How we make our stuff – the story behind our rigid collars
We get a lot of questions about our manufacturing process, what we do, when will we release a new product and, lastly, why does it seem like we out of some thing so often?
To give you a little idea, we want to share with you the story behind what it takes to create our products.
Before we start, we should emphasize we take a lot of pride and care in bringing our products to market, and we continually strive to make things of the highest quality and standards.
So, let’s begin.
The materials.
All of our rigid locking collars and necklaces are made from Titanium and Stainless Steel, and building anything in these metals, especially items meant to be worn as jewelry, can be tricky.
We start by sourcing the right materials and product and making sure the consistency stays the same. We work with suppliers from around the world to source the best materials and at the right price. The prices and quality can fluctuate quite a bit, so this becomes a constant challenge to make sure we can maintain good quality at a good price.
We use high-quality grade stainless steel and titanium, and despite the abundance of these metals we find in everyday life, there is no shortage of shady suppliers out there. We spent years finding the right people, and until did we threw away a lot of things because it didn't meet our standard.
The making.
We won't bore you with the manufacturing components, but our rigid collars are made in batches with a cast mold and hand welding process. This ensures we get a good quality build that will last a lifetime.
However, making sure we get a consistent size, fit and finish for each collar means we often end up recycling a lot of items that don’t meet our standard of quality during our quality checks.
Sometimes, however, we do have items that sneak by – like a hinge pin that does not weld correctly or a screw hole that is oversized. We always make improvements in our process to reduce manufacturing errors, but most importantly, we do stand by our products and quality promise.
If you ever have an issue with one of our products, we have a no questions asked policy and will take care of you any way we can.
The timing.
From the time we first decide we need to order make more collars to the time it takes to make it available, we invest several months of sourcing, manufacturing and inspecting. If we have a secondary finish, like the black or gold coating, it can add another 2 to 6 weeks to that timeframe.
So why do we sometimes not have a specific product or size in stock?
We work really hard to make sure we have everything listed on our site in stock. But, it is not always easy.
When you combine the way we source materials and the way we manage our production, a couple of things can impact availability.
For example, if we receive a supply of raw titanium but receive the wrong grade, we might be delayed waiting for the new supply. Or, if we have a mistake in a batch, such as the hinge-pin not welding in place properly, we have to start all over and run a new batch.
We appreciate the patience and enthusiasm our customers show when we are out of stock, but we are constantly trying to improve our processes so it happens less and less often.
Hopefully this gives you a little insight into our process for making our rigid collars. As always, we want to hear from you if you have any questions or suggestions.
To give you a little idea, we want to share with you the story behind what it takes to create our products.
Before we start, we should emphasize we take a lot of pride and care in bringing our products to market, and we continually strive to make things of the highest quality and standards.
So, let’s begin.
The materials.
All of our rigid locking collars and necklaces are made from Titanium and Stainless Steel, and building anything in these metals, especially items meant to be worn as jewelry, can be tricky.
We start by sourcing the right materials and product and making sure the consistency stays the same. We work with suppliers from around the world to source the best materials and at the right price. The prices and quality can fluctuate quite a bit, so this becomes a constant challenge to make sure we can maintain good quality at a good price.
We use high-quality grade stainless steel and titanium, and despite the abundance of these metals we find in everyday life, there is no shortage of shady suppliers out there. We spent years finding the right people, and until did we threw away a lot of things because it didn't meet our standard.
The making.
We won't bore you with the manufacturing components, but our rigid collars are made in batches with a cast mold and hand welding process. This ensures we get a good quality build that will last a lifetime.
However, making sure we get a consistent size, fit and finish for each collar means we often end up recycling a lot of items that don’t meet our standard of quality during our quality checks.
Sometimes, however, we do have items that sneak by – like a hinge pin that does not weld correctly or a screw hole that is oversized. We always make improvements in our process to reduce manufacturing errors, but most importantly, we do stand by our products and quality promise.
If you ever have an issue with one of our products, we have a no questions asked policy and will take care of you any way we can.
The timing.
From the time we first decide we need to order make more collars to the time it takes to make it available, we invest several months of sourcing, manufacturing and inspecting. If we have a secondary finish, like the black or gold coating, it can add another 2 to 6 weeks to that timeframe.
So why do we sometimes not have a specific product or size in stock?
We work really hard to make sure we have everything listed on our site in stock. But, it is not always easy.
When you combine the way we source materials and the way we manage our production, a couple of things can impact availability.
For example, if we receive a supply of raw titanium but receive the wrong grade, we might be delayed waiting for the new supply. Or, if we have a mistake in a batch, such as the hinge-pin not welding in place properly, we have to start all over and run a new batch.
We appreciate the patience and enthusiasm our customers show when we are out of stock, but we are constantly trying to improve our processes so it happens less and less often.
Hopefully this gives you a little insight into our process for making our rigid collars. As always, we want to hear from you if you have any questions or suggestions.