We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashley Jankowski. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashley below.

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

When it comes to education, I think it’s important for us all to remember that not every child is built the same and that they all take in and process information differently. Some are hardwired for math and science whereas others are partial to literature and history. And for me, I feel that education should not be just one way, but several different ways in order to serve all types of learners. For instance, my son Opie is in a private virtual school called Sora which is more project-focused versus standard tests and homework. This gives him the opportunity to discover real-world skills and find his passions while allowing him to learn and engage with others. I think the most important thing we can do for our children and their future is to provide them with experiences that will actually help prepare them for the real world and whatever job market they decide to go into.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

The Type Set Co. is not my first business. I used to own and operate a branding agency prior to starting The Type Set Co. but, the moment I got the idea for this brand, I knew I was on my path to what I loved – imagining and iterating creative products that can be used by almost everyone. The idea began when our son Opie was little, and we had the basic, hard plastic magnetic letters on our fridge for him to play with. As he got older, we noticed that even though the letters were meant to be a child’s toy, our adult friends and guests played with them more than Opie and his friends. People were constantly moving the multi-color mess around, arranging them into funny, and sometimes naughty, words and phrases. To this day, I still laugh to myself when I think about some of the things that they would leave up on our fridge.

While I appreciated the creativity of the messages they came up with, I often wished I could give the letters a makeover. I thought it would be great to switch out the colors as the seasons changed and make the design more sophisticated so that it tied in better with my home decor. One day it occurred to me that other people might be feeling the same way as I was. So I, along with my husband Paul, launched into some major research and development. We used a 3D printer to help us determine the best size and scale for the letters and later built our own prototype boards. Soon after, The Type Set Co. was born. Now we bring a wide variety of modern magnetic letters for adults and children to homes everywhere!

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process./

When we moved beyond the research and development stage for The Type Set Co., we knew we would need to find manufacturers that could help us bring our products to life in a large-scale format. We started our journey with ThomasNet and initially were hoping to produce our products here in the U.S., however, it became apparent very quickly that wouldn’t be an option. I’m fortunate that my husband and business partner Paul has a background working with manufacturers, so with his help and knowledge, we were able to navigate the process a bit better. That being said, it was still very much a process. After lots of Google searches and cyber sleuthing, we came across Made-in-China.com, which lead us to begin manufacturing overseas.

During our factory-finding process, we were introduced to a man that was at the time a salesman for a magnet company – clearly right up our alley. He eventually left that company and became our manufacturing agent in China and has been a key member of The Type Set Co. team ever since. He helps us with all things manufacturing, from sourcing and introductions to quality control. Being boots on the ground, he is an integral part of our operations and production. While we highly recommend visiting the factory you intend to do business with, it’s also crucial to have someone there that can speak the language and advocate on your behalf. If you are looking to manufacture your products in China, I suggest you visit the Canton Fair. You’ll be able to meet with people from all different types of factories and see the types of products they specialize in producing.

My last bit of advice when outsourcing your manufacturing, always get prototypes or samples, no matter what they say, always get a sample. If my samples aren’t high-quality and sellable as-is then we won’t do business with them. This is definitely a learn-as-you-go process and there will be times when you have to roll with the punches and take the hit from mistakes. Which is why I can’t recommend it enough, have an agent. They will handle quality control and be your brand’s best advocate. Treat that agent like they are a part of your team, a part of your family because when you make that personal connection with them, it makes all the difference in your business relationship. Take the time to find the right manufacturer for you and your business. If a factory stops performing for you then you have to be prepared to fire your factory and find someone else to do the work. Do the research and don’t be afraid to reach out and email people to find the perfect match for your business.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

While starting a business is a lot about the unknown and the things you have no clue about, it’s also about the things you’re great at and passionate about. As I mentioned earlier, I previously owned and operated a branding agency where I would work with businesses not unlike The Type Set Co. to help them design their brand image. I designed everything from logos to packaging, which helped give me an advantage when I started my own product-focused business. I was able to use my past experience and knowledge to create a brand that resonated with a large audience while simultaneously modernizing a classic into something new and exciting for consumers.

Additionally, I knew I had to be smart with how we marketed The Type Set Co. so that we reached not only a mass audience but a targeted one as well. That is where our wholesale strategy came into play. We recognized very early on the importance of launching wholesale as a tactic for extending our marketing reach while also creating genuine brand awareness. While our e-commerce is a mainstay for our brand and business, we knew that in order to grow our brand and reputation organically, wholesale was the right step forward. By partnering with local, regional, and national retailers, we were able to get our product in front of customers so that they could touch, feel, and play with The Type Set Co. Even though we knew it was the best logical step for our brand, we also understood that going into wholesale required immense forethought so that we could make sure we were building in the margins needed to make both streams of sales profitable for the brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TheTypeSetCo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetypesetco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetypesetco
• Other: https://thetypesetco.com/collections/all

Image Credits
The Type Set Co.