Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeremy Suppes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jeremy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How do you think about cost-management? Growing a business is always exciting, but often businesses run into issues when costs grow faster than revenue – have you experienced such an episode? Any advice for other operators around how to keep costs in line?

Fortunately it has been rather easy to keep costs down while growing as a business. With our clothing suppliers they offer discounts on bulk orders and dye supplier does the same. Another way I save money is designing a business card that can double as a tag for garments. When we order stickers and buttons we try and get them on sale since they tend to be the most costly expense. Other than that, the biggest expense that I try to save on is my water use. And that is more about not wasting water not so much the cost of it. Living in California I am very aware of the scarcity of water so I try and find any way I can save water during my processes.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started dyeing as a hobby about 8 years ago. My then-girlfriend and now wife was preparing for a solo art show of her paintings, and she suggested I find something creative to do whilst she painted. At this point in my life, I had not really done anything artistic since life sculpting in college. I was always surrounded by artists, working in tattoo studios and tattoo supply companies for much of my 20s and 30s, but I did not have anything that I was doing artistically. I started off with a cheap dye set and quickly made the change to professional dyes. After a few months, I took on an order for a brewery and the order started coming in. After about a year we started vending at black market cannabis events and on shakedown street at Dead and Co shows as well as farmers markets and art events. These days we try and vend at our friends tattoo shop in Santa Barbara, Mary Tattoo. They do monthly flash events and have all kinds of amazing vendors. You can also find me every 3rd Tuesday running the shakedown street for Carpenteria Dead Family at Revolver Pizza in Santa Barbara.

As for my work, I specialize in traditional bottle dyeing. All of my colors are mixed by hand, so each batch has its own uniqueness to it. My work is most known for isolating the screen printing so that the dyes do now overpower the design and highlight the artwork instead of muddying it up. . Another large area of my work has been breathing new life into vintage shirts and garments. I’ve done everything from vintage Grateful Dead shirts from the ’70s/’80s to Online Ceramics and Coogi clothing. Send me your stained clothing, and I’ll make it brand new. Besides custom work I take on bulk orders and collaborations when possible. I’ve dyed shirts for the graffiti artist Bigfoot One, Tim Hendricks at Classic Tattoo, glass artist Mike Gong, Dj Matt Bennet, and many others.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I’ll keep this one short and simple. My opinion is that NFTs are garbage and a waste of money. Time has proven that.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I would say one of the biggest rewards of being an artist is being able to work from home and for the most part by myself. It’s been difficult for me to work in non creative environments in the past. I expect my coworkers to take the job seriously and just work while on the clock. So by working for myself I can only be disappointed in myself. Unless a client or colloborator is not coming through, which rarely happens.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alchemydyes.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/alchemydyes
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/alchemydyes