I used to do that too, draw glyphs in AI and then copy them to FontLab. Unfortunately there's always some detail lost in the process and an extensive check of all glyphs in FontLab is absolutely necessary :-( At the time I wasn't familiar with FontLab at all, but I kept on trying. After many an hour I discovered that FontLab was the way to go. I found out that metrics and kerning are essential to the design. And that you can't apply any metrics or kerning in AI, so I decided to not design in AI anymore.
Now there's RoboFont, and the stories I hear about it are very promising. Supposedly it's way better then FontLab. You might want to check it out or at least compare the two programmes.
You could consider digitising the design in FL or RF yourself. That way you'll keep the design close. Mind you, it'll take quite some time, about as long as it took you to do the initial design. On the other hand you could outsource it. In that case you're in the right forum!

Good luck!

Thanks for the info Jean Paul!

Due to time constraints, might just consider outsourcing the production. Any info or advice for that?

Glad I can help Norvard.

Selling type won't make you a millionaire, at least, that's my experience. It won't even pay the rent. So when you decide to outsource the job it's very likely it'll cost you.

I'd advise you to start a new thread in this forum asking for quotations and prices. There are lots of great people to be found here, I'm sure they can help you along. (I'd love to do it myself but like you I find it hard to free up any time.)

Hello Norvard,

Email me directly.

akaczun@verizon.net

Maybe I can give you a hand and get you started.

Best, Alex Kaczun
dba Type Innovations