7 Sites To Find Design and Manufacturing Expertise in the Fashion and Textiles Sector

Are you a designer looking for suppliers? A manufacturer seeking to sell your wares? Here are seven sites offering opportunities to meet your needs. Check them out and let us know what you think! Prato Expo (Italy) Prato Expo (Italy) offers an ecommerce platform selling short runs of fabrics from Italian manufacturers via  http://www.pratoexpo.com/ . Approximately 80% of Prato’s fabric manufacturers are represented on the site with potential clients able to select and receive samples from the site prior to purchases. Sqetch (Netherlands) Sqetch (Netherlands) provides a means of putting textiles and clothing brands and manufacturers in touch with each other via  https://sqetch.co/ . The site has a European focus so is ideal for TCBL members although there are businesses registered from elsewhere. Education material is available to assist designers and minimize the possibility of order mismatches between participants. Currently, Sqetch is engaged in a pilot trial to offer a full enquiry to fulfillment process with a secure payment facility available through the site. A three tier offer is available: free, €49 pcm and €99 pcm with differing levels of support. Make it British (UK) Make it British (UK) is an excellent source of information on British-made brands and UK manufacturing. It’s an independent company founded and run by Kate Hills. It features a directory including clothing and accessories via  https://makeitbritish.co.uk/about/ . Make it British can help you find the perfect UK manufacturing partner. Just give them some details of what you are looking to produce and they’ll do the search for you. Lets make it here (UK) Letsmakeithere (UK) is free to use for anyone in the UK or overseas who is seeking UK production. If you are a designer, fashion brand or retailer you can search the database to find companies who can produce for you to your specifications and under your own label, or who can provide services related to the fashion industry such as pattern cutting, printing or grading, or components such as buttons or interlinings. Viewed via  http://www.letsmakeithere.org/ . Fashion Enter (UK) Fashion Enter (UK) offers a fabric selling site via  http://www.fcfabricstudio.com/ . It enables stitchers, quilters, crafters and designers from all over the UK to purchase the extensive array of discounted fabrics. There are over 400 different fabrics to select from at any one time with no minimum quantities. Cottons, jerseys, silks, chiffons, leather, brocade, lace, Lycra and many more in colour blocks and prints are stocked in high volumes with new lines added each week ensuring the FC: Fabric Studio is a continual one stop shop for the latest fabric trends. Le Souk Le Souk claims to connect some of the world’s finest mills & tanneries directly to the design industry’s leading creatives via  https://www.lesouk.co . It brings together a trusted supplier network, the latest technologies and a community of designers and makers to make global sourcing possible – any time & anywhere. Fashion Valley (Italy) Prato based Fashion Valley (Italy)  http://fashionvalley-industry.com enables, through the use of an online platform, a network of companies covering the entire supply chain to meet the needs of emerging brands and young designers, plus those of distribution chains needing to produce quickly, in varying quantities and in a personalized way while never losing sight of the quality.