Production Has Begun!!

Ok, so we are actually in production!  Can you believe it??  

Well, at least with the ducky bodies.  Our mold revisions are still a work in progress, but at least we have one mold of SAM and one mold of Loon working till we can fix the rack of fives.  

So slowly we crank them out each day, but hey, they are at least coming out of those molds and we even started sending some to the painters!! 

Now the next biggest test.  The painters have our spray masks that Chris created and we are all so hoping that there will be no production issues with them and that we will actually have painted SAM duckies momentarily.  

Chris had to do some major revisions on the masks as they are quite complicated, but as I always say....getting there! 

 It's a big week for us!!

We Have A Printer!

Well, we finally decided upon a printer!

What is cool is that the printer is also in Ohio which is where our factory is, where our painters are, where our art department is, and the state where the first rubber ducks came to life.  

Here's to Ohio!!!   

So we have been in production and it has been nothing short of a nightmare.  

Yes, making the molds in the US is a learning process and now we have to revise them all.  

Again, two steps forward and one step back.  But we are really learning a lot! 

It is pretty clear to me no one else is going to be making rubber ducks in America!   

I never imagined all the production problems, but fortunately we have a great team and they will figure it out.  We finally found weights for the bottoms of all our ducks with Graingers in Illinois and we plan to now, after much experimentation, secure them in the boxes with an adhesive that is removable made by a company in Wisconsin.  Still planning to launch them in March.  

Deadlines keep creeping closer for upcoming events using Made in USA ducks.  We are getting there, but somehow in the next few weeks have to figure out how to make thousands of them...again...YIKES!

Oh, and SAM was nominated for Product Design Award in the ASI Industry, which is the largest promotional product agency in the world with hundreds of thousands of distributors.  Very cool! 

The Loons Are Here!

Ok, here are some pics of our first Made in America Loons!! 

And why am I showing this?  

Because the State University of New York has decided to do a Loon race and wanted them made in America....YEAH!!   

So come this May, we will have what I do believe is the first ever duck/loon race in American history with real Made in America ducks, I mean Loons!!  

This is really an historic moment for us.  We just got the first Loon bodies today and Chris painted one up by hand.  

It's so exciting.  

I so hope other companies, non-profits, etc., find out about us and realize that they too, can now do duck races with ducks made in the USA and thus support their charity and American jobs at the same time!!  

How cool is that!

Sam Goes To The Toy Fair!

This week we are at Toy Fair 2012 at the Jacob Javitz Center in NYC!

It's exciting as this is the first time people are actually having a chance to see Sam in all his “Hatched In The USA” glory!  

As you see in the picture (one of our east coast vendors is displaying him at their booth) Sam is sitting in a box despite the problems we have had finding a printer.  

We haven’t found the “CelebriDucks printer” quite yet so we had some boxes made just for the Toy Fair.

At this point there are two printing companies that are in the running - at least to start with!  Maybe things will change over time in terms of who we work with, but this March I plan to have Sam on the market - so full production will begin shortly.

In addition to Sam, we are also doing a Loon for a duck race with the State University of New York in April, so production needs to begin with them to get the Loons made it time.  

So, USA made rubber duckies are really happening....slowly....but it is actually happening!

Made In The USA Rubber Duckies Are Here!

Sam has been hatched!  The first Made In The USA rubber duckies are here!  As you can see, they are just naked little guys with no painted eyes, beaks, logos etc. - but aren't they adorable!

Wherever The Manufacturing Goes, Everything Else Goes!

I really hope that some news channels pick up this post!  I just feel that there are some important things that need to be said.  

The other night, I was watching Shark Tank.  This is a great show that gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to make their dreams come true, and possibly make a business deal that will make them a millionaire. 

One of these entrepreneurs was a guy whose North Carolina town had been devastated by the loss of the industry in his area.  He had invented a cool rack for pick-up trucks that he wanted to manufacture in the USA and was looking for investment money.  The Sharks immediately realized that if he tried to make it in the USA, the prices would be too high for distributors so he would be forced to just sell direct (which was fine with him), but it would take longer to create a successful business model.

What the Sharks basically told him was that this is a global economy and he should just make his product overseas and create a successful business by hiring more people here in sales, accounting, etc.!

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!  And to be fair, the following show, the Sharks (except for one of them) did applaud a guy who was making a guitar device in the US to keep manufacturing here. 

The thing with many investors is that they are just looking at short term profits, which is why America is in the shape it is in today with towns being decimated and industries being lost.  This country cannot continue to outsource manufacturing and expect to survive as a global power!   The countries that are manufacturing US products only become stronger and our infrastructure  becomes weaker while jobs, industries, and job skills are lost!!!  This practice has created ghost towns, staggering unemployment, etc. that is just horrifying.  I don't care how its being spun on TV; I speak to people all over the country and things are not good.

The way to get through all this is to think long term what is best for the country...and outsourcing your entire manufacturing is not the answer.  

Creatively finding a way to make manufacturing in the US is the only solution.  This country was built on manufacturing!  

The mistake is the idea that outsourcing manufacturing will still allow a country to become strong in other areas like the service and technology.  This is a fallacy!  Wherever the manufacturing goes, everything else follows.  

Don't believe me. Just look at the growth of the technology and service industries in their other countries where manufacturing is high.  

The USA is slowly being left behind.

However, this can be stopped.  If enough people - those in government, business, the citizens of our country - value the future and long term health of our country then they must support US factories and companies who want to make their products here.  We need to do everything possible to support companies who want to try and make it work here and our manufacturers need the same government incentives and tax breaks that other industries receive. 

And on that note... this week I am popping out a few of CelebriDucks first “Hatched in the USA” duckies to show at Toy Fair in New York!  How exciting is that!!!!!

Whatever Happened To Loyalty!

Well, it continues to be an eye opening excursion navigating through the world of American manufacturing.

I was speaking to a guy at a paper company yesterday who was telling me this story of a large American manufacturer that got destroyed by outsourcing.

He said that long ago they were supplying a ton of paper to this company that made the paper tubes that go over wire hangers.  They were one of the biggest in the US doing this.

Then all of a sudden, one day, the market was flooded with paper tubes coming in from overseas.  He said it was amazing.  Within six months this company was put out of business because everyone switched to buying these paper tubes from overseas just to save a few pennies.  Six months...gone.  And, of course all of the other businesses that worked with this company were severely affected as well.  Unbelievable!

This guy also told me a story about how a client of theirs developed a product for a huge national retailer.   After two years, the retailer said either you make the product for 60% less or we will just start importing them from overseas.

How cold!  Whatever happened to loyalty and supporting those who supported you... supporting jobs in your own country?

... How did we get here?

Ok, enough ranting... let me tell you that the search for a printer goes on.

I am still trying to find someone to - cost effectively - make our gift boxes here in the US.  And funny enough, as this is happening we are getting more and more jobs rolling in, which is great and scary at the same time as I still need to get the first Hatched in the USA ducky produced.

Seems to be all moving along, but this first rubber duck is the most difficult since we have to get all of the bugs out

... and on we go.

Getting Our First USA Duck Mold Made!

You know, it is mind blowing what it takes to create this first duck here in the USA.
  
I have a brilliant creative director, Chris Howes, who sent me an e-mail the other day.  I have shared part of  it below so you can get an idea of what we are dealing with getting the molds made for Sam - our first Hatched in the USA duck.
  
Chris was working on sending the first prototype to Bob, our new mold maker in America.  In fact, he is already working on our second project, a Loon for the State University of New York duck race. Below is a bit of Chris' email that I mentioned.  Good news though, as I write this it has all been worked out and Bob is already in production on our first molds!


Subject:  Re:  update


Been a difficult process getting it to the right size in wax.  Also had to take the time to machine the bottom weight recess accurately to a non standard diameter due to shrink and have now created the corresponding plug to fit (which we can use from now on). All wax work is done and I took time to build my rotocast machine because I need to provide Bob with 5 hollow urethane castings that are difficult to do by hand.  There are a number of waiting periods while waiting for wax to cool, rubber layers to cure, etc. during which I have started the loon, so he's under way already rather than waiting until after Sam's all done. It's taking longer than I would have liked (it's a learning process, got to change technique to fit new process).

The upside is the worst is over! The intermediary rotocast urethane prototype I made to test weight placement floats well and "pops up" even when thrown upside down into the water. The final wax looks good and is a good size. Now I just have to get all the urethanes done and cleaned up and off to Bob. The urethane I have takes a while to cure and sets or "gels" very suddenly making an even wall thickness casting difficult to achieve. Luckily, my rubber and urethane supplier, has a special rotocasting urethane resin that cures faster, but with a slower more gradual gel time than regular resin so the wall thickness is nice and even.  I've got some on order.

For the future now I have a rotocasting machine, a standard plug and a recess mold so I can make the same size recess on every duck without having to machine it every time, and a technique for finding the proper position for the weight recess. Things should be much smoother from now on. Whew!

Oh, and I had a thought on the technical design side... I put a small dimple on the inside surface of the recess (out of sight) for pressure equalization if needed. When the vinyl is cast it should be a bit thinner over the dimple. The vinyl is hot, therefore the air trapped inside is hot and expanded. If the vinyl casting is sealed and cools the air cools and contracts making the duck potentially seem under inflated. So, the air pressure needs to be equalized. The thin area of the dimple is easier to pierce allowing air in or out as needed. Then the weights are added and plug glued in sealing the duck! 

Wow.  I thought the hardest thing would be to get the duckies made in the USA... getting a new factory, finding painters, mold makers, etc.  Who knew that the gift box was our biggest challenge!

I mean, the printing industry has moved off shore also???

Children, it is true.  Sure, you can print business cards and such but try to doing a gift box cost effectively.

It is all done overseas now.

I am on the phone for hours with printers from all over the country trying to find someone who can
make this work for us.  I mean our gift goes are so unique and gorgeous and I am not about to give that up!

And so it goes, nothing is easy...but I trust we shall figure this out as we keep moving along!

I Love My Ducks!!

So, finally our U of O duck is ready for sale!!  It would have been great to have him available at THE BEGINNING of football season this year, but better late than never.

Thank God Oregon is in the Rose Bowl!  He is cute little guy, isn't he!

One Duck At A Time

I remember, when Milton Hershey was building his huge chocolate factory in the early days and everyone thought that he was crazy....for a number of reasons, but one of which was he still hadn't figured out the formula to make milk chocolate!!  It was really difficult.  But he never doubted he would and eventually he did and the rest as they say is history. 

Well, here I am moving forward at full speed making our first duck back in the good old USA and doing sculpts for new clients who want ducks made in America....and with tight deadlines when they need them!   But as I tell everyone, the truth is we haven't made duck one back here in the USA yet as we're still in the midst of getting this first one out. The amount of logistics in this project would blow anyone's mind.  

One day, I'll have to really talk more about what it takes to make one duck as it still amazes me to this day!