In May 2017, after an exhaustive search for established manufacturing capabilities in Australia, we chose to look overseas. Unfortunately Australia doesn't have the capabilities to make the vast majority of products we all enjoy - an issue faced by many businesses worldwide including house hold names like Apple and Fisher & Paykel for example.
When settling on our choice of China, and the individual factories themselves, there were many things weighed up in our decision including, but not limited to, child labour, general work conditions and potential violation of human rights, volatility of supply chain, attentive quality control, and proper and trust worthy business practices.
We travelled to Guangzhou, China to source and meet potential manufacturing partners with safe and ethical work practices at the top of our agenda. After days of visiting and inspecting factories, a select few were hand-picked because we believed them able to meet our high expectations for;
• premium materials
• skilled workmanship
• safe work environment and practices
• organised work rooms
• clean and accessible staff toilets and meal areas
• happy adult staff - no children employed or volunteered
• staff freedom - able to refuse work or leave employment
• an honest trade relationship.
We pride ourselves on the close working relationship we have built with our teams over the years, which is founded on Australian product standards and values.
We personally manage every aspect of design, sourcing and manufacturing - including textile sourcing and printing, hardware design and fabrication and quality checking every finished item in country (Covid19 permitting), in order to achieve high standards of workmanship. We believe this is the best way to create a premium product and satisfy the needs and expectations of discerning shoppers, whilst keeping costs reasonable in the absence of being able to forge these relationships within our niche in Australia.
We employ Australians first through our commissioning of shipping and logistics, post and couriers, packaging manufacturers, storage facilities, advertising and brand agencies, web hosting and, of course, design.
Good to know...
• Our bags are handmade in small batches by a family owned company.
• Our towels are printed on premium microfibre textile that is custom spun to achieve the soft, luxe finish we imagined.
• Our hardware is made to our own specifications by a factory specialised in premium hand bag and luggage accessories and trusted by other premium brands such as Samsonite, Tumi and Michael Kors.