A Lesson in Trust: When a Supplier is Not a Solution
As product designers, we're taught to find the most efficient solution. Sometimes, that means outsourcing a task to a specialist. I learned the hard way that this only works when there's trust and clear communication—and sometimes, you have to build that trust yourself. My experience at Crafter's Lab, while designing a foam package for a concrete trophy, was a masterclass in this very lesson. It was a perfect, messy example of why carpenters always trim the edges of their wood, even when a manufacturer says it's square.
The Case of the Mismatched Foam
To create a precise fit for our concrete trophy, we outsourced the cutting of a foam insert to a manufacturer. My design, complete with exact thickness specifications, was sent off. But when the first sample arrived, it didn't fit. The thickness was wrong.
My boss, who was communicating with the supplier, had an interesting approach. Instead of simply sending them a new drawing, he wanted to send them the incorrect sample and have them modify it. I found this frustrating because the drawing was correct—the supplier just hadn't followed it. This became my first lesson in communication: not everyone understands engineering drawings, and sometimes you have to present an idea in a different way to be understood.
We tried again, and again, the sample came back wrong. The process was slow and filled with miscommunication. It was a classic "chain of command" problem, where the more people involved, the more room there is for error.
The “Aha” Moment and the Final Fix
The breakthrough came when I took a step back and reviewed my own initial drawing. In a moment of humbling honesty, I discovered that I had specified the thickness incorrectly myself. This was a crucial "aha!" moment and my biggest lesson in the importance of double-checking. (I'll be writing more about that soon!)
With that fix, we sent a new, simplified design to the supplier. The fourth sample was finally correct, and we were ready for the final batch of 10. But in another twist, the production run came back wrong—not because of the supplier this time, but because my colleague had approved the wrong specifications.
The experience was a vivid demonstration that even the most well-intentioned process can fail without constant vigilance. Ultimately, we got the parts we needed, but the experience taught me something far more valuable: suppliers are craftsmen, just like us. They make mistakes, and they have limitations. As a designer, my job is to account for that by creating systems that are resilient to human error—not just at the factory, but throughout the entire process, including my own work.
A Broader Lesson: When Trust is not an Option
My time as an assistant interior designer at Lumi Design only emphasized this lesson. We hired contractors to do the dirty work of bringing a design to life, and they would consistently leave messes. For example, when installing an air conditioner in a room with a low ceiling, a contractor cut a massive hole in the ceiling to fit the unit—a sloppy job that looked terrible even after being patched.
This wasn't an isolated incident. I saw it happen with other contractors, and it reinforced the idea that you can't blindly trust the people before you in the chain of work. We couldn't deliver a dirty or scratched unit to a client. Because of this, we always had to hire professional cleaners to tidy up after the contractors left, and we weren't shy about sending back scratched or poorly assembled furniture. The hassle was a necessary part of the process, and it taught me that as a designer, you always have to build in a layer of quality control to ensure a perfect final product.
