Dyed in Vermont Tie-Dyes

Welcome

Welcome to the Dyed in Vermont blog.  You can get anywhere on the site from the right side bar. I would like this blog to be a two way conversation so comments are welcome. 

May Day Sale--20% Off At Bazaar and Tapestry Gallery May 1st to May 8th ONLY
Coupon Code BAZAAR

We are currently having a sale at the Tie-dye Bazaar and the Tapestry Gallery.  As of May 1st we had 805 individual items.  But they are selling fast, and once they are gone, they're gone!  They are mostly one-of-a-kind items so shop early to get your pick.

My Trip to Tenessee

APRIL MOVING SALE--15% OFF

Last month I made a trip to Tennessee.  We're moving to Murfreesboro which really a good city for me and the business.  It has a large University (23,000 students) and a mixed multi-cultural atmosphere.  We’ll finally have a broad band internet connection, more space for the business, and a large pool of possible employees and customers.
        I also visited with my daughters and grandchildren in Jackson, Tennessee.  They will probably move to Murfreesboro and I may have one or two actual apprentices who can take over some of the production.  This will also set me up to actually start publishing the how-to tie-dye books.

We need your help!!  This move is quite a production for us.  We’re going to load the whole business on a big truck, move it 1200 miles, and put it back up.  And we hope to do that in about 2 weeks and quickly reopen for business.
       I don’t usually take any money out of the business for projects until after Christmas—I’m usually pretty much building inventory for most of the year.  But this year we need a few thousand dollars in September for the move.  We really need your orders over the next few months so we’re starting off with the--

APRIL MOVING SALE--15% OFF

Just type “MOVIN” in the coupon box when you order for a 15% discount during the month of April. 

Back from Tennessee

I've been back for a few days from my trip to Tennessee.  I've caught up with orders, and pretty much recuperated from the 2500 miles of driving.  I found Murfreesboro TN to be a really good place to move.  Middle Tennessee University has about 23,000 students and Murfreesboro is a big sprawling town which means plenty of part time workers and sales events.  The cost of living is also less than Vermont and I will be able to afford more space for the business.

I also visited with my ex-wife children and grandchildren in Jackson Tennessee who will be moving to Murfreesboro.  They are all interested in learning to tie-dye so I may actually have an apprentice who can take over some of the production.  I hope to make time to write and promote my how-to tie-dye books.

I'm planning the move for September.  I just turned 66 and I'm hoping this will be my last long distance move.  The next year is going to be very very busy and I'll be working long days every day.

Why tie-dyeing has not made me rich.

A while back I had someone ask me why I charge such “high prices” for my tie-dyes. I’ve thought about that a lot, and I just want to say that tie-dyeing has certainly not made me rich.

Tie-dyeing is a very labor intensive enterprise. I know of many tie-dyers who have quit and gone to work at regular jobs. As one of my friends told me, “I really love it, but it is just too much labor. I wish I could charge twice as much and keep doing it, but I can’t.”

I’ve always refused to compromise quality, and quality takes time. It takes checking, and constant vigilance. You would not believe how many ways dye can get on the wrong spot. When I’m dyeing, I spend half my dyeing time checking to make sure the right amount of dye is in the right place.  Not to

I experiment constantly—I look at every shirt that I make to see what I can improve next time. Experimentation and observation have become a way of life for me. But, again, this takes time, and time costs money.

Consistency takes more time. If you’re in business selling tie-dyes you can’t necessarily sell whatever comes out of the washer, although eBay will show you that many try. So it is a matter of survival to develop consistency if you’re in business, and especially if you want to sell to more than just your local area.

Ok, that’s my rant for today.

I am going to blog about the ways I’ve changed my business to increase efficiency and make it work in spite of the above difficulties. And I’m seriously thinking of publishing a book on How to Run a Craft Business and Survive.

Diabetes

This is my first post about Diabetes. I've been a type 2 diabetic for 3 years, and I was married to a type 1 diabetic for over ten years.  I helped her with her insulin shots and blood testing so I got to know about diabetes from the inside.

First, I'd like to point out that I do not say someone "has diabetes", because it is a condition and not a disease.  We are diabetics, or have become diabetic, but we do not have diabetes.  There is no diabetes germ--it is absolutely not contagious. 

The two types of Diabetes are quite different so I'll start with a quick description of each.

Type 1 Diabetes is caused by a persons immune system destroying the insulin manufacturing organs.  This is like an amputation and no amount of change in life style or wishful thinking will make it go away.  The Type 1 Diabetic is dependent on injected insulin, and must balance her food intake with her insulin intake to regulate her blood sugar.  Many type 1 diabetics start at a fairly young age.

Type 2 Diabetes is caused by insulin resistance which is caused by, at least from the bodies point of view, the excess intake of carbohydrates.

When someone eats a carbohydrate like sugar his blood sugar goes up as the sugar is digested.  Insulin helps the sugar go from the blood into the cells where it can be used, and thereby lowers blood sugar.   Of course this happens over and over whenever we eat carbohydrates.  It's thought that the cells eventually start to resist what to them must be a glut of sugar, and are said to become insulin resistant. 

Unlike type 1, type 2 diabetes can often be improved or even reversed with life style changes.  This is especially true when diabetes is associated with obesity because in this case weight loss can have a profound effect.

All type 2 diabetics can benefit from reduced carbohydrate intake, and I have personally found that a very low carb diet (along with medication and blood testing) can be very effective for controlling blood sugar.

I plan to write a lot more about my personal experiences with diabetes in future posts, but I think this is enough to chew on for now, and anyway I'm tired.

So here we are.

So here we are.

Some of you are first time visitors to the site, many of you have perchased before, and perhaps already feel some friendship between us because we've gone through some transactions together.  There are some of you who've been friends for years, and some of you have known me for a really long time--Hi Mom ;-).

So we’re almost some kind of community, and personally I really like that.  In fact I’ll take any amount of community and community feelings I can get.  So I want to use this blog to create more community with my customers and friends.  I’m going to add more posts about things that I think are important in my life.

I’m going to “mash-up” my personal and business interests.  I am a type-two diabetic, bi-polar, take anti-depressants, have been self employed for many years, lived for about 13 years on communes and communities (actually one of each), am a Vietnam era vet and get my health care from the VA.  I’ve lived in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maine, New Hampshire, California, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Colorado, Germany, and Mexico.

I consider myself spiritual person, but am not much into any religious organization.  Interestingly, the blog post I did called “Born Again Buddhist” got more attention and interest than any of my other posts, and I plan to add another one soon—“Born Again Buddhist, Second Time Around.”

Pet Hair Warning

I currently have two cats and my son has a large white German Shepard so I am battling pet hair.  I plan to have a pet free storage and shipping room, but that won’t be possible until I move to Tennessee.  I am trying to send out clean garments, but for now if you are allergic to animal hair please rewash you item before wearing.  Washing will not effect the colors or condition of the garment.  Your garment may be dried in a hot drier and will not shrink.

Your garment may still be returned after washing.

Tie-dye Christmas 07

We had a great Christmas season, and I want to thank all of you for your orders. We could not have done it without you.

I finished dyeing shirts for the Christmas orders early in the morning of December 20th at about 3:30 am. I shipped all the orders on the 21st.  On the 22nd I dyed my Christmas presents, and on the 23rd I actually got a day to rest before making the 5 hour trip to Maine where I had a really nice Christmas with my family. George and I drove home today.  Double click on this image to get a larger version.

On the left is my brother-in-law, Bill, and on the right is my sister, and Bill's wife, Janet.  Then along the back from left to right we have my sister Gail, my nephew Jamie, my mother, Sherry, and my niece, Becky. They are all wearing their new tie-dyed zipper hoodies which will be offered on the site soon.

The inset part of the picture from left to right is of me, Becky, Jamie, Janet, my son George, and Gail.  This picture happened when someone said, "hey Richard hasn't been in any of the pictures", and since I didn't jump up, they all gathered around me for this shot.

I heard someone say this was the best Christmas ever, and, although I've been a bit a Christmas Grinch, I certainly could not disagree.

Christmas Update

I've already shipped over 60 Christmas orders, but have plenty of stock left, and I'll be tie-dyeing all weekend to fill in anything not already in stock.

It’s not too late to Order for Christmas.

We have lots of stock ready to go, and I am shipping over half of the orders right off the shelves.

Orders made by the 17th of December can be shipped by Priority Mail anywhere in the USA.

Orders made by the 21st can be shipped by Express Mail anywhere in the USA.

The Post Office will even delivers Express Mail on Christmas day.

To check the shipping time between Zip Codes go to www.usps.com or call your local Post office.

If your order is very late you can email or call me to check availability, and if you order an item that I can't deliver on time I will email or call you.

I work very hard to get all Christmas orders delivered on time.

Tie-dye News

THE TIE-DYE NEWS from Dyed in Vermont November 2007

NEW NEWS
I've been adding more items on the Tie-Dye Bazaar. Last night I added Women's Rayon Dresses that I am closing out and various Pants that I've collected. I also added more Scrubs and Scrub Pants.

The Bazaar is turning out to be quite popular, and I am still in the process of adding new items to the Bazaar in almost every category so be sure to check back.

OLD NEWS
(reprinted from October)
There's lots of new stuff at the Dyed in Vermont site.

I've added some new areas on the site. You can find everything from the right side bar, which is the same as the one to the right in this letter.

There are 4 menus-

T-Shirt Menu-Links to all the Short and Long Sleeve T-shirt patterns that we offer. Adult shirt sizes from Small to 6XL.

Garments Menu-Links to all the garments and tapestries that we stock. Some are stocked ready to ship and some are "Dyed to Order" (Stocked as white garments and colored as necessary).

The new Tapestry Gallery has over 100 individual tapestries. Each one is individually photographed and priced. You can pick out the actual tapestry that you want to buy, and it is in stock-ready to ship.

Tie-Dye Bazaar--I've brought back the Tie-Dye Bazaar with all new photographs and many new garments. It's my bargain basement, but it also has many very unique pieces. There are lots of unique garments that I've bought as samples over the years, and all my experiments.

All New Onsies and Baby T's--I've completely switched over to American Apparel Onsies and Baby T's. They're sewn with cotton thread, sized a little bigger, and very well made from very soft comfy cotton.

I've been very busy stocking up for the Christmas Season, and I have a lot of stock ready to go. If you can please order early for Christmas. I'll be shipping all the way to December 23, but early orders definitely help.