171 – How we set up a micro swimwear factory – Rich Keegan & Linda Souto Maior, Usual Objections

Rich and Linda make stunning, digitally printed swimwear under the label Usual Objections. They manufacture all of their products from a micro-factory in their family home in Hackney, which they also share with 2 children and a blind pug!

In this episode, they tell me about what made them decide to manufacture everything themselves, having tried doing so with several UK manufacturers first, and what lessons they’ve learnt along the way.

It’s great advice for anyone who’s thinking of launching a brand or setting up their own micro-manufacturing unit.

Discover:

• Linda and Richard’s backgrounds and how they ended up starting a swimwear brand [03:03]
• How they spent £1,000s on sampling products that weren’t right [06:55]
• How they bought their first machine and it all grew from there [07:54]
• How long it took them to launch the business [09:53]
• How they sourced their fabric [10:43]
• How they’ve funded the business [14:32]
• The balance of their time that they spend designing and manufacturing, versus selling and marketing, and why they may have got it wrong [20:56]