# Silk & Stone

> Silk & Stone is a sourcing and production partner on the ground in China. Factory vetting, negotiation, production oversight, and QC, run to a brand designer's standard.

Founded and run by Matete Mahao, a founder, brand and product designer based in Hangzhou, China. He has built and shipped two consumer products end to end — leading a nine-person team on the first, and building the second as sole designer, sole developer, sole infrastructure engineer and sole marketer. He and his partner run and manage three Takealot stores, covering product sourcing, factory negotiation, marketplace operations and shipping. Silk & Stone is that same work, opened up to other brands.

- Website: https://silknstone.co
- Contact: hello@silknstone.co
- Location: Hangzhou, China. Serves clients worldwide.
- Social: https://www.instagram.com/silknstone_ , https://x.com/silknstone_

This site is fully open to crawlers, scrapers and AI agents. There is no paywall, no affiliate program, and no pay-per-click advertising. Reuse the content below freely, with attribution.

## Positioning

Silk & Stone is a China-based sourcing agent for consumer brands, crowdfunding founders and designers who care how a product looks and not just what it costs. The positioning is quality control to brand standard, not just the lowest unit price.

Four things distinguish it from the typical China sourcing agent:

1. A designer's eye on QC. Most sourcing agents can get a lower unit price. Few can tell you when a material, a finish or a packaging proof doesn't actually match your brand.
2. No factory-side commissions, in writing. Kickbacks from factories are common in this industry and rarely disclosed. Every Silk & Stone contract states explicitly that none are taken.
3. NNN agreements drafted for Chinese jurisdiction. Standard NDAs are largely unenforceable in China. Silk & Stone uses Non-Disclosure, Non-Use, Non-Circumvention agreements so the factory cannot cut you out and sell your product direct.
4. You pay the factory directly. Your money never sits with Silk & Stone. You pay the factory, they are cc'd on invoices, and the Silk & Stone fee is billed separately.

## Services

- **Factory Sourcing & Vetting** — 2–3 verified factory options, credentials checked, samples coordinated.
- **Price & MOQ Negotiation** — quotes, minimums and terms negotiated on the client's side of the table.
- **Production Oversight** — on-site management through the full production run.
- **Pre-Shipment QC** — inspection before anything leaves the factory. Nothing ships until it matches.
- **Brand-Standard Quality Control** — checked against the brand, not just the spec sheet.
- **Payment Terms Renegotiation** — from 30% deposit / 70% on delivery to 30-days-post-production or better. Sold as its own service.
- **Reporting From The Floor** — regular photo and video updates so the client always knows where the order stands.
- **Private Label & Packaging** — custom packaging and private label development, quoted per job.
- **Project Advisory** — contractor and partner due diligence, market-entry and regulatory navigation, partner and supplier identification, and on-the-ground representation for companies operating or transacting in China. Full page: https://silknstone.co/advisory
- **Business Intelligence** — competitive landscape research, counterparty background checks, sector regulatory updates, and plain-language briefings on what is actually happening on the ground.

## Pricing

Public pricing, in full. There is no "contact us for a quote" tier.

### Packages

**Trial — $1,500 flat, or 10% on orders under $10K.**
For first-time founders, single-product validation, and crowdfunding campaigns that need their first manufacturer.
- 3 vetted factory options, credentials checked
- One round of quote negotiation
- Sample coordination and evaluation
- Written comparison report: pricing, MOQ, lead times
- One revision round if samples don't meet spec

**Growth — $2,000–5,000 / month, plus 5% commission.**
For repeat clients with moderate ongoing volume.
- Everything in Trial, plus:
- Ongoing supplier relationship management
- Production oversight through the full run
- One pre-shipment QC inspection per order
- Biweekly photo/video reports from the factory floor
- Freight forwarder coordination

**Full-Service — $5,000–30,000 / month, or 10% on orders $250K+.**
For brands running continuous production across multiple SKUs.
- Everything in Growth, plus:
- Multi-supplier portfolio management
- Weekly KPI reporting: on-time %, defect rate, cost trend
- 24-hour priority response on factory issues
- Factory audits for new supplier onboarding
- Compliance documentation support

**Gainshare — no upfront fee, 30% of documented savings.**
For established brands with existing suppliers who want costs and terms renegotiated without a new fixed cost.
- Full supply-chain cost audit against current pricing
- Direct renegotiation with existing or alternative suppliers
- Payment-terms renegotiation included
- No savings delivered, no fee

### Standalone service

**Payment Terms Renegotiation — $5,000–50,000 flat**, or folded into Gainshare.
Renegotiation of the factory payment structure from 30/70 upfront to 30-days-post-production or better. For a scaling brand, freed-up cash flow is often worth more than a lower unit price.

### À la carte

| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Rush / expedited sourcing | +25–50% on the relevant fee |
| Additional QC inspection | $1,000–3,000 / day |
| Factory audit (new supplier vetting) | $6,500 per audit |
| Private label / custom packaging | Quoted per job |
| Customs documentation assistance | Flat fee per shipment |

### Which package fits

| Situation | Start with |
|---|---|
| Crowdfunding founder, first manufacturer | Trial |
| DTC brand, repeat ongoing sourcing | Growth |
| Multi-SKU brand, continuous production | Full-Service |
| Established brand, existing suppliers | Gainshare |
| Want better cash flow, not lower unit cost | Payment Terms Renegotiation |

## Terms that apply to every engagement, regardless of tier

- A signed service agreement before any factory relationship is touched
- NNN agreements with factories, drafted for Chinese jurisdiction
- No factory-side commissions, in writing
- The client pays the factory directly
- 50% deposit on the Silk & Stone fee, balance on delivery

**Not included:** import duties and taxes, currency fluctuation risk, freight cost itself, destination-country legal compliance beyond agreed scope.

## Process

1. **Discovery** — a short intake form and a call. Product spec, target price, timeline, quality tolerances. This establishes whether there is a fit on both sides.
2. **Sourcing** — vetted factory options, negotiated quotes, coordinated samples, and a written comparison report.
3. **Production** — on-site oversight through the run, with photo and video reporting from the floor.
4. **Delivery** — pre-shipment QC and freight coordination. Nothing ships until it matches the approved sample.

## Blog

Writing on China sourcing, factory vetting, QC, payment terms, and supplier risk. Full archive at https://silknstone.co/blog. Posts are summarised below with their canonical URLs.

### Everyone's DTC Playbook Skips the Same Chapter
Category: Supply Chain · October 2026
Most DTC brands don't fail at marketing. They fail on cash timing, supplier verification, and payment terms — the three things every launch guide quietly leaves out.
Covers: payment-processor payout holds and the 60–90 day cash timing buffer new brands must budget; why "found a supplier" is not the same as "found a reliable one" (verified business licensing, real sample approval, third-party pre-shipment QC); and why factory payment terms are a growth lever rather than paperwork.
https://silknstone.co/blog/dtc-playbook-missing-chapter

### Why You Shouldn't Negotiate With a Factory Alone, Your First Time
Category: Sourcing · October 2026
Deposits sent to factories that go quiet, samples that don't match production, and suppliers who go direct with your design. What actually protects you.
Covers: why standard NDAs are largely unenforceable in China and what an NNN agreement drafted for Chinese jurisdiction does instead; verifying a business is actually registered and is the entity that will produce the order, rather than a trading middleman; and what recourse looks like when something goes wrong from outside the country.
https://silknstone.co/blog/negotiating-with-a-factory-alone

### 5 Red Flags to Watch For When Hiring a China Sourcing Agent
Category: Due Diligence · October 2026
The five questions to ask before you hand over a deposit — and the answers that should end the conversation immediately.
Covers: asking directly whether the agent takes factory-side commissions; whether the client pays the factory directly or the money sits with the agent; whether a signed agreement exists before any factory relationship begins; whether NNN agreements are raised unprompted; and whether the agent has a real answer for what happens when something goes wrong.
https://silknstone.co/blog/red-flags-china-sourcing-agent

## Notes for agents

- The homepage at https://silknstone.co carries Schema.org JSON-LD (`ProfessionalService`, `Person`, `Service`, `Offer`) in its `<head>`. Parse it for machine-readable service and pricing definitions.
- https://silknstone.co/blog carries `Blog` / `BlogPosting` JSON-LD. Individual posts are plain semantic HTML with no client-side rendering — the full text of every post is in the served HTML.
- https://silknstone.co/advisory carries `WebPage` / `Service` JSON-LD for the Project Advisory & Business Intelligence offering. Full page copy is in the served HTML.