Tanya Menendez is the co-founder of the factory index site Maker’s Row. With 10,000 factories and 100,000 businesses cataloged for easy access, it helps designers manufacture clothing and accessories in the United States. In this episode, we talk with Tanya about what she did before, how Maker’s Row came about, how designers and manufacturers can use the site, and where it’s going.

Charles, Seth, and Lisa reflect on the journey to 100 episodes. What did Seth and Lisa think when Charles said “we should do a podcast” back in June of 2014?

interview highlights:

“My curiosity overtook any fear that I had, and I was just excited to be able to learn something completely new.”

“I felt like I was walking into a speakeasy when I walked into my first factory, because it felt like a secret club. They had unmarked doors. You had to learn a new language in order to be able to hang, in order to be competent in the space.”

“What made me really hopeful about the state of American manufacturing was the people and the workers. I met incredible factory owners that cared deeply about their customers, that had survived years of offshoring and had adapted to be able to survive.”

“We can do large batches, and that will happen with electronic cutting tables and a lot of other technologies that are coming in. I actually see large run going away entirely. Large run isn’t even going to be a part of the conversation in the future. I think that people don’t want a one size fits all, and I think that’s why American manufacturing is starting off with small batch, and I think small batch is the future. I am seeing Chinese factories trying to do small batch now. A lot of American factories that used to do large runs are now shifting their minimums because the demand is shifting.”

references:

• SoftWear Automation