What’s on tap today ☕️ 

Alright! This week, Oren dives into the world of visiting suppliers overseas. He just got back from China with a treasure trove of knowledge, so if you want the rundown on how to think about product sourcing, this man is about to take you to school.

We’ll cover:

• Fabric sourcing and product sampling

• Global supply chain dynamics

• Product development for your brand

• + more

Grab your coffee; you’re in for a treat.

But first, a quick interview with the creative director at Duke Men’s Basketball.

How Duke Basketball built a content machine

Name a more iconic college sports franchise than Duke’s men’s basketball team… JJ Reddick, Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum. The sheer amount of talent their program has churned out year after year is astounding.

But looking beyond the player side, they’ve also built a content empire from social, which generates around $45 million in brand value each year just on social media.

Colossal.

So we sat down to chat with David Bradley, the man behind this machine, about his role as Creative Director for the program, his journey to leveraging social media for growth, and, most importantly, how Air has enabled them to scale their creative operations.

How did you start creating content for Duke Men's Basketball?

So, I got my foot in the door through photography, which led to managing social media as it became a bigger deal (late 2000s).

Initially, I launched our Twitter and Instagram accounts independently. But over the years, I've been lucky to grow our team beyond just me.

Today, we have full-time videographers, photographers, and a team of students who help us execute copy, scheduling, operations, and more.

We've gone from a one-man band to a well-resourced, strategic team that operates independently from other departments at Duke.

How does Duke compare to other universities in terms of creative ops?

We're definitely ahead in college basketball. From the beginning, we've had the advantage of trust and access from leadership, which has allowed us to innovate.

While other programs are catching up, especially in football, we remain among college basketball's most well-resourced and strategic content teams.

What's your history with the Air platform, and how has it impacted your workflow?

We've been using Air for about five years now.

At, we were looking for a better solution than Dropbox or our on-campus server.

Air has been great because it's evolved with our needs, especially with the introduction of their AI tool, Paige. The search functionality has dramatically improved, making finding and organizing our vast library of content easier.

How has Air’s new AI product, Paige, helped you get the most out of Air?

Oh man, it’s improved our search capabilities, especially for throwback content and archives. The ability to search via text in videos or images has been a game-changer.

We're also excited about upcoming features like facial recognition, which will make managing our content even more efficient.

Join brands like Duke Basketball on Air, and they’ll build you a bespoke creative ops database to organize and distribute all your content assets.

Chat with their team to get your first three months free.

_{This segment brought to you by Air.}

Your guide to sourcing products in China

I spent earlier this month in Guangzhou, and got the question a lot “why did you go to China?”. Here, I break it down in immense detail.

When you create products, especially ones that involve fashion, cosmetics, electronics, or home goods, you can typically take two main approaches (with some wiggle room in between, obviously).

1. Detailed Preliminary Design

You meticulously plan every detail.

Fabrics and buttons. Tags and trims. Prints and patterns.

You compile this into a comprehensive design or technical package and then hunt for a manufacturer who can consistently deliver your exact vision.

The tricky part?

Finding a manufacturer who can execute your vision and source all the components at the quality and price points you need. When you visit these suppliers, it's all about bridging the gap between your vision and what they've managed to produce so far.

Discovery-driven design

This approach is about exploration.

You hit up trade shows and fabric markets and look for inspiration and materials that resonate with your brand and customers. Then, you design your products around these discoveries.

The key here is to design for manufacturing — you need to specify things that can actually be produced. This requires what I call "the vault" — having a mental archive of all the materials and components you know exist and using what you can work with to create something extraordinary.

For my own Valuables, I'm in the process of building this vault.

I understand that social media success is the driving force behind new brand adoption, so everything needs to stand out.

It's not just about screen printing; it's about finding that jaw-dropping variation that pops on camera.

It's not just wool; it's that specific cashmere that makes people stop scrolling.

So, I need a comprehensive understanding of as many materials, trims, and processes as possible. And let me tell you, that's not something you can fully grasp from behind a computer screen.

So, I embarked on this trip with the goal of visiting as many component suppliers and manufacturing facilities as possible to build a robust library of options I can work with in the future.

This approach applies across industries, whether you're working with marble, steel, furniture, or sports equipment. What you discover in these manufacturing hubs informs what's possible, where you can boost quality, cut costs, or stumble upon the next big idea.

Trust me, it's worth the journey (and the money spent).

How factories actually work

When you're making a garment (and this applies to other industries too), it's rarely a one-stop-shop operation and more like a well-orchestrated symphony of specialized players.

With any core garment, you’re going to see:

1. Fabric sourcing: Factories have relationships with fabric vendors, sometimes even their own facilities. If they can't find what you need, they'll hire specialists to hunt it down in places like Zhongda (more on that later).

2. Washing and dyeing: Often done in separate, specialized facilities.

3. Trims: Zippers, buttons - all acquired from other suppliers.

4. Core manufacturing: This is where the actual cutting, sewing, and assembling happens.

5. Embellishments: Many manufacturers outsource printing or embroidery.

6. Finishing touches: Tags, packaging - yep, you guessed it, often done by yet another third party.

So your manufacturer isn't just making your products - they're coordinating an entire ecosystem of sourcing, moving components between facilities, and translating your vision into reality using a world of options, some easier for them to work with than others.

Your job? Make sure this whole world meets your standards.

And let me tell you, that task gets much easier when you're there in person. You can ask for leather options all day long, and you might get some swatches in the mail, but when you hit the market with your manufacturer, suddenly, there are 100 options they had never even considered showing you.

If you want top-tier products, you want every part of the process to meet your standards. You need to know true costs at each stage, understand the logistics and timing of who's doing what, and have backup plans if someone doesn't deliver.

You can trust your manufacturer or agent to handle this, or you can roll up your sleeves and get involved yourself.

And remember, this can also be a global operation.

You might source fabric from Italy, Portugal, or Morocco, have it made in China, or do some items in Portugal, Pakistan, Turkey, or India, all while coordinating the shipping of finishes and trims between all of them.

I’m already producing my products in three countries, plus some finishing in the US. And if you are getting things made in America, there’s a significant chance the fabric was made and sourced overseas and brought over, and the washing, cutting, sewing, and finishing is done here.

All this leads to a complex dance, but the more you understand it, the better odds you have of finding manufacturers to help you succeed.

Guangzhou: the product developer’s paradise

If you know anything about Guangzhou, you must know about the legendary Zhongda fabric market.

Floor after floor is filled with every product you can dream of. (Check out my video for a detailed overview, including tips on visas and translators).

Some notes about Guangzhou:

• Specialized stores: Entire blocks dedicated to fabric and trim stores, including showrooms for zipper giants like YKK and SBS. You'll find stores focused solely on denim, trending colors, or athleisure materials.

• Runchi: The absolute king of tags and bags

• Leather markets: Every standard and exotic leather you can imagine.

• Wholesale malls: Entire shopping centers where you can preorder, customize, and deliver complete clothing collections.

• Bootleg malls: For those interested in unbranded popular garments (with some shadier options if you're willing to navigate that territory).

• Canton Fair: The twice-annual gathering of Chinese factories looking for business. It's where the world comes to find what they want to make, spread over weeks built out by category. If you want to get started without prior relationships this is the time. Just know that vendors are a big notorious for under-quoting at Canton fair ;)

Navigating it all

This is a China-specific economy.

They don't have websites, and they don’t speak English. What you navigate in places like this is meant for people on the ground, with WeChat, to coordinate between Chinese vendors. If you ask for websites or contacts for what I list above or find… they won’t have them, and it won’t help you.

You could do this on your own if you were very persistent, but I recommend at least having a translator on hand. Ideally, though, this is a trip you make with a manufacturing partner.

I went with Crease Group, which makes many of my products and has a facility in Bayun nearby. They have navigated this for their own projects. The operator of their leather facility has been kind enough to be our local liaison.

This isn’t something you can only do in Guangzhou—I also visited Xiamen (where Pietra has its China home base) and nearby Jinjiang, which is the home of footwear.

Multiple vendors in clothing and packaging who I’ve done significant work with are closer to Shanghai in Ningbo. It’s about finding a base to go to and then getting a list of all the options you can double-down on from there.

So, what does all this mean for the future?

I predict we'll see a boom in Canton Fair attendance soon, especially from millennials, Gen-Z, and the creative class who've never been before.

Thanks to content creators like myself, Will Lasry, and Superline Network showcasing the global economy and pulling back the curtain on manufacturing processes, interest is at an all-time high.

Simultaneously, we will see a dramatic rise in quality expectations for new brands. It's becoming increasingly obvious who's cutting corners, who's just using blanks, and who really knows how to build a brand and create quality garments. Some popular brands might struggle to keep up with incumbent quality levels.

At the same time, high-priced products that have enjoyed hefty margins are about to face competition from cooler, hipper, lower-priced alternatives. This shift will challenge the luxury market across the board - from fashion to interiors, home goods to office supplies.

Everything is up for grabs, and content creation and distribution are more crucial than ever.

It's a fascinating time in the industry, and I'm thrilled to be right in the thick of it.

Quick cultural app notes for those planning a trip:

• Didi: Think Uber, but for China

• WeChat: Imagine if iMessage, your banking app, and Instagram had a baby

• Douyin: A separate social network (TikTok's Chinese counterpart)

• Taobao: It's like Amazon, but on steroids - you can find literally anything here, from luxury to everyday items

Hyper Reports

Check out our market reports. We spend many hours researching markets, categories, and brands & products within the consumer space so you don’t have to.

• How to Source Blanks 101 — HERE — a guide to finding and producing your own merch

• Reports on Running, Golf, and Tennis — HERE — a guide to each sport, the market opportunities, and how to launch your own brand

Inquiries? Shoot us a note here: [email protected]

We’d love to chat!

Oren & Clayton ❤️ you