Meet Jeremy Suppes | Tie Dye Wizard

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeremy Suppes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeremy, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I never intended on creating a business around my art. The universe just pushed me in that direction. I had started tie dyeing as a hobby. A friend was working at a local Deadhead owned brewery and gave me a shirt to dye for myself. I wore it to an event at the brewery and the owners really liked it. Fast forward to a few months later and I was started making shirts for them. I had just stopped working in publishing so it was the perfect time to start making shirts for money. Money isn’t the biggest motivation though. It’s working for myself, not having to rely on coworkers who don’t pull their weight and bosses who are jaded and don’t care anymore. Plus, my studio is at home so I get to spend all day listening to music and hanging out with our 7 month old puppies, Bobby and Bertha.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I feel what sets my dyes apart from others is staying in my lane and not trying to do what everyone else is doing. Like most creative jobs, there are a lot of people that just mimic what someone else is doing. It’s no different in tie dyeing. Especially since the pandemic. A lot of people started doing it as a hobby during those times, replicating other dyers styles and kept doing it after everyone went back to work. I’ve turned down teaching quite a few pandemic dyers my style when they have asked. Most just wanted to skip the basics and wanted to know how I make my signature styles. Styles that taken me years to figure out on my own and are my bread and butter. I guess what I’m trying to say is that gatekeeping isn’t always a bad thing.

I’m most excited about the current projects I have been working on and the ones in the planning stages. Recently, I teamed up with a sewer from Santa Barbara,@yellowmooddesigns on instagram. She makes beautiful tote bags from new and vintage materials. I provided her with dyed fabrics and she made some really amazing bags from it. another project coming up is working with some friends that publish tattoo flash books out of Italy, @stonedbooks on instagram. We did a run of shirts for their first release a few years back for a book themed flash. The next book will be themed around psychedelics and we’ve talked about doing garments for this one with a fashion designer friend of theirs in Italy. Super excited to see where this ones takes my creativity.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m based out of beautiful coastal town of Lompoc, which has a ton of hidden gems. For coffee and breakfast I would definitely take them to our personal favorites Coasta Grindz(@coastalgrindz) and Capulin(@capulineatsandprovisions).Both are owned by local females that do an amazing job when it comes to coffee and food. Coastal has amazing fresh breakfast sandwiches and the best nitro iced coffee(they use ice cubes made out of coffee!). Capulin doescan amazing Mexican influenced breakfast with weekly specials. The Mexican mocha and nutella stuffed mini conchas are to die for. For lunch it would be a trip to Jalama Beach and grabbing a world famous Jalama burger. They truly do have on of the best burgers on the central coast and beyond. For dinner, it would be at my most favorite restaurant in town, Eye on I(eye_on_i_84). Chef Heather uses local ingredients of all kinds. From locally sourced morels, lamb raised on the beach in Gaviota, locally caught fish and local veggies. They have a constantly menu that sometimes changes weekly based off the availability of the ingredients. My favorites at the moment would be the smoked turkey sandwich(smoked in house), melon salad and the chicken curry soup. She also provides a space for local artists to hang their art and sell as well. The art changes out monthly but there is a small section in the back that stays up year round. Eye on I also has weekly live music and djs performing out in the back patio for everyone to enjoy.

Besides all of the great food we would definitely stop by Fortified Tattoo(@fortified_tattoo_co) for amazing tattoo work. A day trip to Solvang for aebleskivers and a trip to the ostrich farm are a must.

Lastly, Lompoc is pretty quiet for night life so it would probably just be a drink at the Wicked Shamrock. Best dive bar around.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My wife is my biggest cheerleader in my artistic endeavors. She’s the one that motivated me to start tie dyeing and taking on bulk orders when I had only been doing it for a few months. Besides her, it would be the lessons I learned working under Kari Barba at Outer Limits Tattoo in Long Beach. She taught me how to run a small business and be an artist at the same time. She taught me how to say no to customers when the idea isn’t right. For that, I am forever grateful to have been able to work for a legend in the tattoo industry.

Website: https://alchemydyes.bigcartel.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/alchemydyes

Facebook: https://facebook.com/alchemydyes