Finally, Our Own Factory

For those following our backstage blog, you may already know that we plan to produce future plushes in-house. It’s been a while since we first shared that news, but we’re pleased to announce that we’ve found a great location and are making good progress toward our goal.

After a few weeks of research, we decided to set up our facility in Dongguan to be closer to several of our trusted suppliers. In October, we secured a fantastic suite in a new tech park near the beautiful Songshan Lake—a reservoir known for its scenic environment and for being home to Huawei. In fact, our tech park is right next to the Huawei campus, which attracts numerous “high-tech” companies and, naturally, makes us the most low-tech tenant in the building.

We leased our place in shell condition, giving us the freedom to design a layout that meets our workflow needs without being stuck with a previous tenant’s questionable décor. Small business owners in China typically don’t focus much on aesthetics—or their style is too avant-garde for our taste.

We planned to do only the minimum amount of renovation—not just because we only need an open space for future improvements, but also because we’re short on funds. Like most of our production stories, the three-week renovation job turned into a shitstorm. Our manager had to stay on site the entire time to keep an eye on things; otherwise, you wouldn’t believe the drama they could stir up.

Luckily, the pleasant environment in the park always helps to lift the mood. We're probably the only plush maker in China with a workspace in such a high-end location. We firmly believe that poor working conditions and tight deadlines are two key factors contributing to the industry's low quality. On the other hand, fierce competition driven by low pricing has eliminated all profit margins for potential improvements. So next time you buy a super cheap plush, do consider the cost behind it.

We're also implementing technologies to our advantage in the new workspace. We've installed a set of mesh routers on the ceiling integrated with Bluetooth, aiming to have every piece of hardware connected to the internet and remotely controllable. Additionally, we're installing an Ethernet gateway in the control loop of the central A/C, eliminating the need for any on-wall controllers. Though, this will be a project in the upcoming month, as we currently don't have enough money to complete the A/C work. Please consider buying some Axel plushes if you want to support us!

At the time of writing this blog, we're still producing plushies and accessories with several "trusted manufacturers"—even some that we might no longer trust once production moves in-house. Honestly, it has been two grueling months, with our team spending at least 10 hours a day on site to ensure everything was done correctly under our watch. We hope that things will run much more smoothly once more processes are brought in-house. Once the Chinese New Year break ends, we'll begin recruiting experienced seamstresses, and we'll be sure to do some unboxing of our new toys here on the backstage blog.

Even though progress has been slower than expected, we're thrilled to see the first batch of plushes coming out of our own little facility. Every component was carefully quality-inspected by our team, and we attached a special tag to each member of the Axel army—you'll know what it's for when you receive yours. Hopefully, the next time we blog about this place, you'll see plushes fully crafted in-house.

Let's work toward that goal. So, don't forget to get your Axel.