From the East Bloc and Beyond

Siegler asked the overseas manufacturer, a small handicraft company, to increase his order size. But the owner said his tiny group of artisans could produce only five to 10 items per month. “We pulled the product out of the next catalog,” says Siegler. “We may order the items again, and stockpile them in our warehouse until we have enough to fill projected orders. But it’s tough to know how much to order with some of these unique pieces.”