Today is Chinese New Year. Having just read this New York Times article, “How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work” and re-launched our manufacturing page to tell a more complete story of how we make products, it feels appropriate to share an image of our San Francisco factory today. It’s empty. Empty because our incredibly skilled and loyal sewing team of 14 is ethnically Chinese, and today is Chinese New Year. Empty but ready to spring to life at 8 am tomorrow morning. Ready to churn out hundreds of last-a-lifetime bags a day in outrageous color combinations that our customers select.
The Timbuk2 factory on Chinese New Year.
As the Times article explains so well, Apple and many many other consumer electronics companies find it really difficult to make things in America. The skill isn’t here, the machines aren’t here, the scale isn’t here, not to mention labor costs and expectations of work/life balance. This context makes us feel particularly proud, if not a bit charmed, to still be manufacturing in America, and in an America city!
Since our founding in 1989, Timbuk2 has continuously manufactured bags – and since the fall of 2011, iPad sleeves – in San Francisco. We have the skill, the machines, the scale and the team to make it work in America. But we also manufacture in Asia (more info here). This blend of at-home and abroad manufacturing enables us to meet the consumer, product, and market demands required to compete globally. We’re proud of what we make, wherever we make it, and we hope to see more dialog and discussion around manufacturing of the products we love.
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One Comment
Maybe instead of ‘investing’ in bad banks the people on the hill should have invested in a push for infrastructure/training at home?