Once you have come up with some drawings or even made a prototype yourself, you need a professional pattern or design.
Finding people who can do this for you is kind of intimidating. You can ask people you know or even venture into a local designer and ask them if they can recommend a manufacturer or pattern-maker.
But here are some tricks:
-look at the label of something that you like - a piece of clothing for instance and look at the "made in...' label. There has to be a CA number. The CA number often lets you know what factory something is manufactured in. Sometimes the factory belongs to the brand like the Gap or Old Navy. You best believe that huge companies like that have their own factories. But sometimes, you will luck out and find out some golden info. How do you match a CA number to a factory? Google, seriously.
-In your CA number research, you will notice that most things are made off-shore. Maybe this is the course you want to take, but if you want to manufacture locally, what do you do? Where do you start?
-The Government of Canada. I am not joking. You go to www.canadabusiness.ca and start looking for names of manufacturers in your area. Or you can call them and they will give you a list of manufacturers. There is a toll-free number too: 1-888-576-4444.
-The other tip that I have is the Canadian Apparel Federation which is www.apparel.ca. The list sources for manufacturers, pattern-makers and suppliers (fabrics, notions, etc). Poke around and see what you find.
-Finally, see if there are any business incubators in your area. Introduce yourself and ask them if they know any local and independent pattern-makers and manufacturers. There might be someone in your neighborhood looking for the kind of work you are offering.
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