Sourcing from China: What Dennis Fay Learned Getting Salty Monkeys Made

An informal workshop and Q&A with the founder of Salty Monkeys. Plus what a stint in Italy taught him about Torres Strait fishing.

Tuesday 6 October 2026 · [5:00pm for a 5:15pm start, finish 6:30pm] · Tropic Tech & Innovation Network, 254–256 Mulgrave Road, Westcourt · [$35]

Dennis Fay grew up on Badu Island spearfishing, spent time in the military, competed in sport overseas and worked as a firefighter in Cairns before he started filming his fishing trips on a GoPro. Those videos turned into Salty Monkeys, a Torres Strait brand that now sells apparel designed by First Nations artists and ecofinZ, a dive fin made from plastic pulled off Torres Strait beaches.

Getting high-quality apparel made in China is a dream many people have - Dennis has taken the leap and will share his learnings with us. This may mean working out who will manufacture it, how you check quality from 6,000 kilometres away, what the freight costs before you've sold a item. Dennis has done all of that with suppliers in China over the past year, and he'll talk through what worked, what didn't, and what he'd do differently next time.

He'll also cover a less obvious thread: what he picked up from his travels to Italy and how he's applying it to value-added crayfish and small-scale fishing businesses back home in the Torres Strait. Different product, same problem: how does a small operator far from the market get a good product to people who'll pay for it?T

his is an informal session. Dennis will present for about 30 minutes, then it's open Q&A.

Bring your actual questions about finding suppliers, sampling, minimum order quantities, freight, online sales, or building a business from a place most factories have never heard of.

Who it's for

Anyone thinking about getting a physical product made overseas, anyone already doing it and wanting to compare notes, and anyone running or supporting a business in the Torres Strait, Cape York or the rest of Far North Queensland. You don't need to be in fishing or fashion. The problems are the same.

About Dennis

Dennis Fay is the founder of Salty Monkeys, a First Nations-owned business based in the Torres Strait. Since 2017 Salty Monkeys has grown from adventure videos into apparel, dive gear, youth leadership programs, marine safety workshops and the Marine Debris Task Force, which uses drones and AI to track plastic on Torres Strait coastlines. He splits his time between Cairns and the islands.

This event is heavily discounted due to support from the Queensland Government Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation as part of the Regional Enablers Program delivered by Launch Y(E)P.

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