Behind the Scenes: Tie-dye Photoshoot in Valley of Fire

It had been one heck of a whirlwind weekend... We drove out to Mesquite and explored the area, checked out a new fishing park they had, scoped out some of their local casinos, then gone out to St. George, Utah, and played in the beautiful Historic Downtown park and water facilities, checked out a crystal and gem shop while discovering where Vanticore won't fit (the hard way), climbed upon a giant rock, driven through so many little off-freeway towns and rural areas... and now, at the end of our second day road tripping (yes, it's only been two days!), we found ourselves at Valley of Fire state park trying to squeeze in that damn photo shoot I'd been angling towards all day. Not to say I didn't enjoy the rest of our day- I absolutely did! It was so much fun exploring the new towns and areas, seeing a side of our state and the Southwest I don't normally get out and see. Absolutely awesome! But all play and no work makes Nau go cray. So despite the odds, and the waning sunlight, and the packed campsites and scenic areas, we found a place to pull over and guerilla-style shot the shirts. It went pretty well, and we made a point of it to be well out of the road long before any cars came close- which was exceptionally easy to manage because the place we stopped had excellent views (and acoustics) so we not only heard the cars long before they approached but were able to spot them, too. It's not unusual to come around a bend in the park and find a family posing for a shot in the middle of the road, and we did NOT want to be those people. Like, I get it- the photos in the road look cool. But you've got to plan for them, and plan for the fact that roads are primarily intended for cars to travel upon. Don't stand around a bend, where cars won't be able to see you until it's too late. Keep your ears and eyes open and be hyper aware of your surroundings. Not only are there cars, but rattle snakes, scorpions, random places you could trip or hurt yourself. It's wild out there, so be smart, my friends. 

We didn't have long to work, and the moon was bright long before we were even halfway through our quick shoot. Antho was able to get some photos of the big pearl in the sky which aren't half bad considering he didn't use a tripod and it was taken with my little point-and-shoot digicam. Someday I'll invest in one of those fancy, expensive, cameras, but this trusty little Casio has been through the ringer with me and keeps on clicking so I've got no complaints. If you like what you see, the shirts are available in our Etsy shop!

Tie-Dye Throwback

There haven't been too many tie-dye related posts on the blog in a few weeks now, and unfortunately that's due to our being in a bit of a creation-slump. We started to run low on blanks and with my job situation rapidly evolving and changing over the past few months I've been hesitant to put any money towards the hobby when I had more pressing adult matters to worry about (like keeping a roof over my head and food in our bellies)... Things should be changing for the better here soon, and we've gotten some good news and a couple of checks coming in, but we're certainly not rich by any stretch of the imagination. This is part of why I'm so passionate about getting our tie-dye off the ground, though, while it can be a challenging balance to find. We need a day job (for now) to keep afloat but the desire to invest heavily in our own business is strong, too. I can't go crazy and buy all the blanks I would like to, though, because I need to be sure we stay out of the red each month. So far 710Visuals has been a mainly self-sustaining project, but to grow it further I need to bump it up a notch or two out of my comfort zone. Not the easiest thing to do. But I digress.

Since we haven't been making much these past few weeks, please enjoy the photos of a previous batch I don't think I've ever shared here yet. These shirts were all made by Antho while I was over in Korea, so that makes them extra special. Typically we make all the shirts as a team, sometimes one will fold and the other will apply the dye, but when it comes to rinsing and processing them it's a team effort every time... except for this batch, because I was so geographically distant there was just no feasible way I could help outside of texting him instructions and motivation/support. He had to fold, dye, rinse, untie, wash, photograph, process and post all of these all by his lonesome, which isn't the easiest of tasks. I'm proud that he did this, though, and I think it helped him understand more how much work actually goes into the back end of running our shop. I usually handle the processing and listing for everything because I have the desktop computer and have more familiarity with it. It's a team effort here, at 710Visuals! 

Behind the Scenes: Late March Tie-dye Photoshoot

While we can (and often do) spend an exorbitant amount of our free time making tie-dye for fun, we ultimately end up selling the majority of our creations as 710Visuals. As much as we love making them, there's just no feasible way for us to make full use of all the shirts (dresses, shorts, skirts, or bags) that we make, especially since we make items in sizes that we probably wouldn't be able to wear on a consistent basis. It makes more sense, logistically and creatively, for us to sell them... sometimes it's hard, you know, like sending a puppy you love off to a different home with a new family. You can't be certain of what the future will hold for that beloved little thing, but you have to hope for the best and send them off with a kiss and maybe, just maybe, a tear in the corner of your eye. Luckily we've had pretty positive reactions from our customers so far, and the more shirts we send off to their future homes the more customers will put their faith into us. I know I tend to be more trusting in shops with more sales and higher ratings, don't you?

The practical side of this need to send our shirts off to new homes is that we ultimately need to make time and arrangements to photograph them and try to do so in a favorable way (to show their best sides, naturally) so that they have the best shot at finding the right home. This has been a long and varied process over the years with a lot of ups and downs involved. There were mannequins, many amicable friends kindly aiding us by serving as models for us between conversation and fun with payments of food, and some silly outtakes... sometimes the outtakes make it into the actual product listing on Etsy or our website because they're just too fabulous (or funny) to not include! Besides, it helps show a glimpse of our personalities, too, which I think is a good thing. I know I tend to appreciate when the companies I choose to purchase from coming off as personable, approachable as if there are actual human beings involved in the process. It's nice to know I'm sending my hard earned money off to someone real, and it's even better if you dig the person's vibe. So hopefully, some of the good vibes we (purportedly) give off in person can be captured by a photograph. But photography is an art, and we're definitely still learning and finding our groove. 

On top of having to model the shirts and try not to look like a couple of awkward goofballs, there's lighting, location, framing, and color-key to consider. I never want to edit the photos too much, but I want the colors to be bright, vivid and true-to-life...which can be quite challenging in some situations. We tried shooting in our studio, which is a pretty limited space and had mixed results. 

But at least we have fun in the process, right?!

More photos below~

Art: Behind the scenes of early March photoshoot for 710Visuals tie-dye

Welcome to another behind-the-scenes edition of the blog! On this post we're going to be delving in to a photoshoot we recently undertook in our home for the Etsy shop and our tie-dye business 710Visuals. These are some of the shirts I've been showcasing the making-of process for, so we're super stoked to finally be showing their final form to you guys! It's been a long time coming and we're still troubleshooting the ideal photoshoot set up for ourselves, but this was... something. The blank white sheet is to help prevent the background from competing with the shirts as well as to provide a template for when I needed to go in and tinker with the colors after in editing. I never want to over-do it in the photo processing stage because I want the colors to reflect as close to reality as possible. I don't even edit out my zits the majority of the time, haha. Luckily, when these photos were taken my skin was doing pretty good- no real pimples to cover up, and I didn't feel the need for much foundation or powder. I normally use a BB cream with Too Faced's Peach Perfect Loose Powder patted on top to set, but for these photos I just patted on some Milani Powder foundation real quick to even and brighten things up a smidge. 

Antho, of course, didn't need any make up for his fabulous face (not that I need make up, but I do appreciate it's power and really enjoy using it). We did, however, opt to put some of my Lime Crime Diamond Crusher in Trip on his lips at the end, though. He wanted to feel fancy and why not? Guys deserve to feel fabulous and have glitter lips if they want, too.

The tie-dye shirts photographed in this shoot are all now available in our Etsy shop for purchase, should you happen to find any that strike your fancy. We had fun doing the shoot and experimenting, though we'll likely be doing things a bit differently in the future. If we choose to shoot inside our home we will do it in a different location and/or with a different angle as the lighting was rather difficult to get precisely where we wanted it to be. Everything is a learning experience, though, and we'll figure out something even better for the next round! Keep scrolling for more photos!

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

Art: Ice dye from early March

Perpetually working through a backlog of shirts, we still can't help but keep creating when the impulse strikes. We've actually worked our way through an entire box of shirts, over 70 (!) blank tees have now been dyed and rinsed, ready to be sorted and added to our shop in a weird sort of shirt purgatory for the time being. I'm still aiming to triple our inventory but it's proving more challenging than originally anticipated- not only is there the backend making process for the shirts themselves, but then we need to wash, photograph, wash again, process the photos then list...and in that time we're still selling away, dropping the base inventory number again and again. This, of course, isn't the worst thing- I want the shirts to sell! I'm happy to see them go to good homes! But a small part of me is a little stitious about our inventory...not superstitious, you know, just a little-stitious...  I strive to keep our shop above 200 items; it's a good round number and seems to keep our visibility up, but we quickly sell below that number at our current state...again, this is not a bad thing, just means I have to fight that much harder to try to get ahead of the curve and list more items! With the recent shop update I got us back over 200 items, but it took over 10 new shirts going live to get there again. We have at least 30 if not 40 more shirts to photograph yet before we can get them live on the shop, and by the time I've processed all those we might be back under again. It's a bit of an uphill climb, I suppose, but this is one I'm extremely passionate and enthusiastic about so the struggle isn't that bad. The more shirts we make and post, the more we're able to sell, and the better for everyone! The more we sell, the more we can invest into our business and the more shirts we can make and share with everyone. We're still working on expanding our options further through the various sizes, because we want ALL of our fans to be able to wear the colourful gear they deserve regardless of their size. This has been a time consuming process but we're happy to keep sharing it with you if you're interested! We enjoy the process along with the results~

More photos below!

Art: February 2018 Ice-dye round two and exciting announcment

In yesterday's post I showed a behind-the-scenes batch where we applied the dye directly to the shirts as opposed to our usual method. These, however, are not those shirts. The results of those will be up tomorrow! Sorry for the wait, but we have so many shirts being produced these days that it's hard to keep up with them all. As I write this there's a stack of at least 15 pre-washed shirts waiting for their final rinse so that we can model them and get them up into the shop. We also recently took a big batch of shirts over to the Bubblegum Galley here in Vegas, where we're now having our first public brick and mortar shop! While the gallery doesn't have set opening hours, they host a wide variety of classes and events throughout the week and are open during Las Vegas's big monthly art event, First Friday. The Bubblegum gallery is conveniently located in the Arts District and is a short walk or Uber ride (or you could rent a bike!) from where the main First Friday event goes down. We're pretty excited, if you can't tell. 

💎 You are magical! 🌈 We are super excited to announce our first ever brick & mortar pop up shop at @thebubblegumgallery here in the Las Vegas arts district! While they aren't open every day, you can always arrange a visit with the owner or pop in for one of their many classes! They're open on First Friday, too, so don't miss out! . . . . . #710visuals #tiedye #icedye #shop #bubblegumgallery #shop710visuals #lasvegas #artsdistrict #handmade #local #art #artists #magical #pastel #pastelgoth

A post shared by 710Visuals (@710visuals) on Feb 12, 2018 at 5:33pm PST

The gallery is a super cool space full of creepy-cute artwork, jewelry, even taxidermy! Antho was super stoked that he was able to recognise a preserved rabbit's head before reading the label... While I'm not so keen on the taxidermy, myself, I can respect the skill and craft involved in making it and give my props to the artist. We'll be hosting some classes of our own soon, and hope to see you there! You can follow along with the class schedule here on the Eventbrite page. We are super duper excited to be part of a gallery showing and to have 710Visuals out there with a store presence. We love sharing our creations with people, but mostly it's been through Instagram and Facebook or our Etsy shop. This has been great, and I'm so happy you're here on my blog reading this! Tie-dye has been such a joy for us and has truly been the light in the dark for me at some points. Life is hard, and sometimes it can be monotonous or depressingly difficult, but tie-dye will always surprise and delight me with the vibrant colours and infinite folds. Hopefully posts like this can help pass along some of that joy to you, too. For now, here's a behind the scenes peek at how we go about some of our craft at our home studio. 

More photos below!

Art: February 2018 Ice dye round one

We're always creating, churning out new designs and experimenting with new techniques and color combinations. Tie-dye has been illuminating for us, and it's become something we do whenever the opportunity avails itself to us. We've really been cranking out an outstanding amount of product these last few months compared to some of the earlier days. This may have something to do with the fact that I've been trying to push towards buying in bulk more so that we have ample back stock ready to experiment with instead of ordering piecemeal one item at a time. Having such an abundance of blank canvases at our disposal stoked something in our creative fires and the results have been great fun! Unfortunately, I'd say our current store inventory is a bit uneven, to say the least, and we're working at expanding our options in all the sizes available so that none of you lovely rainbow-loving folks out there will be left out.  We've made shirts for infants up to 6XL and want to continue branching out! We recently made several 2XL/3XL tee dresses that have been doing really well, so we'll definitely be making more of those for the coming summer months! Plus size girls and boys deserve to feel like the gorgeous beings they are, right? No matter what your clothing size, everyone deserves to feel beautiful and to have options available to them. While searching for plus-size items to add to our shop I've been surprised at the lack of diversity! Trying to find a v-neck shirt alone has been challenging after a certain size, and that's not fair. I'll keep looking because it's our job as creators of clothes to try to ensure we have a little something for everyone, in my humble opinion. 

With some of these shirts, we tried something a little different. Normally we apply the dyes over the ice, letting the melting ice saturate the dye and drip it down onto the top. This creates a more abstract, space-like, water-colour sort of effect that we've enjoyed greatly. For this batch we went dye straight on the fabric, as this can allow a bit more control over the colour distribution. The photos here are just of the process, to see the results of how the dye-direct batch turns out you'll have to check back tomorrow! But for now, enjoy the photos of our tie-dye behind the scenes. 

Art: More January 2018 ice-dye

Another day, another tie-dye. I suppose some people might consider it tedious work by this point, but for us it's a continual process of experimentation and discovery.  There's always new folds, new colour combinations, new alchemy to uncover. No matter how many times we've dyed there's always something new cropping up, some fun new melt, something to uncover. It always seems photogenic, to me, though I guess our viewers might have their opinions about such matters. Both +Antho Jay  and I have been pretty happy with our most recent batches of creations, and as each new batch is a further step in our journey of learning and creating, I like to imagine they keep getting better as we go.  We've been experimenting with applying the dye powder directly to the fabric and then applying the ice recently, in an effort to create more precise colour patterns and lines. We haven't been unhappy with the result- and we've had a couple of items come out that we were really excited about. I'll be posting about the reveal for those when the time comes, but for now please enjoy these photos of our behind the scenes creation process for our tie-dye. We're always trying new colours and techniques and though I've posted about our tie-dye many, many times in the past I can honestly say I don't feel that it's something that will ever become redundant due to the infinite methods for creation and combination available to us.  We recently invested in a big bulk box of shirts so that we could try to create whenever the impulse struck, and I've been very very pleased with the outcome of that. We've been making tie-dye on a nearly daily basis now and trying things we might not have otherwise delved into if we didn't have such a backlog of bounty to experiment with available. While Google might say otherwise, that's their problem. We love making tie-dye and are happy to share it with the world. We hope you enjoy our colourful creations! Plenty more photos will proliferate below, so enjoy the colourful alchemy occurring below. Cheers.

Art: Early Ice dye for 2018

Rainbows here, rainbows there, rainbows everywhere! We love making tie-dye and do it as often as we possibly can. It's always fascinating seeing what kind of mad science color combinations we can create! We typically work with ice-dyes, sprinkling dye over the ice so that it hydrates through and deposits pigment as the ice melts, which creates a more space-like watercolour effect. Even using only one or two colors we've been really surprised by the depth of the results! We do experiment, though, and no matter how many times we dye no two shirts (or skirts, shorts, dresses, hoodies, crop tops, etc...) are ever the same.  It's been a lot of fun throughout the journey, and we've been doing tie-dye for fun now since some time in 2015 or maybe even 2014. I can't even pinpoint the exact date, it just happened that we were driving along and Antho suggested doing tie-dye on a whim and we found that we actually, really, thoroughly, deeply, passionately enjoyed doing tie-dye. Of all the things.  It makes sense, I suppose- I've always enjoyed painting, digital and traditional illustration, and most things artsy-fartsy... there was an awkward phase around 4th grade where I found out there were these brightly coloured three-dimensional paints you could use on clothes and went about drawing all sorts of goofy lizards and things onto every clothes item I could...Colour and aesthetics have appealed to me for awhile, and Antho has always been fashion/image conscious, crafty and hands-on so tie-dye has just been kind of a natural fit for us both. We're always learning and growing as we go, though, it's just part of the process. Nothing is perfect in the beginning, and there's an adage that it takes roughly 10,000 hours to become truly skilled at any given craft, whether it's playing a guitar, tie-dye, or aeronautical navigation, so we relentlessly we strive forward in our efforts to create cloth and colour alchemy. The more we try, the more we practice, the better we get after all. This also means more shirts (or skirts, shorts, hoodies, crop tops, tank-tops, etc) we can share with everyone!  We hope to be as inclusive as possible with our size options and though our funds are limited we try to invest in items that will work for all of our fans regardless what size they wear.  We want everyone to be able to taste, or wear, the rainbow in their favourite spectrum. Everyone deserves to feel fabulous!

More photos below!