Art: Early March tie-dye rinsing

Every rinse reveals something new, as excess dyes wash away in vibrant shades of pink or blue, green or red, gradually revealing the design laying within. Every shirt is different and even though we use the same dyes time and again while they last we often find new tones or dimensions unveiled in different processing times or techniques. Sometimes juxtaposing a shade against another will unveil a whole new aspect and applications to consider.... typically this occurs when we run out of that particular colour, too! Even folding the shirts in the exact same ways isn't necessarily a guarantee that the end result will match the one that inspired it, as the temperature fluctuations of the seasons cause the ice to melt at different speeds and can cause the dye intensity to change a bit as well. Some dyes take better at higher temperatures, or perhaps the higher temperatures will cause more liquid to pool at the bottom of the vessel containing the ice (and shirt) leading to a darker or muddied area. I haven't had any particularly negative results with build up of excess dyes occurring, but it will really depend on the colours being used- if you use certain colour combinations you might end up with an unpleasantly murky shade reminiscent of pond scum. I try to use colours I think will play together well even if over-saturated and so far I've been pretty happy with the results! These ones are a bit more bright and fun, as the warmer weather these days has been making me feel a bit more upbeat and colourful I suppose. Even Antho has been getting a bit more summery with his style as the CD-wrapped shibori shirt he made definitely has some watermelon vibes going on. Of course, for every new shirt we make there's also the requisite time spent rinsing away to get rid of all the excess dyes so that the buyers needn't worry about any bleed out when they go to wear or wash their new tops. We do a preliminary rinse at home to remove any excess dye powder and stop the dye process, then use an industrial detergent to remove any lingering dye before finally rinsing with regular consumer laundry detergent and fabric softener. It might seem like a lot of hassle for a small operation but I'm passionate about ensuring the quality of our shirts and making the process of buying and enjoying as simple and streamlined for the consumers as possible. The photos below are going to focus on the rinsing stage, though, so enjoy!

Until next time!

💜

XOXO,

NAU