Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erin Rideout and Emily Williams. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Erin and Emily, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Dyke Dyes started as a small project born out of COVID boredom. Emily suddenly started tie dying most of her wardrobe. Finally, I, Erin, suggested that she start dying other clothing and start an Etsy shop so that she didn’t end up with a completely dyed closet of clothes. At first, we were reluctant because neither of us planned to be business owners, but we realized quickly that customers were invested in our inclusive culture here at Dyke Dyes. Deciding to start that Etsy shop pulled us into the rabbit hole of learning how to ice dye. We set up our own work area with the ability to dye around 30 garments at a time and we figured out the ins and outs of how to make the best dyes in a wide variety of colors and sizes so that everyone can feel included under the Dyke Dyes brand.
Erin and Emily, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Dyke Dyes started out of COVID boredom when there wasn’t much socializing going on. We were stuck at home and looking for something to do and Dyke Dyes slowly started to form. We take thrifted clothing and dye these items to breathe new life into them. Alongside being an inclusive brand, we also strive to be as sustainable as possible. We currently achieve this primarily in purchasing (mostly) thrifted clothing as opposed to buying everything brand new.
We make a lot of Dyke Dyes specific items that we brand with our logo and sell at different local events (Pride events, farmers markets, artisan markets, holiday events, etc.), but we also work with small business owners who want dyed clothing with their logos. Some of the things we work with clients on are choosing the best color options based on the screen printed color and design they’ll be looking to get (screen printing is not a service we offer yet). We also help to order clothing they need if they do choose to order from a supplier rather than thrifting.
We think what sets us apart from other tie dye artists is that the Dyke Dyes brand works to exist, not only as tie dyed clothing, but also as a brand to represent the LGBTQIA+ community and to be a company where people of all sizes can find something for them. Many companies only offer sizes small-extra large, but we always offer sizes small-3XL, and we are always willing to do custom orders for people outside of that size range without up-charging.
We are proud of the work we do with other local businesses. Last year, worked on a fundraising project with The tiny Activist during Pride month to donate to two LGBTQIA+ organizations (The J.S. Bryant School and Transhealth). This business exists as a secondary income for both of us and it is important to us that we use the Dyke Dyes platform to represent the queer community and to give back to the community where we can.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
When we decided to create a business out of this idea, we were 50/50 on the name “Dyke Dyes” because using the word “Dyke” is asking our audience/customers to understand that we are using the term in a way to “take it back,” and it has been so well received. Other queers love the name, and we feel that this sort of authentic representation for the LGBTQIA+ community is extremely important.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Dyke Dyes definitely exists as a creative outlet for both of us, but the driving forces behind it are really engrained in our slogan, “inclusive. recycled. rad.” We want to create a visual representation of the queer community while also working toward creating a company that keeps sustainability a priority regardless of cost, accessibility, etc. We are always looking for new ways to be more sustainable and we are constantly considering what sustainability can look like for Dyke Dyes in the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dykedyesllc.com
- Instagram: @dykedyes
- Facebook: Dyke Dyes