In Alejandra Cancino’s article in the Business section of Sunday’s Chicago Tribune (December 2, 2012), Designer made herself into a manufacturer, Ms. Cancino chronicles shoe designer Annie Mohaupt’s efforts to start a fashion footwear business.

From the beginning Annie’s wood-soled sandals were a hit. At first completely handmade, in time Annie invested in a $70,000 computer-driven wood cutting and shaping machine. As demand grew, Annie felt that she could not keep pace and that’s when she flew to China to meet with two sourcing agents. The American man and Chinese woman hooked her up with a shoe factory in Dongguan that was making high-end fashion shoes for internationally recognized brands.

There were problems from the beginning: issues with the prototypes, and even after sending instructions to the factory, the initial shipment of 1,000 pairs proved to be of very poor quality. Worse, when Annie tried to hold up the next order of 1,500 pairs, she was informed that it was too late: the order had shipped.

Having cost her more than $20,000 and wreaking havoc with her customers, Annie severed her relationship with China and focused instead on producing her products in her Chicago workspace.

Today, in complete control of her business, Annie and her staff are turning out top-quality footwear, introducing new designs and expanding her customer base.

Whether it’s called ‘insourcing’ or ‘basic survival’, this is the why and how of re-vitalizing America’s economic base. The idea of Restart America is to bring focus and force to what is occurring naturally.

Let’s pick up the pace!