Ready-to-wear maker & manufacturing partner — Humen Town, Guangdong Province
Daisy's studio is based in Humen Town, an industrial manufacturing hub approximately two hours south of Guangzhou, with a population of around 600,000. The city produces a wide range of consumer goods and has a well-established garment manufacturing infrastructure. It's a working city built around production, and Daisy has been part of that industry for over 30 years.
[ Humen Town ]
She operates from the top floor of a five-storey building, where each level houses a different manufacturing business. The setup provides access to a broader production network under one roof — a practical arrangement for a studio that scales its team up and down based on order volume.
Daisy has worked in garment manufacturing for over three decades. She prefers to be in the studio over most other places, and brings the same attention to detail to how she dresses — she wears black and white exclusively, a capsule wardrobe that reflects the considered approach she applies to her work. She is patient, precise, and holds a high standard for both product and service.
[ Daisy in the studio, dressed in her signature black and white ]
Daisy launched her business in early 2018, three months before Après Studio opened. After years working within larger manufacturing operations, she made the decision to go out on her own — motivated by a desire to work in a way that put quality, people, and environmental responsibility ahead of output targets. Starting a business as a mother of one, in an industry and culture where that carries real social expectation, was a significant step. Meg and Daisy met at a manufacturing expo in China in 2019, one year into their respective ventures, and committed to supporting each other's growth from there.
[ Daisy and Meg in Humen Town ]
Garment manufacturing runs in Daisy's family across generations, alongside a long-held concern for the industry's environmental impact. Daisy studied environmental engineering at university in 2003, majoring in the design of systems for processing and treating polluted water and air. That background informs how she runs her studio. She works directly with family and close friends, which means her ethical standards are embedded in the team rather than imposed on it.
[The team at work and play ]
Her full-time team of nine is largely made up of family members:
- Daisy (Dai Li Ping) — Director
- Mr Dai (Uncle) — Pattern Maker
- Dai Liang (Brother) — Driver & Sample Coordinator
- Pan Wen Xian (Mum) — Quality Control, Garment Finishing, Packing & occasional Childminder
- Mr Wang — Machinist
- Zoe / Zhang Ping — Assistant
- Leanne / Liang Cai Lian — Assistant
- Gu Zhi — Sample Machinist
- Zhou Xiao Wen — Machinist
When order volume increases, Daisy also draws on a network of trusted freelancers: a pattern cutter, ruching machinist, embroidery specialist, and two additional machinists. This flexible structure keeps the core team sustainable while allowing the studio to scale without overcommitting.
Working hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. In Humen Town's manufacturing district, it's standard practise to close between 12pm and 2pm — staff go home, eat with family, and rest before returning for the afternoon. Staff who choose to work additional hours are paid double time.
[ Daisy's factory ]
Daisy and Meg are actively working to reduce the studio's carbon footprint. Current initiatives include expanding the rooftop garden and trialling portable solar panels as an interim renewable energy source. Both are practical, incremental steps — consistent with how Daisy has always approached sustainability: not as a goal post to reach, but as an ongoing part of how the business operates.
