Duck Insomnia

So sorry, I have not written in a while.  I actually don't think I have ever been in a more stressful situation in my life. 

I lie awake at night in a cold sweat and then drift in and out of sleep.  I never in a million years anticipated the production issues we would have here.  We are working them out, but having to innovate a whole new way of creating painting spray masks to make it cost effective on the fly.  We have gone through over a dozen sets, each time revising them.  

The thing is, next weekend is the first ever duck race in America with ducks actually made in the USA!!  Well, they're actually Loons we did for the State University of New York, but you get the idea!  Turns out it is one of the most complicated painted birds we have ever done, and our painters have not had a spray mask that works for them.  So, today they actually packed up 500 of them and shipped them off to my artist who designs our ducks to work through the weekend painting them!!!!  

You believe this.  

Talk about pressure!  

Plus, we still have to revise all the SAM spray masks as there was a minor issue with them fitting right.   Oh, and did I mention that with the deadline coming up for one of our upcoming events with a Fortune 500 Company, the Post Office lost our Express Mail package of our sculpts and now we are having to redo them with their deadline approaching!!  

Well, hopefully sleep is overrated!

...and so it goes....

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!!

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.

The Tragic Outsourcing of America.

You know, when I speak with manufacturers around the country, I really want to cry.

I don't know if most people know the damage done by all of the outsourcing of our country's manufacturing, but it really is quite tragic.

In the quest for lower prices, we have literally lost a generation of skilled workers so that even if and when jobs do come back, it is really going to take an enormous amount of time to get people trained.

What were we thinking?

It really makes me so, so sad.

I hope people do find out about this blog and read it. I really feel it is so important for everyone to understand just how short sighted we have been as a country.  Outsourcing has caused the disappearance of so many jobs and skills.  Industries have been decimated because of this; you wouldn't believe it!

All of this makes me even more confident that US CelebriDucks manufacturing is the right and only thing to do. 

I am still speaking to printers every day looking for someone who can print the boxes our ducks sit in.  Not there yet, but soon.

We had a setback with the mold making, however we got it figured out and continue to move forward... though unfortunately this setback cost us a week.

I hope to have some pictures of all of this posted before too long.

Still shooting for a US February birth for Sam!  I can't wait!