Make it in New England

Yes, there are still textile manufacturers, shirt makers, leather good craftspeople, and apparel and soft goods producers in the US. And a concentration of that talent is in Southcoast Massachusetts.

Moving back to MA has reintroduced me to the incredible makers in the region, and a goal of mine is to have Treyday dolls and objects made with the deadstock of local manufacturers, by these local manufacturers.

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The other day I had the opportunity to join a group from Daughters & Sons agency as they toured the Vanson Leather factory. The factory itself is a block from where my first fashion job - on the second floor of a sewing factory, designing and making Lily Pulitzer-esque dresses for a local designer, Molly B. The Molly B team was essentially just her, and me that summer, getting to work with the factory’s pattern maker and sewers. Every Friday someone brought in malassadas from a neighborhood bakery- a highlight of my week. We made dresses, took and packed orders from stores primarily in the South. At that point I didn’t understand the value of being able to see every part of the supply chain, from design and sourcing to sales and delivery.

Back in the present, it was exciting to be in the Vanson factory, seeing beautiful craftsmanship, incredible institutional knowledge, old and new technologies, a full archive of motorcycle jackets and suits, and a range of ages of people making production orders and one of a kind pieces.

The owners of Vanson, Michael and Kim, have spent the past 50 years honing their craft and supply chain. Michael developed the software they use to track the production of each complicated product (each garment has dozens of pieces, multiple materials and trims, and requires a number of machines including die cut stamping, water powered cutting, and embroidery machines.) Each garment requires up to 40 measurements from the client, and over the past 50 years they’ve collected so many client measurements they can now just get a few measurements from someone and recommend the rest based on aggregated measurements.

It was also wonderful to be visiting a legacy manufacturer with the forward-thinking creatives and partners of Daughters & Sons, a creative agency based in Boston. It’s inspiring to know there is a new generation of creatives that appreciate and innovate the work being done right in their home town.

There’s a lot being made in the US. I’m excited and grateful to be working in this field around such talent and experience. Consider this an invitation to come see what’s being made in New England!