My sister ( who lives in California ) and I have come up with a
pendant design that symbolises a special human relationship. We hve
obtained U.S. copyright registration. We would now like to find a
company to manufacture and market this item. Has anyone been through
a similar exercise?
You might want to contact Janel Russell who created the Mother and
Child series. She would be a wealth of 
Margie Mersky
mmwaxmodels.com
hello Claire,
Just a tip since you have already obtained the copyrights to your
design: there are literally thousands of out of country services that
will produce your work and perhaps also finish the pieces as you want
them if you don’t want to do the work yourselves and/ or if you need
additional fabrication steps to complete the pieces to ready them for
a merchandise mart or other wholesaling option like stone setting for
instance. The main thing you should do is have a non-compete and
non-disclosure agreement signed by whomever you choose to do the
production - essential to any contract if out-of-country - therein is
the point: choosing a manufacturing concern that does high quality
work, guarantees the turn around time and uses the actual material
you specify as well as stands behind their product 100% ( and going
with an established company that offers a nice net 30 or better
account term *). Keeping your business in the US is important
because, in the case of China for example, you may find a better
price per x number of pieces finished or not, but the laws you would
expect to be enforceable as regards design infringement, metal assay,
and other standard contractual terms are not and will not be enforced
should there be any problems with a particular company. Not that all
Asian countries are as despicable ( and I do own making that blanket
statement about Chinese manufacturing contractors- particularly
concerning jewelry manufacturers) as Chinese are notorious for not
upholding international trade agreement laws, enforcing penalties on
known fraud, using alloys that are not what a client pays for nor
specifies, down to paying workers salaries on time !, etc… Best
advice : There are reputable US companies, companies based in
Thailand and some in central America that all produce and deliver
high quality work within the constraints of any contractual
agreements made, and while you may find it cheaper out-of-country
consider the VAT taxes, customs charges and post costs when deciding
on a supplier when comparing the US companies total costs and ease
of contact in any final decision you make. Secondly, do your research
before offering or signing any contracts. Get a sample made up from
each prospective supplier/producer and remember to ask what their
policies on regarding subsequent orders and colour matching (
particularly when dealing with karated gold colours) and whether
they will allow you to provide the stones ( if stone setting is
required) and metals if the company is more casting oriented than a
full service supplier of raw materials that does contract casting as
a sideline. If I can be of further assistance don’t hesitate to
contact me off list. I can answer some things for you but do
consulting as part of my business as well…
rer