This was probably the second ambitious merch I’ve ever done, acrylic standees. The main ones would be enamel pins that soon will be a work in progress. I saw so many artists do this type of merch and wanted to give it a try with extra help from a friend.

Kunshan Standard Gifts Co. is a manufacturer, among many others, in the vast marketplace of Alibaba. This trading company, based in Jiangsu, China, was established in 2010, and in 2018 they began operation in the marketplace and are considered a gold supplier with 4 years of experience in Alibaba. Their products consist of enamel pins, acrylic materials, keychains, and embroidery badges, among others. Their main markets are North, South America, Central America, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Asia.

Tedious Protocol

Note: it is very important to be aware that no missing pixel is presented in the designs or art pieces. You have to fill those gaps with colors to avoid transparent dots or holes. As you can see, Uva’s white skirt (purple character) and Guayaba’s headdress (pink character) have a black shade in the semi-white-transparent clothing to make it fully white in the final piece in the picture above.

Unfortunately, I was not present in the critical process of re-arranging files with the correct sizes and formats. It was an in-between message where a friend helped me out during the process and showed me the results since he knew how to handle communication with foreign manufacturers and surfing the overwhelming platform like Alibaba. I made sure to research some artists and their acrylic standees products and how much they sold them, this also includes how they designed the product, the thickness of the acrylic standee, and how it was built (the individual parts). I designed each product, and established the correct sizes and thicknesses, on the other hand, my friend arranges the centimeters (yes, they work only in cm) between the art and the space of the acrylic material (borders), the holes and the whole guideline format to be delivered to the company.

Things To Have In Consideration

Here are a few things to keep in mind when working with foreign manufacturers, so you can prepare mentally for complex challenges:

• The language barrier may happen, be short and precise.
• Time zones can affect the production and communication stages.
• Make sure to study their requirements, guidelines, and protocols to avoid errors.
• Research the best alternatives by reading their reviews and categories (ex. gold suppliers).
• Ask sellers for questions and quotations for your own comparison boards.

Below is an episode of my podcast Trazo Invisible on “How to do merchandise with foreign manufacturers“. This version is only in Spanish.

Small Important Details Matter

Before continuing with this company, I asked them if they protected our copyrights by not selling our work to other companies for “illegal transactions” since the law of copyright doesn’t apply the same universally or worldwide. They made it clear that transparency and ethic are priorities in business, so no, they do not sell our designs to other companies. This was a relief!

I also asked if they could provide me with videos and products of my final products, and they complied. Of course, is not the same as viewing digital media vs. inspecting physical products, so they gave me the alternative to pay for my samples (final size) to be shipped to my home. I would suggest doing the same as me to avoid surprises at the end due to lack of inspection and error corrections. Below you can see the whole creative process video of the Rumberas Candela designs and production which is in English version.

This is optional but important, PLEASE, do yourself a favor and save some headaches by spending time on research, and identifying your products with your brand logo and/or copyright name. I have so many unidentified prints and stickers from CTN2018 because either they lack info or the signatures are not readable. This is a plus for people to find/identify you better and faster.

Cost & Shipping

The pricing for the production of the acrylic standees was affordable, the only thing that can kill you a bit is the shipping, especially since the pandemic and the rise in the cost of materials, distribution, and so forth.

Quality

The quality of the acrylic standee was much more than expected and beautiful in many ways. There was only 1 minor error (by machine) in 1 piece, pretty much unnoticeable.

Quantity

For the acrylic standee, I believe there is an MOQ between 5 and 10 pieces per design, can’t remember well, but you can always ask the seller.

Communication

I was not present during the communication but with the evidence provided the representative spoke fluently in English and was very attentive and willing to help out. The only that can be challenging is the time zones, so be sure to have enough time to begin production which may take weeks or months or worst, cancellations or pauses due to protests and/or holidays in those regions.

Overall 5 ☆ 5

I will buy from them for their other products, I would like to have a main major manufacturer for different products without the hassle of communicating with 5 different companies. For now, they seem great, although it is not easy to work with foreign companies vs local ones like the USA or the Island where there are fewer gambling and risks (ex. copyright infringement).

Thank You For Reading!

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