Remember quarantine round one? Watching Tiger King, Outer Banks, making whipped coffees and learning TikTok dances.
Now I don’t know about you, but I also remember seeing a ton of people wearing tie dye. Naturally, I decided to give it a go and make my own tie dye crewneck.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16d9b1_f8430a5fa80c4bf7a214489ebf617875~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_49,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/16d9b1_f8430a5fa80c4bf7a214489ebf617875~mv2.png)
This is how my first one came out and I was in love. I wore it every other day and wanted to make more.
I sent my best friends a photo of the crewneck and they asked me to make them some so that is exactly what I did.
I found a website to order plain white hoodies, stocked up on tie dye colors and got to work. They came out better than I expected and I could not wait to ship them out.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16d9b1_2a04696fd0f6479eb2cc6a956c870b9e~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_50,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/16d9b1_2a04696fd0f6479eb2cc6a956c870b9e~mv2.png)
These are the very first ones I sold and let me just say I wish I had one for myself in every color. My friends went above and beyond, having mini photoshoots in cars, outside, and in their bedrooms each showing off their custom outfit I had made for them.
Eventually they convinced me to start an Instagram shop. I was very skeptical but what did I have to lose?
I made an Instagram account called @debaesthetics and started posting the pieces I would make. My friends started messaging me and placing orders. Before I knew it, I had a small tie dye business.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16d9b1_97bc7772c52b4e47a310cd0e18769510~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_85,h_112,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/16d9b1_97bc7772c52b4e47a310cd0e18769510~mv2.png)
If I’m being honest, it’s harder than it looks. Coming up with prices, finding an online website to buy the plain clothing items from, finding dye, and executing it.
I really loved making different pieces and started to add different options to my small shop. Rather than just making crewnecks, I added hoodies, t-shirts, and zip-up sweatshirts.
All items had the option of being cropped of course.
Instagram played a key role in this small operation. Once customers received their orders, they would take a cute picture and tag my account. Their friends started following the shop and began placing orders too!
While I do not have hundreds of followers, I had very supportive customers that told their friends and family members about the shop.
I felt very lucky and my favorite part was seeing a new Instagram DM notification because it meant someone else wanted to buy something.
Every item I made was unique in some way. No two items could ever be the same because of the way I had tied the item and the amount of dye I used. Sometimes I felt like some kind of scientist, mixing two colors together to try and get the right shade a customer wanted.
Throughout this experience I learned a lot about the realities of having a small business.
Here are a few things that I learned:
1. Always, always, always have people Venmo you before you order the items.
2. Make sure people know that each item is unique.
3. Including a "thank you" note in each package goes a long way.
4. Shipping is not cheap, so take that into consideration when selecting prices for each item.
4. Lastly, enjoy it and don’t stress about the little things!!
I put the shop on hold once the Fall semester started because I was too busy and have not had the time to keep it running. I may start it back up again in the future so give the account a follow and hopefully I will be back soon!!