Sea Apple Explains: the Journey of a Sea Apple Tee

November 30, 2022

T-shirts are the basic building blocks in our wardrobes; simple and fuss-free, we tend to throw them on without thinking much about where they've come from. But at Sea Apple, the journey before the humble tee arrives in our store is a long one, with meticulous steps in place from design to manufacturing to make the best-quality product possible. Let us take you through!

8 Months before Launch: Story Ideation

Our collections are grounded in captivating stories that we dream up of with our team. We gather round and brainstorm concepts, drawing inspiration from our favourite childhood books and memories to create a whimsical backdrop for our designs.

7 Months before Launch: Design of Prints, Colour Storyboarding, Creation of Tech Pack

Mr. Tropical Tiger, the runaway dog from our Land of Lost Things, we build up characters in our stories, sketch them out to form the basis of our prints, and then develop a colour palette for the collection.

Next, we create a Tech Pack that we give to our manufacturers to translate our plans for the garment into an actual product. It contains essential information such as technical drawings of the garment silhouette, a list of design details (placement of pockets, zippers, pleats), and parameters on measurements.

5 Months before Launch: Making of Sample, Fabric strikeoff and testing

We finally get to hold our t-shirt in our hands! Or at least, the very first version of it. Our manufacturers send samples back to us and we conduct fittings to align on sizing and shape. This process is methodically repeated a few times until we arrive at a product that meets our standards.

We check fabric strikeoffs — printed samples of fabric — for colour, material, print quality and scale. We also run a dye test to check for any colour runs and shrinkage. At Sea Apple, we pride ourselves on using the finest-quality material for our garments, working with GOTS-certified organic cotton as well as top fabric suppliers such as Liberty to provide the most comfortable and chemical-free options for our little ones.

4 Months before Launch: Ordering of Fabric and Trims

When we're happy with the fabric, we calculate production quantities and put in a bulk order.

3 Months before Launch: Pre-production Samples

A final inspection on pre-production samples before we set the gears in motion! We pay close attention to not only the design — whether the patterns are aligned and the colours are correct — but also to functional details like seams and any haberdashery.

2 Months before Launch: Production

Once the final sample is approved, our t-shirt is officially in production!

1 Month before Launch: Shipping and Final Touches

Fresh off the press, our t-shirts are shipped to Singapore, where we complete photoshoots and post-production before releasing them out into the world to find our young customers, whose imagination we hope will be stimulated by the fantastic tales on their simple tees.