I really hate to dump on some manufacturers in the footwear industry but I have to say it, many Pakistani and Indian Manufacturers will lie and cheat, over promise and never deliver on the agreement.
The amount of money I spent in the early years on trying out different manufacturers in these countries and the money I lost along with the samples I just had to chalk up as a loss and just resell them as a one off is too much to renumerate. When you are alone with no help or guidance or connections to manufacturers trying to start a shoe brand then it is a trial and error experience and can get quite expensive quickly.
I searched and tried different craftsman in these countries and I got a few samples done right that I liked, but it was not because they were skilled and honest it just turned out for the good on my end which I am truly grateful for.
However the problem I ran into after the design for the Peshwari sandals and Shargiy sandals were completed and ready for production upon acquiring wholesale accounts from shoe vendors, I learned that the shoe maker could not replica the samples or source the leathers that the shoes were created in. Which put me back to square one because what is the point of marketing samples that cannot be reproduced? No use.
In the craftsman’s reasoning which was lead by greed and deceit just to get my money, was that I show the samples take orders for them and deliver whatever leather they have available at the local market which is absolutely absurd.
Quite frankly when you are dealing with crooks and people hungry for money they lie and don’t tell you the truth for fear of missing the sale, when in reality they lose potential long-term business relationships by lying and not delivering on their manufacturing abilities and promises.
I learned my lesson quickly and decided to keep my samples and resell them as one offs since they could not be produced in the color ways they were created in which was sad and a waste of time in my opinion.
These are only a few pictures that I managed to keep of the collection and it still saddens me that I could not launch them at the time of their creation but everything happens for a reason and when it’s supposed to.
To be continued………
XoXo- Style Diversity
Style Diversity 