Clutch Made

• accessory production
• belt production
• belt samples
• briefcase production
• briefcases
• cosmetic bags
• diaper bags
• Hair Accessories
• hair accessory production
• handbag patterns
• handbag productions
• handbag samples
• Leather accessories
• Leather Goods
• patterns
• preferred
• productions
• samples
• small batch productions
• Small Leather Goods
• sourcing
• tote bag production
• tote bags
• wallet productions
• wallet samples

BEWARE!! Clutch Made was not able to source any of the products discussed in the making of my tech pack. Previous review is correct. They will not disclose sourcing. They also only use the companies they have an existing relationship with for sourcing which means if the material you want for your product are not produced by these companies then you’re out of luck. You’ll have to change your materials to what they have available. They do not disclose this information in the beginning, only 1. After you’ve paid and 2. You’ve gone back in forth with them about not sourcing the materials you discussed. So they aren’t truly SOURCING your materials. I wasted a lot of money as they would not refund me for the work the DID NOT DO!! They also tried to convince me the material I wanted didn’t exist, which I knew wasn’t the truth!! This was 4 months of back and forth because they could not deliver. A complete waste of time and money!!! Based on this experice I decided not to go any further with clutch made although they tried to convince me to move on to pattern and sample. I was not happy and refused to settle. I recently met with another bag company and they immediately knew the materials I wanted for my bags. The new company was able to provide me with samples, color options, hardware, etc with no issues. PLEASE BEWARE THIS COMPANY IS NOT AT ALL WHAT THEY BRAND THEMSELVES TO BE.

We scheduled a phone call and we had a poor connection. I tried to call back several times with no answer.

Pros: Sample bag was made well (but not to spec), turnaround was fairly quick Cons: everything else. To speak with them on the phone as a paying customer, you have to make an appointment two to three days out...even if it's just a 5-10 minute conversation. They are not the "factory you can talk to" like they claim, unless that means you can talk to them after making a request and waiting for 3 days. I paid them for sourcing and then they wouldn't give me the sources. Of all the factories I have contacted and worked with, no one has every denied sharing sourcing info. They want to make you beholden to their suppliers so you have to pay more for their hardware and fabrics. I should also mention that they don't tell you this initially, you have to pay and learn the hard way. Pricing is all over the place with no basis. They quoted me $125 for 50 bags (ALL IN PRICE, which included materials) and then 40 days later quoted me $135 for JUST labor of the bag and told me that their quotes expired after 30 days (Nowhere did they say the quote would expire in the initial bid). They will charge you $95 for shipping and then ship your package out ground From what I could see, the majority of their 5 star reviews on google were actual employees writing the review (shady!) I can only imagine that the 5 star review on this page is also fake. I should have read the initial 1 star review. My experience was pretty much the same. They will price gouge you at any chance they get. I gave them THOUSANDS of dollars and ended up with a final prototype that was not to spec nor did it have the specific fabric in the bag that I asked for. With no apology or refund of cash...just an offer to photoshop my images so that it looked like the bag I requested. I was hoping they could redeem themselves by making some quick samples that I needed coming up, but they sensed my urgency and jacked the price up beyond their initial quote. Ridiculous. Terrible Terrible Company. Avoid at all costs.

• Jessica P. January 2019

  DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY

  BEWARE!! Clutch Made was not able to source any of the products discussed in the making of my tech pack. Previous review is correct. They will not disclose sourcing. They also only use the companies they have an existing relationship with for sourcing which means if the material you want for your product are not produced by these companies then you’re out of luck. You’ll have to change your materials to what they have available. They do not disclose this information in the beginning, only 1. After you’ve paid and 2. You’ve gone back in forth with them about not sourcing the materials you discussed. So they aren’t truly SOURCING your materials. I wasted a lot of money as they would not refund me for the work the DID NOT DO!! They also tried to convince me the material I wanted didn’t exist, which I knew wasn’t the truth!! This was 4 months of back and forth because they could not deliver. A complete waste of time and money!!! Based on this experice I decided not to go any further with clutch made although they tried to convince me to move on to pattern and sample. I was not happy and refused to settle. I recently met with another bag company and they immediately knew the materials I wanted for my bags. The new company was able to provide me with samples, color options, hardware, etc with no issues. PLEASE BEWARE THIS COMPANY IS NOT AT ALL WHAT THEY BRAND THEMSELVES TO BE.

  Response from the manufacturer

  Jessica- Thank you for your feedback regarding working with the Clutch Made Design Team. We are always open to understanding customer's viewpoints. Our team will always advise that a start-up company, such as yours, work with the materials that require smaller quantities. This translates as less of an investment of cash flow during development. During your production, we did offer you selections of cooling materials that are extremely popular on the marketplace in the USA, and readily available in very small quantities. We work on keeping clients' budgets in mind while sourcing materials, designing, and sampling a product that our client envisions. Best Regards- The Clutch Made Team

• Ray M. June 2018

  Wasted my time

  We scheduled a phone call and we had a poor connection. I tried to call back several times with no answer.

  Response from the manufacturer

  Ray- WOW! Apologies! We looked for your booking, but had no record of it. Please note how we work: We answer all our calls that are booked on our site or that are coordinated with us on Makers Row. We are not sure what happened here as we have no record of your inquiry. Please feel free to reach out to us at anytime at team@clutchmade.com or on our website www.clutchmade.com. You can book a FREE CALL at this link provided here:https://www.clutchmade.com/online-booking Looking forward to hearing from you! Best- Laura Dotolo Managing Principal Clutchmade.com

• hollye S. June 2018

  Very unprofessional, expensive, and no basis for pricing

  Pros: Sample bag was made well (but not to spec), turnaround was fairly quick Cons: everything else. To speak with them on the phone as a paying customer, you have to make an appointment two to three days out...even if it's just a 5-10 minute conversation. They are not the "factory you can talk to" like they claim, unless that means you can talk to them after making a request and waiting for 3 days. I paid them for sourcing and then they wouldn't give me the sources. Of all the factories I have contacted and worked with, no one has every denied sharing sourcing info. They want to make you beholden to their suppliers so you have to pay more for their hardware and fabrics. I should also mention that they don't tell you this initially, you have to pay and learn the hard way. Pricing is all over the place with no basis. They quoted me $125 for 50 bags (ALL IN PRICE, which included materials) and then 40 days later quoted me $135 for JUST labor of the bag and told me that their quotes expired after 30 days (Nowhere did they say the quote would expire in the initial bid). They will charge you $95 for shipping and then ship your package out ground From what I could see, the majority of their 5 star reviews on google were actual employees writing the review (shady!) I can only imagine that the 5 star review on this page is also fake. I should have read the initial 1 star review. My experience was pretty much the same. They will price gouge you at any chance they get. I gave them THOUSANDS of dollars and ended up with a final prototype that was not to spec nor did it have the specific fabric in the bag that I asked for. With no apology or refund of cash...just an offer to photoshop my images so that it looked like the bag I requested. I was hoping they could redeem themselves by making some quick samples that I needed coming up, but they sensed my urgency and jacked the price up beyond their initial quote. Ridiculous. Terrible Terrible Company. Avoid at all costs.

  Response from the manufacturer

  Hollye- We apologize that the development of your handbag did not meet your expectations. We do find that managing client expectations for startups is one of our biggest challenges. We are happy that you were impressed by the quality of the bag and the quick turnaround time. Let us address your concerns here: Phone Call Availability- We do encourage all of our clients to book an appointment so they can get our undivided attention. That is the way we work. Sourcing- Sourcing for Clutch Made is a service that we offer. Our vendors and relationships have been cultivated over years. Our policy is to not disclose our curated library of Sources. That is part of our business. Quotes- All quotes at Clutch Made are good for 30 days. Estimates are given based on quantities of product ordered. Quantities under our MOQ of 50 units are always more expensive due to labor cost. Shipping- Our shipping costs include all the materials/hardware being shipped to our factory from different vendors so we can make your samples. It also includes the finished product being shipped to you. Reviews- We respect all reviews and feedback. It is crucial for good business. All the written reviews on Google are from our Clutch Made customers. Sample- Starting a business is an expensive journey and does take an initial amount of cash flow. We make sure to let our clients know this. It is important for startups developing product to keep in mind that they are not buying a product off a store shelf, but developing a product from an idea, which is inevitably more expensive. Photography- Once we make a sample, we do not alter it. However, Photoshop is a quick fix for samples that need to be photographed, which is one of the many photography services we offer. To save time and cost, changes to patterns can be adjusted before production. We appreciate all feedback in regards to our manufacturing. We hope that what we have addressed encourages others to move forward with their dreams and ideas and continue to make in the USA. Regards- Laura Dotolo Principal, Clutch Bags LLC

• Kojo O. October 2017

  Great customer service

  They were very prompt and courteous from discussions here on Makers Row to our phone calls. They provided me with all the information I required.

• Gladys F. August 2017

  Outstanding Service

  Laura is simply an amazing professional who really cares about every one regardless of whether she's going to profit from you or not. A few months ago, I had a conference call with her for a product I invented. It turned out that it was not a business she could help me with, however, she gave me plenty of advise and guidance. I had no idea what a different route I had to take - from where I was at the moment - she was able to see that and guided me in the right direction. She took her time during our call to make sure I understood the why and the how. I truly respect Laura and her commitment to helping her clients. Anyone else would have just end the conversation with me once they realized they were not going to profit from me - not Laura. She helped me a lot regardless. I am very thankful to her and I am counting on doing business with her in the future! G. Foreman

  Response from the manufacturer

  Dear Gladys- Thank you for taking the time and attention to write this review. We like to encourage everyone we have the opportunity to come in contact with to pursue making their ideas into a product. If we are able to offer advice that helps to guide someone along the path of product development, we are more than happy to do this. Best- Laura Dotolo + The Clutch Made Team www.clutchmade.com

• Bridget B. April 2016

  Do not recommend.

  After a great start with this factory, it went downhill fast. Many missed deadlines. Upon placing an order for our 2nd production run, we were told that their pricing was now 30% higher and their minimums doubled. Which meant we could no longer afford to work with them. We had a difficult time getting our materials and metal dies back, and they even left out a few dies and didn't offer any reason or apologies for this, and didn't offer to send them at their cost. Very frustrating and time consuming experience for us and I do not recommend.

  Response from the manufacturer

  Dear Bridget- We were disheartened to hear that you had such a frustrating experience after making and developing your handbags with us for almost two years. That was truly not our intention to have you walk away with such dissatisfaction. We do really appreciate your business and your feedback. We would also like to take this chance to comment on your points: ~Increase in Production Costs: With a MOQ increase, there are usually reasons for it. We find that taking the time to teach our sewers how to construct the bag of the week takes up valuable time. The less quantity we have to make with more time spent reviewing the process, then the more out of pocket money we spend on reviewing and teaching our workers the construction. When bag styles prove to be more labor intensive due to details and construction, such as your handbag styles, that is also a contribution to an increase in production costs. Another reason for production increase, besides MOQ's, is the season of the year that you choose to schedule a production. Slower production months are a good time to negotiate lower rates and quantities, which are quite possible. This is a good tip for all makers. ~Materials Shipped/Returned: When a client is storing their materials with us, which is a service we offer, that is done at a warehouse in a downtown Manhattan location. We pride ourselves on communication and turning around requests in satisfactory time frames. Packing up bolts of materials, boxes of heavy steel dies and hardware takes time to execute. We try and give our clients a window of 2-3 weeks for us to attend to the arduous task. Quite possibly we need to make sure that this time frame is communicated better to our clients. A written invoice with time schedules is usually submitted before the task is attempted, which is how we did proceed. We are readily available for contact at anytime. We do pride ourselves on the fact that we are "the Factory you can talk to". We wish you the best with the growth and success of your company as you move forward on your journey. Please note that our services will always be available to you for any future endeavors. Best Wishes~ Laura Dotolo + The Clutch Made Team www.clutchmade.com