At a glance
- •Client: Karbach Brewing, ordering patches for a brand event in Los Angeles.
- •Maker: Panda Patches, a U.S.-registered custom patch company producing at its own facility in Pakistan.
- •Product: 1,200 patches across 6 designs at 200 pieces each — a mix of woven and laser-engraved genuine leather, 2.25 to 3.5 inches, with iron-on backing.
- •Constraint: a rush order from the first message, with an event in Los Angeles on January 20 that the patches had to make.
- •Timeline: mockups sent January 8, approved in writing January 9, shipped January 14 — five days after approval.
- •Delivery: signed for on January 19 at 10:13 AM, one day before the event and ten days after approval, door to door from the production facility.
- •Outcome: Karbach were back in touch about their next order in August 2026.
Six designs, two materials, one fixed date
When Karbach Brewing's brand team reached out in early January, they had six patch designs, a quantity of 1,200 — a mix of woven and laser-engraved genuine leather between 2.25 and 3.5 inches — and one hard constraint: an event in Los Angeles on January 20 that the patches had to make.
This was a rush order from the first message. The deadline was not negotiable, and the order mixed two materials that behave differently in production and in application.
January 8–9: mockups approved
Every design was mocked up and approved in writing within a day. Emily Rodgers, Karbach's Sr. Brand Manager, came back with three words that start the production clock: "These are approved."
January 14: shipped, five days after approval
Five days after approval, all 1,200 patches were finished, quality-checked and handed to the carrier — six designs across two different materials, each counted separately.
The same-day reaction from Karbach: "Amazing! They look soooo GOOD! Thank you so much for knocking these out!"
January 19, 10:13 AM: delivered and signed for
The shipment was delivered in Los Angeles and signed for on the morning of January 19 — one day before the event, ten days after mockup approval, door to door from our facility. Carrier delivery record on file.
The honest footnote: leather behaves differently under an iron
Karbach's team found that some leather patches stuck or scorched when the iron was applied straight to the leather face. We sent the fix the same day — a pressing cloth between the iron and the patch — and the rest applied cleanly.
The settings were never the problem. Leather carries the same heat-seal adhesive as our embroidered patches and takes the same 350°F press, the same 25 to 30 seconds. What leather will not take is bare contact with a hot iron. On woven and embroidered patches the pressing cloth is good practice; on leather it is the difference between a clean application and a marked patch.
We would rather tell you that here than pretend every material behaves identically. This order is why our iron-on guide now spells the leather rule out instead of leaving the pressing cloth as an optional nicety.
Read the iron-on application guide, including the leather exception
Two weeks later, and then again in August
At the end of January: "The patches went over really well and the quality was great… Amazing job and we'll definitely order from you again!"
What the patches were actually for: guests at the event used them to customize their own hats, which is why six designs at 200 each mattered more than one design at 1,200 — everyone got a choice.
In August 2026 they were back in touch about their next order, and left a five-star review. The return is the part of a case study you cannot write on the day you ship.
“Lance was great to work with and helped us out with a project that needed to be turned around quickly. He stayed on top of order and communicated well throughout the entire process. The patches ordered turned out great and our guests were excited to create their hats with the designs.”