

Host Heather Zager welcomes Jennifer Porter, the owner and operator of Satsuma Designs out of Seattle, to the show to talk about the different types of manufacture and what the manufacturing process entails. Jennifer has been in the business for twenty years and through that experience walks listeners through how to prepare for manufacture and addresses some common misconceptions about how it all works.

Jennifer got her start in infant and children’s clothes which is reflected in how Satsuma Designs offers a kid’s uniform recycling process as well as cut and sew services and informational courses for product businesses. She is a big supporter of US-based manufacturing and breaks down the differences between working in the US and overseas with Heather. Jennifer’s strength in communicating the process clearly for emerging designers and new entrepreneurs makes things seem less complex and more achievable.

Heather and Jennifer discuss everything from tech packs to labels and samples. They explain the acronym MOQ, why the rule of three is an efficient cost-saving technique for start-ups, why fabric choice can affect time and process, and what the greatest misconception among designers often is. Heather’s conversation with Jennifer sheds welcome light on the inner workings of the manufacturing process and Jennifer’s enthusiasm for the industry will inspire new designers to push through hesitation and succeed.

About Jennifer Porter

Jennifer Porter is the owner/operator of Satsuma Designs, a Seattle-based apparel design and manufacturing company founded in 2007.

Satsuma Designs’ most recent initiative started in February 2020 includes Satsuma Uniform, a social enterprise devoted to skills development for women refugees and immigrants in the Pacific Northwest. Through the design and manufacture of school and healthcare uniforms with strategic partner, Refugee Artisan Initiative, Satsuma Uniform is changing the sewn goods industry in the region.

Jennifer graduated from Santa Clara University and started her career on Wall Street. She has worked for non-profits in D.C., designed, marketed and sold other peoples’ products as well as her own online and IRL.

She’s a passionate teacher of etiquette (courtesy people!), Sunday School, and crafting. When not juggling these, she’s making mom jokes to get her middle-school-aged kids’ attention. Thankfully, she already has her husband and co-comedian, Tim’s, attention.

—

Contact Heather Zager | MADE Apparel Services:

• Website: MADEApparelServices.com
• Facebook: MADEApparelServices
• Instagram: MADEApparelServices
• Linkedin: MADEApparelServices
  
  

Contact Jennifer Porter | Satsuma Designs:

• Website: SatsumaDesigns.com
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook

—

Transcript

Heather Zager: [00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome to today's podcast. My name is Heather Zager. I am the host of this podcast series and founder of MADE Apparel Services. In today's episode, we will be talking with a manufacturer based in Seattle who has a lot of experience working with new designers. She's going to talk to us a little bit about the different types of manufacture, what it is that you need to do to prepare to get to manufacture, and then some common misconceptions that she's seen about getting to manufacture and what that process entails. Should be a great interview. We hope you enjoy the show. So let's get started.

Heather Zager: [00:00:36] Welcome everybody to the MADE Apparel Services podcast. Today we are interviewing with Jennifer Porter with Satsuma Designs, a Seattle based small batch/large batch manufacture company. She is live on the floor also, so if we hear any background noise we will know that it is legit. How are you today, Jennifer?

Jennifer Porter: [00:00:55] I'm great Heather, thank you. I'm so happy to be here and hopefully share some helpful information with your clients and folks that you work with. Your partnership has been so valuable to me, and I really appreciate all the professionalism that you bring to this business, your communication, your tech packs, your patterns, and just a lot of creativity. So I'm really happy to be here.

Heather Zager: [00:01:18] Wonderful. Thank you so much. I know I will have a lot of listeners very interested in what you have to say, so we'll get started. I first wanted to do a little bit of an explanation for our listeners on the two types of manufacturer. There are cut and sew versus full package. And I think, Jennifer, you might be able to speak a little bit, too, to the differences between those two. And of course there's degrees and variations and overlap in both of those. But I think if you keep these two types of manufacture in mind, one of the issues I find with my clients is that they'll go to one thinking they're getting the services of the other, not realizing that there is a degree of separation that is helpful to understand before you go to a manufacturer and start asking questions about their manufacture capabilities. So tell us a little bit about the difference between cut and sew versus a full package manufacturer.

Jennifer Porter: [00:02:09] Yeah thanks, Heather. They are distinct. And I think about a full service manufacturer as somebody who can help a client take an idea or a dream to fruition to turn it into an actual product, somebody that has prototype pattern making, tech pack capabilities, grading, marking, and in some cases, you know, small batch or large batch production. So that full service. Now conversely, a cut and sew, I would say where my focus is currently is working with somebody who maybe has, might not have experience, but at least has the tools in play and in place that we can take kind of that kit and hit the ground running pretty quickly. One thing I like about that, having been in this business for 20 years and being a customer that I serve now, in other words, when I started my baby and children's collection, I was the type of client that I serve today. And being able to go to a cut and sew with those pieces together, for example, that you provide, allows the factory to get started. And what it really allows us to do is give you a better per piece price. Now there are elements through sampling and prototyping where if we run into changes, that's usually billed at an hourly, but sometimes when the focus is on cut and sew, and with my lean manufacturing training, we're trying to be as efficient as possible. And that's our goal for our customer and our team. So it's mutually beneficial. And I feel like we all have the same incentive. Does that help?

Heather Zager: [00:03:51] Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's important to note that no matter what manufacturer you go with, if it's cut and sew versus full package, you need some sort of product development at some point. So whether you come to the manufacturer with your product developed or you need those services, that's the di...