At Happy UFO and Oekaki Connect, we’re working on plans to eventually open up a US factory where plushies can be made.
Recently, to work toward that, I’ve been obsessing about learning as much as I can about what it will take to make this happen.
Eventually we will have a warehouse with rows of $20,000 machines made by Japanese and German companies, and we’ll have the capacity to help anyone who wants to make high quality plushies (plus other things) in the US with the ability to use 100% Made in USA materials. We won’t force people to do that but it’s the goal to be able to make that possible. We will become a one stop shop from idea to creation to fulfillment.
This thread will document some of my learnings and insights specific to embroidery in this process.
After doing a bunch of research, this will be my first embroidery machine. The Brother SE700.
I’m aware that I’ll outgrow it quickly but I plan on jumping up to $5-20k machines once I’m experience enough with this starter machine. It has a single needle which means I’ll have to manually switch the thread colors.
This machine comes with a small hoop of only 4" x 4" area (I think I can buy ones that are longer but not wider, I’ll buy a longer loop if I need to) but it’s more than enough for the first plush designs I have in mind.
The first designs I do will either have a single color of thread or 2 colors to keep it simple to do a few hundred of a single design without needing to do too many steps. The multi needle machines greatly lower manual labor. The d
Once I git gud with this machine I will hire a helper to babysit the work with me and help with the tasks after the embroidery is done.
I’ve ordered a bunch of other supplies as well… one the things I’m having trouble sourcing is a kind of stuffing that’s super soft. The kind of ultra soft stuffing I want to use seems like it will be one of the most expensive components to figure out cost on…! I will order a bunch of brands to test and see what actually feels the nicest. However… here’s another thing to consider when choosing materials. These polyester plastic materials can disrupt your body’s hormones! Perhaps cotton and wool are the way to go even if they don’t have the ultra squish factor.
Wool. Linen. Silk. Organic Cotton. Hemp. These are natural.
Common cotton is treated with herbicides, pesticides and is processed with many chemicals so source really matters on those.
We won’t force people to do that but it’s the goal to be able to make that possible. We will become a one stop shop from idea to creation to fulfillment.