How Products Are Made- Part II

A few months ago we introduced this series, How Products Are Made-Part I, sharing with you how Draper is turning raw materials into the finished goods that are in your home or at your barn. Our focus being that we’re bringing high quality, US made and proven holistic products from our family to yours.

This first blog post was an introduction of the general processes that occur from product conception through delivery. The overall structure is as follows, with the remaining blog post focusing on Ideas and Demand.

How it’s Made at Draper Therapies:

• Ideas and Demand
• Research and Development
• Designing and Knitting the Fabric
• Sampling and Feedback
• Production
• Sale and Promotion

Ideas and Demand, is how the whole process is started and how products are ultimately conceptualized. Ideas come from experiences from traveling, going to shows, seeing new product showcases and ultimately being educated on all things relating to clothing for horses, dogs and humans. Ideas can also come from our esteemed Advisory Board who are currently using various products and wishing the special Celliant® properties could be added into what they’re using. Another basic rule is that if five customers ask for a product (demand), we investigate what the product could be for us and push it into Research and Development. Ultimately an idea is sparked in some way and we feel that we need to go forward with it.

Consumer Driven-

Dear Draper,

I’ve been using your products for years. The one thing I WISH, is that you’d make gloves. My hands suffer from terrible arthritis and I cannot get my hands to stay warm, overall I’m a mess. Your wrist bands work fine, but I’d love to have something to wear when I’m riding and for colder weather.

Your biggest fan,

Katie

Thanks Katie for your suggestion! We’re continually looking to further our product line and provide our customers with high quality, US made and proven holistic products. At this time we don’t have plans to add a glove to our products, but rest assured, we’ll add it to the list. Once we get at least five customers saying they want gloves too, we’ll put this into Research and Development. OR Well guess what Katie? We’ll soon be adding Gloves to our line of products because we’ve had so many requests from customers over the years, including you! We think it would complement our line well, and we want to be able to help you and others who suffer from similar conditions. Check the website soon for ordering information.

This is generally how this process goes. It’s simple and straightforward. As stated above, our only “rule” is that we try to get five customer requests for the same item before it goes on to Research and Development. So ask, and you shall receive!

Advisory Board Driven- By adding to our already extensive knowledge base, we have created our Advisory Board to better round out our information; complete with individuals from a competitive, international, and/or research based background. The Board will continually allow us to gather valuable information to move our products and philosophies forward in a positive and effective way. They are able to expose us to new ideas and different perspectives within their area of expertise that we may not have had otherwise. Not only do these individuals stand behind our products (which is our first requirement) they also help us to develop products that will benefit our clients the most.

Our Advisory Board knows our products extremely well. They also know where they can’t find the Celliant benefits. Usually however, they come pleading because they can’t find relief for a certain injury or ailment. We can then work with them to design a product to target that problem together.  They also come in contact with many clients throughout the day and have a wide range of consumers right there who also can help prompt a request. They look at the products they use everyday and ask themselves if the technology would work in a particular item and even improve upon it. Sometimes they even prompt us to look at something being done overseas and request a US counterpart. The discussions continue from there where it moves on to Research and Development if we feel there is a greater need for consumers.

A Great Idea– We’re continually out in the marketplace on various fronts gaining inspiration from everything from trade shows to shopping at a retail outlet. Since we’re fabric manufacturers at heart, we’re always touching and feeling things to figure out how we may be able to improve upon it or challenge ourselves to do what we’re doing differently. Because we’re working with raw materials and turning them into fabric, sometimes we can even start with new fibers and incorporate them to into our designs to further enhance the end product. After all, that’s how we got started with Celliant (then Holofiber) as we were putting the Celliant fiber into a fabric to then be tested.

So the next time you have a great idea, think about putting it in the hands of the folks here at Draper who can make your wish a reality!