In 2013, we founded Columbus Design & Manufacturing with the straightforward goal of expanding access to custom manufacturing in the US. After decades of working in the manufacturing sector, it became inevitable that too much of our American manufacturing base was being outsourced to low-wage Asian nations, with China clearly leading the way. The development of the internet, social media, and e-commerce platforms made it feasible for the average person with little money to create goods, start a business, and sell directly to customers. The great majority of new consumer-direct brands were sourced in China because platforms such as Alibaba made it easy to locate factories in China. But the need for cheaper prices wasn't always the driving force behind the decision to import.