The Book Carrier Bookmark
More than just a bookmark, the Book Carrier Bookmark’s functional design lets you keep your place while conveniently carrying your book. Lightweight, sturdy, and designed for everyday use, this bookmark is ideal for books 5x8 inches or smaller.
The Designer: Corine Marie
Corine Marie is an acclaimed contemporary romance author known for her uplifting stories that prioritize mental wellness. With a passion for rewriting life's narratives through fiction, Corine's books offer readers a refreshing perspective on love and life. Her books are more than just romantic tales—they are therapeutic journeys that inspire readers to reconnect with themselves.
Her love of reading and being creative led her to design The Book Carrier bookmark, a stylish accessory that keeps your book at your side and holds your page!
The Problem & Opportunity
Corine approached Heather and MADE Apparel Services with a unique problem. She had a proven product idea and design that went viral on social media: the book carrier bookmark. Her unique page-saving accessory doubles as a book carrier with a stylish handle. Corine had the design, the materials, and the know-how to make her product. Her problem was keeping up with the demand.
One of Corine’s main desires was to retain her process. What she needed was help cutting and sewing the rectangular fabric portion of her bookmark to ensure consistent quality and keep up with her online orders. After hearing Corine’s needs and discussing the optimal process, Heather was able to offer Corine a solution that would help her meet the demand of her sales while perfecting the production process for manufacture.
The Goal: Meet the growing demand for her product before switching to large-scale manufacture.
The Obstacles
Meeting the Demand - Corine could no longer keep up with the demand for her product on her own. She needed help sewing the bookmarks.
Perfecting the Process for Manufacture - Once Corine brought in MADE to help with small batch manufacture of her bookmarks, she discovered challenges in cutting, measuring, and developing a consistent product.
Fabric Sourcing - Corine was sourcing material from different places and in different size swatches which meant that different materials behaved differently, creating varied results.
The Project
MADE Apparel Services provided sample batch manufacturing to help Corine keep up her supply of products to meet her growing demand. Heather also consulted on the sewing process to improve the consistency of the finished product and create a streamlined process between fabric sourcing and eventual manufacture.
The Process
Sewn Sample
The first stage of the project involved the client sending in a sample along with some sample fabric. Heather then sewed a test sample to gain approval from the client before creating an official agreement. Once the client approved the test piece, it was time to negotiate volume and cost.
Estimate Costs
With a sewn sample prepared, Heather was able to provide a more accurate quote based on the complexity or simplicity of the product, the time required to sew the product, and the desired volume from the client.
Establish Timing
Determining how many pieces of inventory Corine wanted/needed in a week required careful planning. She didn’t want to overestimate her required inventory, and yet she wanted to ensure she had enough on hand to fulfill her orders. Through several discussions, Heather was able to provide Corine flexibility with sample batch quantities until a regular rhythm was established.
Quality Control
Corine was very hands-on in her business, knowing exactly how she wanted her final products to look and feel. After several conversations and an evolving collaborative process, both Corine and Heather were able to finesse the development process to get it right.
Outcomes
Working with Heather and MADE Apparel Services helped Corine bridge that awkward time when her product was done and in demand but she was not yet ready for manufacture. Starting with sample batch manufacture gave Corine time to collect the information she needed to scale, such as quantities required, a standard sewing process, material sourcing, and quality control, all while still making sales and filling orders in the meantime.
Conclusion
Corine found the perfect solution to fill demand for her product with Heather and MADE Apparel Services. By collaborating with Heather, she was able to maintain her unique process while streamlining production to meet the growing demand for her book carrier bookmark. With consistent quality and a more efficient workflow, Corine could focus on what she does best—sharing her innovative product with the world and preparing to scale.
Are you in need of sewn samples? Are you in between manufacturers and just need support during the transition? Our small and sample batch manufacturing can support your sewn product needs.