We are very proud of the fact that the Sonastand is manufactured by us here in California. With the recent presidential debate bringing up the topic of manufacturing jobs lost to China, it made me think more about the future of manufacturing. For the past few years, I've thought a good amount about the reasons why the competitive advantage of made in China seems to be diminishing.

QUALITY China is absolutely the king of mass production, but the "made in China" stamp is synonymous with low quality. There definitely seems to be a growing trend of people looking for products not made in China. Moreover, there are people who value quality and seek to purchase long lasting products. I personally try to buy things once and never again. From my Goruck Echo backpack (made in the USA might I add), to my Muji nail clippers, I am constantly seeking high quality products, and I know I'm not alone. LABOR COSTS With the booming Chinese economy, it is certain that low-wage Chinese laborers are demanding higher wages. It seems like every week there are reports of strikes in Chinese factories, and there are no signs of letting up. With the long hours and low wages that these factory workers are subjected to, China is under constant scrutiny for their labor practices. Due to the terrible working conditions and low wages, Chinese factory workers are rightfully demanding higher wages, which is going to push manufacturing away from China.

Our Kickstarter campaign is now just half way over, and the supporters are still coming through with pledges, and that is just awesome.

While making the campaign and leading up to launching a campaign, you read and research all of the successful projects, see what seems to work, and what doesn't. The thing is, what never gets translated through reading about other projects is just the overwhelming positivity and encouragement that is thrown at you by the random people you come into contact with.

I've gotten to correspond with a multitude of very interesting and helpful people, and it really is heart warming that a community of people exists for the most part, to help people pursue their dreams. What an incredible world we live in, and an amazing time to be taking part of something like Kickstarter. It's made a lot possible, and at least for us, we wouldn't have been able to launch a product with so much confidence without our backers.

Another interesting thing I've found is that the users coming from Kickstarter read this blog for 1 minute on average. That's pretty astonishing and humbling to me. 1 minute doesn't seem like it, but it's a long time to read a random blog. We've prided ourselves on having interesting and original content (especially on Tumblr), and the readership seems to agree.

Nice iPhone speaker/stand project on Kickstarter.

I like this for a few reasons:

1) You can carry this around in your pocket. (They have slightly different sizes depending on the case you use, if you use one at all.)

2) They're going to manufacturer these themselves right here in California. 

3) These guys poured their life savings in to this project to pursue their dream.

Oh, and here's a sweet little demo!