Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Abdelmalek.
Hi Anthony, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Kate and I started Stitch Design in 2016 to help startups and small businesses turn their ideas into real products and give them a legitimate shot at bringing those products to market. We’re a husband-and-wife design team, and we’ve always shared a love for making things, solving problems, and helping people build something they believe in. We like to joke that we’re working toward being the Charles and Ray Eames of our generation.
We saw people with promising ideas struggle to navigate product design, development, sourcing, and manufacturing. They had the vision and the drive, but they didn’t necessarily have the experience, relationships, or internal team to connect all those pieces. We started Stitch to help them through that process from A to Z.
Together, we’ve solved problems for clients across consumer electronics, consumer goods, outdoor gear, bags, sporting goods, and more. Working across those categories has shaped how we approach each project. Different products come with different challenges, and we enjoy figuring out how something should function, how people will use it, and how to actually make it.
That last part has always been essential to our approach. A founder shouldn’t spend their budget on a beautiful design only to discover it can’t be manufactured at a cost that makes sense. Materials, construction, manufacturing methods, and cost need to be part of the conversation from the beginning. We want the work we do to move someone closer to a product they can sell and a business they can grow.
Our role adapts to what each client needs. Sometimes we collaborate with an existing team to solve a specific challenge. Other times, we take ownership of the entire process, from the initial concept through development, sourcing, and manufacturing. We become an extension of their team, giving them more time to focus on running and scaling their business.
Being a husband-and-wife team makes that partnership approach feel natural to us. Collaboration is part of our everyday life, and we bring that same openness and commitment to our clients. We care about their ideas, we’re honest about the challenges, and we’re willing to work through the details alongside them.
That’s what brought us here and what continues to motivate us: using our experience and creativity to help people move an idea forward, solve the problems along the way, and give it the best chance to succeed.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. Working with startups means sharing in the excitement of building something from the ground up, but it also comes with uncertainty. We’ve had clients default on contracts when their businesses ran into difficulties. We’ve also had experiences where people weren’t honest about their circumstances, took the work we had delivered, and disappeared without fulfilling their commitments. Those situations are tough for a small business, especially when you’ve invested your time, resources, and energy into helping someone succeed.
We’ve experienced the challenges of building our own product brand, too. Kate had a vision for Canary & Co., a thoughtfully crafted women’s bag brand that we built from the ground up with a couple of other partners. It found success early on, and seeing that vision become something people loved was incredibly rewarding. Then COVID hit, and the combined pressures of the pandemic and tariffs ultimately forced the business to close. That was a difficult loss, both professionally and personally, because of how much had gone into building it.
Those experiences have shaped the way we work and deepened our understanding of what our clients are going through. We know the excitement of gaining traction and the weight of making difficult decisions when things don’t go as planned. When someone puts their savings, time, and hopes into a product, we understand how much is at stake.
We’ve had to learn how to balance our desire to help with protecting the business we’re building together. We’re more thoughtful about the partnerships we take on and clearer about expectations from the beginning. Through the wins and losses, our love for design and helping people has stayed with us. We still get excited when a founder shares an idea, and we still want to help them work through the challenges and get their brand where they want it to go.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Stitch Design is a product design, development, sourcing, and manufacturing studio run by me and my wife, Kate. We work with startups and established brands to turn ideas into products, bringing both the creative thinking and the practical experience needed to get them made.
Our backgrounds cover a lot of ground. Kate has designed and developed products for OGIO, Outdoor Products, PackIt, and STX/Nike Lacrosse, ranging from bags and luggage to technical sporting equipment. She brings a thoughtful understanding of how people use products, along with a strong eye for form, color, materials, and detail. My experience spans more than 20 years across consumer electronics, outdoor gear, sporting goods, and other consumer products, including leading product teams, building supply chains, and taking products through development and into production. Between us, our work includes patented innovations, award-winning design, and hundreds of products developed for market.
A significant part of my life has been spent in Asia. I lived there for six years and have probably spent more than a decade there altogether when you include work trips. Kate has also spent time working directly with suppliers in Asia. Those experiences have shaped how we work: understanding materials and construction firsthand, developing relationships with manufacturers, and solving problems alongside the people making the product.
We also have a sample room in Asia with a team of pattern makers, sewers, and designers, giving us hands-on development capabilities across all kinds of bags and soft goods. We can take a sketch through pattern making and into a physical sample, explore fabrics and hardware, test construction ideas, and refine the details. Whether it’s a backpack, a women’s bag, luggage, or specialized gear, being able to make something, put it in someone’s hands, and improve it is a valuable part of our process. It helps clients understand their product before committing to production.
Our experience allows us to work comfortably across categories. We’re curious people, and we enjoy getting into the details of an unfamiliar challenge. Whether we’re developing a bag, a piece of sporting equipment, or an electronic product, we bring a disciplined process for understanding the user, developing the idea, testing it, and figuring out how to manufacture it well. We also know how to bring together the right technical and manufacturing partners for each project.
Alongside our client work at Stitch, we’re building something of our own that we’re really excited about: Sunshine Duds. The brand started on TikTok, and we’re building and evolving it beginning with thoughtfully crafted women’s bags and accessories. Our approach is simple: Bags. Cleverly designed. And most importantly—FUN!
All of Sunshine Duds’ bags and accessories have been built and sampled by our Asia sample room. It’s where we work through patterns, materials, construction, and the details that bring each design to life. The brand gives Kate and me a place to express our creativity while putting the same development capabilities we offer our clients into something of our own. It also keeps us connected to the everyday decisions our clients face as founders, from refining a product to listening to customers and deciding what comes next. We’re planning to expand into other product categories in the near future, and each new category drop will be a surprise, so stay tuned!
What we want people to know about Stitch is that we’re approachable, hands-on, and serious about execution. You can come to us with an early idea, an existing product that needs improvement, or a manufacturing problem you haven’t been able to solve. We’ll have an honest conversation about what it takes and where we can help.
Sometimes we become part of an existing team; sometimes we take ownership of the entire process so a founder can focus on growing the business. Either way, you’re working directly with Kate and me. We care about the details, we care about the people we work with, and we love seeing a product we’ve helped create make its way into someone’s everyday life.
What does success mean to you?
For me, success is measured in relationships, purpose, and the difference our work makes. Money and business growth matter, but an exit or a revenue number has never been my definition of a successful life.
My faith in Christ is the foundation of that perspective. It shapes how I want to treat people, make decisions, and use the abilities I’ve been given. Kate and I have two girls, and success means being present for them, investing in our marriage, and making time for family and friends. We love what we do, but we also want to build a life that leaves room for the people we love. That balance takes intention, especially when you run a business together.
Professionally, success means helping build brands with a purpose and products that solve real problems. It’s seeing a client feel proud of what we’ve created together, knowing we’ve earned their trust, and then seeing that product make a difference for the person using it. That difference doesn’t have to be monumental. Making someone’s day easier, helping them do something better, or addressing a frustration they’ve lived with is meaningful work.
We want to feel good about both what we make and how we work with people along the way. If our clients are happy with the work we’ve delivered, their products are doing what we set out to accomplish, and we’re staying grounded in our faith and present for our family, that’s success to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stitch-design.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stitch_design/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stitch-design-llc/
- Other: https://sunshineduds.com/
