Back from Bangladesh
We've posted a bunch of process documentation below from our work a few weeks ago in Dhaka, but we did want to give an update on when y'all can be expecting your shirts.We're definitely behind on our anticipated delivery by the end of the summer / beginning of fall, thus missing much of this year's warm weather season. We've been waiting to place the first run order because I wanted to make a few final updates to the patterns (including a fully-fledged revamp of the women's pattern), which we just wrapped up with the pattern maker this week. But excited to share that we'll be sending in the initial order to Dhaka tomorrow! So, at this point I think we're still looking at a few more weeks to get the goods to you.
We really appreciate everyone's patience; balancing nailing down all the details and a timely delivery has been trickier than we initially anticipated! Enjoy the snapshots below, and definitely reach out to us with any questions about our process.
–Stephen & the NMG crew
Here’s the skinny–
Our trip at the end of September marked our first time experiencing the tail-end of the monsoon season in Bangladesh. Mornings were hot and muggy, but by mid-afternoon the looming clouds erupted onto the rice paddies surrounding the factory. The deluge sounded like a landslide falling on the building's metal roof, a surprisingly spectacular experience for us. But the rains sure don't slow things down there.
Fabric review –
We were excited that all the textiles were sampled and ready for review upon our arrival (look, it's Mirpur!). Everything looked beautiful, although the Kotwali textile wasn’t quite where we were hoping to have it, so that one will need a bit more work. (If you ordered one, you should have received a note about sticking with Kotwali, or switching to another textile for a nearer-future delivery. Let us know if you didn’t!)
Button hunting –
Diving deep into the belly of the beast that is Old Dhaka, the densest part of the city, we wandered the maze of shops selling every garment accessory you could imagine. Each stall had thousands of buttons, but the hunt for the right hue and size was successful!
Screen printing –
We also got to witness the wizardry of the Deshal screen printing team, who prototyped our “Made in Bangladesh” totes and tags featuring the NMG logo.
New textiles –
We spent some time sketching out some new fabrics for the next run. Textile spec sheets get sent to the weavers, who translate the thread counts and colors into a production-ready textile. Already looking forward to getting the 2015 runs going.
The NMG Yearbook –
Lastly, we’re excited to share that the Deshal factory folks were excited to share their stories with us, which we're compiling into what will be called the first NMG Yearbook. Our goal is to give you the best portrait of the many hardworking people involved in the creation of our garments, so keep an eye out on how this shapes up!