Shhhsilk founder Olivia Carr to give tips on manufacturing in China for the unwary

A FORMER Gold Coaster — who has sold silk pillow cases to megastars Kim Kardashian and Giselle Bundchen — says manufacturing in China is riddled with pitfalls for the unwary.

Olivia Carr, of Shhhsilk, has plenty of advice for start-ups planning to manufacture in China.

FORMER Gold Coaster Olivia Carr — whose silk pillow slips adorn the beds of Kim Kardashian and Giselle Bundchen — has faced many struggles launching her business.

But the co-founder of silk sleepwear label Shhhsilk, who will speak on Friday at the Retail Global Gold Coast conference, says none compare to the immense challenges involved with manufacturing in China.

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Ms Carr flew to China in August, 2015, to research manufacturing silk pillow slips.

“In China there is a culture of corruption going on, they have no shame in cheating you as a customer,” she said.

“I found what I thought was this amazing factory the size of Bunnings and went to research it.

Thank you card from Khloe Kardashian to Olivia Carr, of Shhhsilk

“Instead I was taken to a residential area and a flat where there were six machinists in one room with no ventilation. I felt sick to the stomach. They told me that this was the factory.”

Ms Carr said, during the first trip, she felt intimidated by the factory owners.

“The first trip is always the worst. The hardest part is breaking away.

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“They will watch every move you make and they are constantly sending you messages.

“As a young woman it was very intimidating. You could give up very quickly.”

Ms Carr, who now manufactures through three factories in the coastal province of Jiangsu, said she has learnt to approach her trips to China differently.

“You have to enter China as if you are part of their world.

“You have to arrive three days earlier so you can see a second factory without the owners of the first knowing.”

US model Chrissy Teigen with Shhhsilk products.

Ms Carr said the way many factory owners negotiate on price is via stopping production — so it is important to have a backup factory to prevent being held hostage.

She also said copying products was part and parcel of manufacturing in China.

“How we deal with it is as soon as we make one line, we are on to the next one,” she said.

“We would rather they copy last season’s slips than this season.”

Ms Carr, who studied acting on the Gold Coast for several years before working for Pacific Brands, is due to speak twice at Friday’s conference: the morning session on manufacturing in China for start-ups and the second on social media.

Supermodel Giselle Bundchen with a Shhhsilk product

She has successfully tapped into the power of celebrity endorsement and social media with a host of celebrities, including Kim and Khloe Kardashian, becoming fans of her products.

“In 2016 I went out and found out where Kris Jenner was living and luckily Kim and Kanye West were staying at her house while they were having their own renovated,” she said.

“A UPS truck pulled up and the driver went inside the property and deposited his parcel. I followed and placed my package, with the pillow slips on top of the driver’s.

“That was the beginning of what has been an amazing journey with the family.”

Ms Carr said she first realised the benefits of sleeping on silk after trying cotton pillow cases during a trip to the US.

“I always used silk and I realised (after trying the cotton pillow cases) that my face was dry, and my hair was terrible.”

The business, launched in October 2015, and which also produces silk pyjamas, has a multimillion-dollar turnover.

Retail Global, a conference for retailers, runs from May 23 to May 25 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre.