A Letter from DG3’s President: You Don’t Know Shit About Shinola – It’s the beginning of fashion manufacturing in Detroit

If there is one thing I’ve learned in my lifetime, it’s that you can’t please everyone.

And based on the comments generated from online news stories, there are some people who will never be pleased.

I like to think that a proper education would help to enlighten some of these commenters, who would come to see the one-sidedness of their pissy remarks, but if you’ve ever read any of those comment threads, you know as well as I do that trying to change someone’s one-sided thinking just leads to more pissiness. And more pissiness.

And more pissiness.

Because when people have opinions, they don’t want to be told that their wrong. Even if they are.

Take the subject of Shinola. For every positive article generated about the company, praising the quality of its products, the jobs the company has created, the positive light they have shined on Detroit, there is a negative story, focused on the number of products actually made in the city, and pointing out that the average Detroit resident could never afford to own a watch. Or a bicycle. Or a leather iPad cover.

In fact, there is almost a sense of pride in condemning this company. Whatever for? Several months ago, a reporter for a national magazine that I will not name here interviewed me for a story regarding Shinola along with the manufacturing of apparel and other fashion-related items in Detroit. That reporter fished and fished and fished, working so hard to get me to take that bite and unleash on Shinola. She was practically generating my answers for me. However, I didn’t have anything negative to say about the company. Imagine her disappointment! I remember saying to her, “Any company that comes into town, creates jobs and gets people talking about Detroit in a positive ways is ok in my book.”

Needless to say, she didn’t print any of my comments.

But that’s the thing. They ARE doing all those wonderful things. Who cares exactly how many watch parts are made outside the state? They keep growing and adding more workers and adding more items that they are actually manufacturing right here. Everything can’t be 100% from the get go, right? And who cares if the founder actually did use Detroit as a marketing tactic? I’m pretty sure the proof will show that the city is benefitting from it. And who cares if the average Detroit resident can’t afford their products? Are we saying Detroit is not allowed to have high-end stores or high-end restaurants or high-end hotels because the average resident can’t afford it? Having all these high-end places will only bring more money into the city. Money that can afford more police officers and fire trucks and demolished abandoned houses. We want to find all kinds of ways to pour money back into the city. Shinola is a part of that. I never hear anyone say that the London Chop House shouldn’t be in Detroit because the average resident can’t afford to eat there, so why get up in Shinola’s business?

There is an even bigger question to be considered: Are any of the bitchers and whiners adding anything positive to Detroit? (How many guesses do you need?)

Just as John Varvatos will bring more national designers’ boutiques to the city, Shinola’s presence and marketing campaigns will bring more retail to the city. This will bring more shoppers to the city. And more tourists to the city. And more opportunities to the city.

Their manufacturing efforts will bring more fashion manufacturing to the city. Something we could desperately use that would provide many jobs of many levels to a variety of Detroiters. And again, improve the city’s economy. DG3 has received dozens of phone calls from companies around the country (and Canada!), who are more than familiar with Shinola’s success and want a piece of that Motor-City pie by manufacturing their own apparel lines in Detroit. I welcome them all. (With a giant-sized fork.) Because when the world begins to recognize Detroit’s value, we win.

The picture is big, my friends. And it can’t be summarized in one pissy comment.

Or a whole thread.

On The Town: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Industrial Sewing Certificate Program

“The idea began almost two years ago when Mark D’Andreta of TDIC, which is a cut and sew company in Sterling Heights, and his wife Lynne were chatting with me about the difficulty of finding skilled industrial sewers,” said Karen Buscemi, President of DG3. Lynne suggested we start a sewing program that will train people in industrial sewing. “And that was it,” says Karen. “There was no need for a light bulb, she was the light bulb and two years later, here we are.”

The 6-week program will teach students all the key skills necessary to get a job in any area of cut and sew operations, including automotive, apparel, upholstery and boating – just to name a few. The first class began yesterday, Oct. 13, 2014. We ended the day with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and it went off without a hitch. Not only did we have DG3’s Board, the staff of Henry Ford College and the media in attendance, we were also able to invite the students and instructors to join us for refreshments, sewing demonstrations, speeches and, of course, the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon for the first class.

All of this wouldn’t be possible had it not been for our partners who have come together to make up The Makers Coalition DG3. We’d like to thank The Makers Coalition, SEMCA Michigan Works!, Lear Corporation, TDIC, Henry Ford College M-TEC, and the other cut and sew manufacturers around the state. We learned that HFC’s president is no stranger to industrial sewing programs, so we had huge support from early on when we first started working towards this curriculum.

“I’ve been involved in an industrial sewing program in Colorado and I thought ‘Sewing?’ [when I initially heard about it], but I saw it just explode and change peoples lives and get employment,” said Dr. Stan Jensen, President of Henry Ford College. “So, when Dr. Vernier brought this to my attention, I said I’ve already done that research and it is a good thing and I know that this will produce jobs, and students will enjoy employment and great futures.”

Once the students graduate from the pilot program, all of the partners will evaluate the success of the curriculum and prep for an evening option, too. So if you weren’t able to get into this class, more options will soon be available. More information can be found on our website, Henry Ford College’s website and through Michigan Works!