The Beginner Sourcing Guide

Most sourcing advice is a list of shops.

Lists go out of date. And they don’t help you the day you’re standing in an aisle holding two bags of pasta, trying to work out which one will actually work.

This guide is built the other way round. First you learn what to look for, then where to get it, so the judgement travels with you even when a supplier discontinues your favourite colour.

WHAT’S INSIDE

Buying at your stage, the reason bulk isn’t always cheaper.

Base personalities, what rice, chickpeas, pasta, couscous and beans are each good at, what to avoid.

Paint, the non-negotiables, the certification marks to look for, why dollar store paint costs more than it saves, and the palette trap that dries out half your bottles

Tools, buy first, buy later, don’t buy. The one thing worth real money early

Packaging, bag sizing by weight, what thickness you actually need, and what has to go on your label

Where to buy, Canada, US, UK, Australia, Europe and Asia, with what each place is genuinely best at

Plus, a cost baseline worksheet, learning when bulk is worth it, how to store what you buy, labelling for safety and troubleshooting and substitutions

THIS IS FOR YOU IF

• You don’t know where to buy supplies, or whether you’re overpaying

• You want to buy in bulk but aren’t sure when it’s worth it

• You’re outside the US and tired of guides that assume you aren’t

• You’ve had a bag of pasta arrive shattered and didn’t know why

THIS PROBABLY ISN’T FOR YOU IF

• You already have suppliers you’re happy with

• You want colouring technique