FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESIONS

If you can’t find an answer to your question in our FAQ list, please book a discovery call with us here.

GENERAL

  • We are located in Moorabbin, Victoria 3189, Australia. However, our client base spans both nationally and internationally, including customers from New Zealand, Indonesia, Canada, the UK, and the US.

    All clients are welcome to work remotely or book in-office consultations with us for their projects.

  • Definitely! We work with different brands from all around the globe including clients from the US, UK, and New Zealand.

  • We specialise in commercial design for Ladieswear, Kidswear, and Menswear, covering various categories including:

    • Ready-to-wear
    • Leisurewear
    • Activewear
    • Swimwear
    • Loungewear
    • Tailoring
    • Resort wear

    This encompasses both straight and plus-sizing product categories.

    Additionally, we offer design services for textile home linens such as napkins, beddings, robes, and towels, as well as soft accessories like tote/canvas bags, caps, beanies, stockings, and socks.

  • We do not design or produce handbags, sunglasses, jewelry, or newly invented products that require production by a specialized technical team or a factory outside of our supply chain.

    If you are unsure if this applies to you, please feel free to book a discovery call with us, as we may be able to provide alternative contacts for suppliers or designers.

  • For Project-based work, including consultations, tech-pack projects, fitting consultations, sampling reports, or process/system training, we charge AUD $150-$180+GST per hour, with a 1-hour minimum for remote consultations and a 2-hour minimum for in-office consultations.

    For Retainer Service customers, the price varies depending on your service selection, ranging from AUD $180 to AUD $200+GST per hour, with no minimum requirements for consultation time or bookings.

    We offer flexible payment terms, including instalments, depending on the scope of work and the selected service.

    For our full price list and payment terms, please feel free to book a discovery call with us so we can create a service proposal for your brand or project, or refer to our PRICE LIST page as a guide.

  • • Design Brief, Range Plan, Preparing for Techpacks: 2-4 weeks

    • Tech Packs: 1-2 weeks

    • Sourcing Suppliers or Fabric/Trims: 1-2 weeks (If required)

    • Sampling: 30-90 days (depending on the number of samples required, number of sample rounds, and country of manufacturing)

    • Production & QC: 1-3 months (depending on country of manufacture, time of year and customisations)

SERVICES

  • Of course! We can customise your service proposal or retainer depending on the extent of support you need from us. It’s a flexible and transparent discussion around which areas of expertise you need and how we can achieve your goals as a team.

    Our retainers can be customised to align with your business needs and requirements. Before commencing the retainer, we will request you to specify the areas where you need support. Based on this information, we will create a suggested retainer plan.

    We also offer project-based services for specific areas such as tech packs, sampling reports, and fashion branding.

  • A retainer agreement is a short-term or long-term work-for-hire contract between a company and a client that retains ongoing services. We provide custom packages from 30 to 60 hours or ongoing retainers billable by time and material. Our retainer suggestion is dependent on the phase and support required in your business.

    Collaboration with someone who understands your brand deeply not only saves time but also leads to a better quality of work. With priority access to our team, booking time in advance becomes less challenging with more transparency as we provide detailed time records in comparison to a fixed bundle fee.

  • Yes! We do offer tech pack bundles and a day rate for large projects. For more information about our pricing, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email at hello@spectosample.com or the Contact Us page.

  • Yes, we can work with client-supplied factories as long as the factory knows who to communicate with and for what purpose. We are usually appointed as the designer or production manager for the brand depending on the service the client signed on with us for.

    We can help you manage the flow of materials from your suppliers and factories, oversee production quality, and manage timelines and deadlines to ensure that your projects are completed on time. Additionally, we can assist with tracking costs, managing critical paths, garment fitting and other ad hoc tasks. We do not pass on your supplier details or use them as a part of our supplier base.

  • Yes, we do. However, this offering is exclusively available for clients with an established brand or industry background. The one-time connect package includes a referral to our trusted factories, along with a minimum number of retainer hours if required. If you are a new brand this ensures that you receive continued guidance from our team of experts and successfully navigate the entire process with our extended supplier family.

  • Yes, even though Spec to Sample is representing on behalf of your brand, final decisions will still be made by you and you are still on CC with our communication if you prefer to keep in the loop at all times! We will always be here to guide you and give suggestions and options to help you come up with the most feasible and commercial decision for your business.

MANUFACTURING

  • We work with a wide range of our most reliable offshore manufacturers from China, India, and Indonesia.

    In addition, we have a small handful of reliable connections in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, and other locations around the world, depending on the project, scope of work, and minimum order quantity (MOQ).

  • Yes, we have! We have a small but humble supplier network that we have built over the last 8 years and we can proudly say we have visited each of the factory facilities including their key partners for printing, fabrics, trims, and embellishments. The supply base we try to visit at least once every year is shown on the OUR TEAM page here.

  • Yes, our manufacturers and suppliers undergo an intensive vetting process to ensure they adhere to ethical and sustainable practices. When you work with Spec to Sample, we provide a Factory Bio containing comprehensive information about the manufacturer for full transparency. We recommend that each client conducts their own due diligence, as suppliers are referred based on your supplied brief.

    Additionally, we regularly travel to visit our suppliers twice a year to build long-term relationships and collaborate on our clients' projects on-site alongside our extended team in each factory.

  • A tech pack is required to get a quotation for manufacturing. If you have tech-packs but are sourcing a reliable manufacturing partner please reach out to us here via the Contact Us form and we will be able to advise the next steps.

  • While we would love to offer onshore manufacturing, there are some limitations in the local industry and the cost of producing garments onshore can be prohibitively expensive. If you are open to offshore manufacturing, we highly recommend this option as offshore manufacturers often have access to specialised machinery and high-quality techniques, which is why we prefer working with them for most of our clients.

    We do understand that offshore manufacturing may not be the best fit for everyone, so we are be happy to discuss with you further through a discovery call the pros and cons of each one along with some recommendations for onshore sampling and bulk, so you can make an informed decision that works for your needs and budget.

  • Our MOQ (minimum order quantity) start at:

    • 25-40 pcs per style/colour for ladieswear/menswear swimwear/kidswear in Indonesia/Bali

    • 50-150 pcs per style/colour for ladieswear/men/swim/active in China/India

    • 100-200 pcs per style/colour for fully fashioned knits & kidswear in China/India

    The minimum bulk order accepted is 300-500pcs in total. Our MOQs can be negotiable depending on fabrications, manufacturing location and the customisation required across your collection.

  • This genuinely comes down to trust between yourself and the manufacturer. We have long-standing relationships with our suppliers and all of them take cofidentiality very seriously as on-selling designs can also ruin their reputation.

  • A tech pack is a document that serves as a blueprint of your product and contains all the details needed to explain the design to a manufacturer. This vital communication tool ensures that the garments are made accurately down to the very last detail.

    A tech pack helps with accurate price quotations, is used to monitor and improve the fit, and serves as the basis for quality control.

  • To engage our sourcing services, we will need the following information:

    • A detailed description of the product you are looking to source

    • Your target budget for both our services and the product/fabric/trim • Your target timeline

    • Any specific requirements you have, such as environmental or ethical standards

    • An indication of the quantity of product you require

    • Any relevant documentation or certifications

    • Your contact information, including your full name, company name, and contact details.