Made in America.
Apparently Not.

Now that I've found my design firm, Ristich, I'm ready to go. I think.

Honestly, I have absolutely no idea what's involved in designing a physical product. That's really the whole reason I went with a high-priced agency. Presumably, they'll take me by the hand, take my arts and crafts project, and turn it into something folks might actually be interested in buying. I hope.

Over the following months, yes, months, I meet with Ristich. I meet the owner, I meet the folks working on my project, I meet their designers. They create a LOT of stuff. And it's all very pretty.

They create packaging, brand guidelines, brand colors. Hell, they create my entire brand. They figure out how to make this thing. They even come up with the name Coverly.

They take this idea I have and turn it into something I can see and feel. Virtually at first, but eventually they even build my first prototype. It's really exciting. Sure, most everything still lives in Word docs and PDFs, but it's becoming real. I can SEE it now. And other people can SEE it and actually understand what I'm trying to do, which is amazing in and of itself.

We work through the details. Ristich figures out how to put Coverly together. We figure out the best way to connect the flower to the cover. Buttons, zippers, clips, or Velcro? How should the spiral flowers actually spiral? Edge paint and burnishing? Definitely need that. 600D Cordura or no? What materials do we use? We test at highway speeds. We adjust and adjust and adjust. 

And like a drunk stumbling out of a bar at 8 a.m., red-eyed, exhausted, and out of money, but somehow still kicking, Coverly is born.

As long as I'm with Ristich, I feel like a new college graduate living in my parents' basement. I want to leave, but it's so nice being under their roof. Not having to deal with the dirtiness of starting Coverly. As long as I'm with Ristich, things feel under control.

But like with Mom and Dad, eventually I overstay my welcome.

Ristich never really asks me to leave. They just drop hints. In my heart, I know I have to go out into the great big world and make my own way. So that's what I do. I have to go get this thing made. They give me some suggestions and help me pack my stuff on the way out.

I would LOVE to get this made in the US. Trump is extolling the virtues of American manufacturing, the tariff disco dance is in full effect, and I'm in the middle of the dance floor. I imagine American flags all over the packaging. "PROUDLY MADE IN THE GOOD OLE' USA." Hell yea.

Plus, I have an ace up my sleeve. I'm in North Carolina. Maybe not the current home, but the former home of a massive textile industry. And Coverly is a textile. Fabric and sewing and cutting. I'm thinking I'm set. I might even be able to drive to the factory that makes Coverly. How amazingly wonderful would that be? I could create American jobs and do good. I'm in.

I start calling and emailing and texting. I reach out to textile organizations, former textile plants, current textile plants, bag makers, cover makers. I canvass manufacturers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and up into Virginia. I have pictures of the prototype I share. I learn the vernacular. It's not Cordura, it's 600D nylon. The D is for denier. Then there's the printing. Sublimation, UV, yarn-dyed. I'm learning.

But the responses I'm getting are less than enthusiastic.

I'm shocked. I thought factories wanted work. I thought there was a resurgence of American manufacturing. Maybe I'm not reaching out to the right folks.

I keep calling. My list grows to a couple dozen factories. I reach out to friends who have experience in this world. They give me leads. I track those down, and nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Over two dozen US manufacturers and not a single one interested.

I was prepared for this to be difficult, but the responses I'm getting are hard to understand. No one in the US seems interested in making Coverly.

Then I find a factory in the Northeast that seems like a great fit. I track down a contact and make the call. I have my pitch wired at this point. I go into my spiel, and halfway through, he interrupts me.

"Why are you talking to me?"

I'm taken aback. Not why am I calling you, but why are you talking to me?

I don't understand, and I tell him as much.

"Well, I'm trying to get Coverly made. What do you mean?"

He says, "Listen, I think what you're doing is great. Sounds really interesting, and I do believe we could make this for you. The problem is the price. We would charge you around $300 apiece to get these made, so unless you want to charge a thousand dollars retail, this isn't going to work. You should be talking to China."

I thought I just needed to push through this obstacle and find a manufacturer in the US, but it's more than that.

It's economics, pure and simple.

I can't see anyone paying a thousand dollars for Coverly. No matter how beautiful it is, it still has to be priced within reason.

And that means the US is not going to work.

The market is forcing me to China, and that's where I head next.