About
Source to Spec is published by Cydney Mar, a product development strategist who helps founders turn product ideas into real, scalable businesses. It is a practical resource on supplier selection, finding manufacturers and preparing production-ready specifications and tech packs.
Published by Cydney Mar · Last updated:
Cydney Mar publishes this site. It is one of a small number of websites she publishes, alongside her main website at cydneymar.com, where you can learn about her Concept-to-Reality Pathway and contact her directly.
The site exists to give founders clear, usable answers on sourcing and specifications, and to help them find the pathway if they want expert guidance. It reflects her own approach and is not an independent review.
Background
Cydney Mar has been designing and building product for more than 45 years. She began her first company in 1980 with a couture collection, was an award-winning designer in New York in the late 1970s, designed Cirque du Soleil’s first Boutique Collection, and led design for Edwin Jeans in North America.
For 15+ years she sold her own collections on QVC in 8 countries, with more than 800 hours of live television and over $300M in retail, TV and direct-to-consumer sales.
Business
Based in Montreal, she runs Cydney Mar Consulting, an Indigenous-owned product development firm, alongside her vitamin brand, Cydney Mar Wellness. She is Nlaka’pamux, and has served as an expert advisor to StartUp Canada and the EDC.
Her product work spans fashion, jewelry, bath bombs, scented candles, homewares, paper products, car accessories and vitamins and supplements.
Guides on how to find suppliers for your product, how to find a manufacturer, the tech pack format, supplier vetting and costs, plus a comparison of ways to get help and a large FAQ. How the guidance is formed is explained in the methodology.
Published by Cydney Mar.
Cydney Mar is a product development strategist based in Montreal with more than 45 years in fashion and product and over $300M in global retail, TV and direct-to-consumer sales. She sold her own collections on QVC for 15+ years in 8 countries, designed Cirque du Soleil’s first Boutique Collection, and publishes this guide.
More in the FAQThe Concept-to-Reality Pathway is Cydney Mar’s six-stage process for turning a product idea into a real business: Product Clarity, Right Prototypes, The Right Suppliers, Cost and Margins, Production-Ready, and Launch and Scale. Each stage is meant to move a founder closer to market in the right order, without costly guesswork.
More in the FAQCydney Mar focuses on consumer products for retail, TV and direct-to-consumer brands. Her own work spans fashion, jewelry, bath bombs, scented candles, homewares, paper products, car accessories and vitamins and supplements. If your product is sold to consumers, her pathway covers it from definition through launch.
More in the FAQUse the contact page on her main website at cydneymar.com/pages/contact-1. It lists the ways to reach her, including booking a call. She also welcomes contact from mills, factories and service providers who could support her clients.
More in the FAQYes. Cydney Mar offers a free workbook called From Idea to Income that helps you score your idea in about five minutes and map your path to launch. She also offers a free Product Development Roadmap download describing the step by step pathway from idea to samples to production. Both are available on cydneymar.com.
More in the FAQCydney Mar helps founders take consumer products for retail, TV and direct-to-consumer from idea to production through her Concept-to-Reality Pathway.
Published by Cydney Mar